Eco Friendly House And Garden

In the UK you can buy meat products that are from a known source.

So you can rest assured that the animals were treated with the basic standards we would expect, received medication when necessary and were not cooped up alone for weeks on end.

So what does the Freedom Food label actually tell you?  It’s not organic, it’s not fair trade - so what is it for?  It has been in place since 1994 so it is obviously here to stay and is taken seriously.

Below I have summarised the 5 main points from their own leaflet, so that you can be sure of these things when choosing this type of meat product over the other similar products on the shelf that don’t have the RSPCA Freedom Foods logo, (or those that are certified organic as this has a similar set of criteria).

Labelling in all countries allows for certain words and images to be used on meat products that are not a true representation of how the animals were treated or where they were kept. 

For example the words ‘natural’ and ‘fresh’ mean absolutely nothing with regards to how the animals were reared or lived, and ‘produced in the UK’ doesn’t mean the animals ever saw the UK while alive - they could have been factory farmed in any other country in the world and shipped here after slaughter.

In addition, this RSPCA label (among others) is not connected to any food brands or food manufacturers, so you know it is only the animals they have in mind rather than profits!

So, here are the summarised points that mean that you could be making a difference to how your food is farmed:

1) Freedom From Hunger & Thirst:
These animals will have had access to fresh water and a suitable diet that maintains health and vigour.

2) Freedom From Discomfort:
These animals will be provided with an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area.

3) Freedom From Pain, Injury Or Disease:
These animals will be living in an environment that helps prevent accidents and illnesses and offers rapid diagnosis and treatment if any of these are found.

4) Freedom To Express Normal Behaviour:
These animals are provided with sufficient space, proper facilities and the company of other animals of their own kind.

5) Freedom From Fear And Distress:
These animals will live in conditions that avoid mental suffering and offer a certain level of respect and care.

And due to this continuity of checks, Freedom Foods can be traced from their farm, through to their haulier, the abattoir and even right to the store!  So you know that the animal you are about to eat has been cared for through it whole life.

The meats included in this scheme cover everything you could imagine, from eggs to beef, pork to duck and salmon to cheese!  All meats and animal products are covered by this, so you can rest assured when buying any of them.

Just look for the label!

Here are some quite simple steps to help you keep on the green road…….

If you are having trouble starting your year as green as you had hoped, then take a quick peep at the things listed below and get back into the swing of it!

1) Find Your Nearest Store:
Don’t drive miles to a store to get the cheapest prices on a few main things - visit a store you can walk to and just grab your essentials.

If you do a little shop every so often in your closest store, not only will it be there when you need it, but you will get to talk to your neighbours and maybe find some new products you never see in a larger store.

2) Find Your Nearest Products:
Apples are apples at the end of the day - but were they brought from down the road or from the other side of the world? 

If they were from a local farm, then in buying them you are helping to keep parts of your local area free from urban development and new roads - keeping wildlife close to your own homes.

3) Take A Little Less:
Always buy a bit less than you normally would of the fresh items, as we never eat everything we buy before it goes rotten!  So the less you buy in the first place, the more chance you have of eating it all when it is still nice and fresh!

It may be cheaper to buy bulk and save on packaging when ordering the larger pack sizes, but the cost of transporting and throwing away our food is just as costly!

4) Expect A Bit More:
Make sure you choose the products that are wrapped in compostable packaging.  There is no reason why vegetables these days are not packaged in compostable tray and wrapping.

If one vegetable can be presented and stored effectively using compostable wrapping, then so can nearly all others!  Make your choice right in the aisles.

If you tell the store what products you want to take home by buying them over others, then you don’t have to write in or attend meetings to get your point across.

5) Be Nosy:
Make sure you go up every aisle at least every month or so - allowing you too see new products and make new choices.  Don’t be put off by everything else in that area as you may find some tasty treasures and some eco friendly ideas.

There is more than 1 way to create the same meal - so check out frozen vegetables and canned fruit, pizza base mix and organic alternatives!  You never know what you can find hidden amongst the huge number of products in your local stores.

Going, going green…..

I recently read the book The World Without Us - and it wasn’t all as happy and nature-friendly as it seems!

Yes, it covered how all our impact in most areas would cease for the better immediately - zero carbon emissions, no more deforestation or over fishing etc, but it also highlighted what would happen to the things that we need to manage - like nuclear power plants, dams, exotic species, farm animals and pets!

If we don’t keep working with these - they will go astray, and can’t work or survive on their own!

I was gripped throughout the book (although it’s not a read cover to cover in one go type of book), not just by it’s attention to detail regarding individual people and actions - but by the wealth of natural forests and habitats that I never knew existed and now want to learn more about!

First Shock Of The Book:
We have created so many things that are durable that they won’t be going anywhere fast!  And infact some could threaten the very planet after we are gone!

The book assumes that humans literally vanish in a second and leave the world right as it is in that instant., so factories still running, shops still open, communities still farming - then we go.

The author - Alan Weisman doesn’t even entertain for a minute that there will be any surviving humans, and even if there were - it wouldn’t be anything like the BBC drama Survivors.

There are things out there that just can’t be controlled without the skilled people who work with them now.  Yes, the electricity and water stopped and the stores closed - but what about that nuclear reactor still burning away?  What about oil pumps sucking out millions of gallons or flammable and toxic oil above the surface?

And all the plastic we have ever made is still out there - it never goes away - it’s just getting smaller and smaller. So if it’s a bag for example floating in the sea, it get eaten by a turtle (aling with other plastics and so the turtle dies; however when the turtle has decomposed or been eaten, the bag becomes released again. Then the bag is in smaller bits floating on the sea so it gets eaten by and kills an albatros, who then dies - and then when they get eaten, the bag bits come out again, and gets smaller. Then it gets eaten again and again and again through the food chain - forever it would seem!

Secondly:
He told me that there are patches of woodland dotted around the world that are so old that they defies everything we now know about woodland management. 

One on the Polish-Belarus border hasn’t been affected by humans since the dawn of time - literally.  It is called the Bialowieza Puszcza and means ‘forest primeval’.  There are a whole host of ancient - and giant - species of trees a whole host of rare and unusual native European mammals including the lynx, wolf, bear and even the wisent - a European bison!

There is also an ancient forest right in the heart of the Bronx, New York.  There is a patch of historic woodland that was there when the first Europeans came over to the state - and there is stays!  The rest of New York has been deforested and flattened while this pocket of history goes on!

And Finally:
It’s a really good place to start if you are trying to think of a reason to reduce your waste (big section on plastics), change your habits (farming and food waste) and cut your energy uses (power sources).

Basically, it can make you think hard and fast about what we are doing to the very planet we depend on, whether we are here or not!

After reading this book, you need to look at the trail of every item you hold in your hand that day, whether it’s food, an electrical item or clothing and ask yourself the following questions:

• Where was it from, and what did it take to make it and get it here?
• What does it actually do to improve your life (if at all) and why do I need this exact thing over the alternatives?
• And, where does it go after it leaves my hand?  And is that a good place????????

So, go out to the book store or library at read this book!

photo credit: comedy_nose

If you live in what is called a ‘hard water’ area, you may consider changing to ’soft’.

Now it’s not like you can change the bedrock of your house, so it would mean fitting a water softener to your existing water pipes to make the change.

But why would you go to that trouble and expense if you didn’t really have to - I mean the water still runs like normal, is clean to drink and washes dishes etc?

But there is a massive difference between the 2 types of water - and the soft water option can help you to live a more eco-friendly life.

How Can It Really?
Well, hard water contains magnesium and calcium that it picks up from the rocks on it’s path from falling as rain until it reaches your tap.  And these minerals can cause some serious damage to your plumbing and smaller white goods in the kitchen - not to mention your boiler and washing machine!

This build up of minerals in the water is then transferred into your pipes as it sits there waiting to be used - and can reduce the amount of water getting into an appliance, and cause permanent damage to the pipes as well.  Replacing either is a squeeze on natural resources and a costly exercise to boot!

And, with the capacity for water flow reduced, this can sometimes cause the appliance or boiler to have to work harder to keep the same level of function - or use more energy but give a poorer performance!

Soft water doesn’t contain any of these minerals, so leaves your pipes clean and working at their best!

How Can I Tell The Difference?
It isn’t immediately obvious which water you have got based on watching your boiler or feeling your clean clothes - but just using the water from your tap will show which water you have.

These minerals show themselves in water residue in the form of ‘lime scale’, so if you have a white patchy deposit on your shower head, grey residue left on your glass shower curtain, blobs of white ‘chalky’ stuff in your kettle, the list goes on…..

Sound familiar?

Now think of all the chemicals, cloths, scourers and time you have to spend keeping your bathroom and kitchen clean - then think of all that chemical waste!

And, think about washing your hair, hands and body.  Washing in soft water creates a lather more readily using less toiletries - and gives a more thorough clean.  People say that washing in soft water makes their skin feel better and hair look shinier!

How Big Is A Water Softener?
They will easily fit under your kitchen sink in smaller flats, or anywhere in a larger home - even a garage will do.

Basically it works on the main water pipes going in to your home or offices and changes the composition of your water before it enters your home.

Most water softeners are easily fitted and will pay for themselves within around 5 years due to the better efficiency of your heating and hot water systems, as well as in the reduced reliance of cleaning chemicals and toiletries!

And your appliances will last longer and stay efficient throughout that lifespan - and don’t worry about your appliances if you have been using hard water - as the softened water running through will eventually clear all the existing limescale!

So, taking the minerals out of your water could save you a lot of time and money.

Has your spring clean left you with quite a lot of things you don’t want?

Well, someone else might find a good use for them - so why not take yourself out to a car boot sale and see what you can make for things you don’t even want!

There are many car boots held every week across the UK although they may not be as widespread elsewhere, and they are great fun to do.

However, there are a few tricks of the trade that will make your car boot experience a lot better than just plunging feet first into it on that early Sunday morning!

1) Check Out Some Sites As A Buyer.
Make sure that you have visited a few local sites before you pitch your spot.  Some car boots aren’t as organised as others and can have stalls spread out over a large area of land but with stalls quite some distance apart - not good for sales!

Other sites can be a field of mud, others too small, and yet more with terrible access (or exit afterwards).  Some have a set start and finish time, but others just let people come and go throughout the day - which can leave you alone in the field if all your neighbours go home early!

And find out the price of a pitch - if the car boot costs more than £10 for your car - then make sure you have enough stuff to make the difference.  You will have to get up early, drive to the site, sit there all day hopefully selling at least that amount in goods and then probably queue up for ages to get out afterwards - so is it worth it?

2) Contact The Person In Charge First.
Make sure you have spoken to the person who is in charge before you get up early one day - as there are protocols to follow!

One car boot I went to where the entrance of which was on a main road had an unknown secret: you had to join a queue about 1/2 a mile away in a main back street half an hour before it opened to get a spot.  If you queued up outside the site when it was due to open - you were told to drive around the block and join the others - at the very back!

3) Find Out What You Can Sell.
This might sound strange, but some car boots will only allow old things to be sold - so if they see you there with plants, bulk goods and maybe even certain electrical items, you may get told off or outed!

Other places might be really strict on the amount of space you get, so having a clothes rail would be virtually impossible if you have a long table too!

Other sites have so much space that you can park your car sideways, therefore getting metres of space to display your things, and allowing you to have everything within touching distance of the customers, rahte than them having to rummage around in boxes under the table or having to ask you to pass stuff across to them!

4) Bring The Right Equipment.
Make sure that you can display most of your goods around hand-height so that everyone can see what you are selling and can have a good look - so this means a table of sorts like a decorating fold-up table (as you need to fit it in your car with all your stuff as well) and if you are selling clothes a rail would really make a huge difference.

Boxes on the floor for books is perfect - but preferably pack them together in prices if you have enough, so a box for 10p and box for 50p books etc. Same goes for tiny toys or other little things, so, ‘Anything in the Box = 50p’ type of thing.

You will need a fair amount of small change if you are going to be serious about this, so at least £10 worth of 50p’s and less and £10 of £1’s should be a minimum - depending on the price of your goods. There is nothing worse than giving a price for something and then have to refuse the sale as you have no change left! Most customers bring small change - but it’s best to be prepared!

And along those lines - bring plenty of carrier bags from your re-using stash to give to customers - they are more likely to buy more stuff if you offer them a decent bag!

And a plastic sheet to cover everything if it rains wouldn’t be a bad idea!

5) Set Your Prices For The Good Stuff.
If you are selling some large or really nice items, then make sure you set a minimum price before you set out as otherwise you could come away with less than you deserve.

There are also the ‘early scavengers’ as I like to call them, who go to car boots for a living. They know what stuff is worth money and what things they can sell on their own stall round the back of yours for twice what you were charging!

How they do this is to start rumaging through your things while you are still getting them out of your car. They pester you with seemingly reasonable prices, or offer for bulk goods - which you think is great!

You are making money before you are even finished unloading - but remember, they are only buying it from you as you are a ‘newbie’ and they want to buy yours cheap and sell it on for more! So it’s something to think about - make less money straight away, or hold on to your higher prices and sell them for yourself through the day.

In fact, why don’t you do a spring clean with the car boot in mind - as it could help you be a bit more ruthless - especially if you are not sure if you want to sell a certain item. By setting a high price you definately won’t go below you can come away with a result either way - making a decent amount for it - or keeping it yourself anyway!

6) Enjoy Yourself!
Make sure you plan to make a day of it. Take decent clothes incase it is cold, and convince someone to come with you if you can (or at least pop in to see you half way through) otherwise you won’t be able to go to the loo or to buy yourself a hot drink if it’s cold!

Take a packed lunch if you can as some can start as early as 6am in the summer and finish after 3pm. Do you want to have to go hungry - or end up spending your takings on a car boot burger?

I’ve done them before and I would do them again - but I have made all my mistakes, so hopefully your won’t have to…..

It’s Monday and you haven’t started cooking dinner yet - so make it the start of your ‘Meat Free Mondays’ campaign!

If you are not already a vegetarian, vegan or a meat-free Monday participant - then maybe you could try it for a few weeks and see if it really makes that much difference to your lives.

There are many celebrities who have given up meat altogether including Brad Pitt and Clint Eastwood, but it can be a difficult life to continue of your diet revolves around processed foods and take-aways.

So, if you can manage to eat at home on the rather sensible day of Monday, you could easily make it a meat-free one.  For example sausage and mash with gravy; pie, chips and peas and even a roast dinner could be made using meat-free ingredients - and I have had them all and they were yummy!

And if you are eating meat on up to 6 other days of the week, I’m sure you won’t really think anything of it - however, you could be making a huge difference to people, wildlife and habitats across the globe!

Benefits In A Nutshell:
There are many good things that can come out of cutting out meat from your diet - even if it’s only for 1 day. As don’t forget that it won’t be just you - so multiply the meat your don’t eat by 1000’s of other people in your neighbourhood, and we are stopping hundreds of cattle from traipsing through the Amazon……

Meat Uses More Land To Grow - By using a field to ‘grow’ cows or sheep, we need to use another piece of land to ‘grow’ the food to feed the cows and sheep.  So meat uses more land to grow than the tasty vegetables we love.

Meat Uses More Energy To Grow - More energy goes into growing a cow than into a cauliflower - so if we ate the cauliflower instead we could save all that waiting around for the cow to be ready for slaughter.

Meat Uses New Land To Grow- More meat in our diet means more land is always needed for farming them - and in South America, we have heard that the rainforests are being cleared to feed more cattle - or more correctly, rainforests are being cleared to make us hamburgers and cheap steaks.

Meat Gives Of Methane - Cows fart!  A lot…….

Meat Cannot Be Composted - Uneaten meat cannot be composted in your garden like leftover vegetables and fruit - and may well attract vermin anyway, so the disposal of meat can become a problem for businesses - and the environment.

Vegetables Are Good For You - By taking the focus off the meat part of your dinner you may well find that you eat more vegetables in your meal instead - all good news for your health.

Your Choices:
Just as with new products and new fashions - if people don’t buy it, people won’t make it. 

So if everyone could just take 1 day a week of meat, you will see a great reduction in the meat in stores, and therefore the amount of land being used to farm them.

I’m not saying that this will be an instant reaction from the farming industry, but it will certainly make a difference over the next few years.  And from current environmental thinking we may well need to start doing this anyway.

So, why not take a stroll up the vegetarian aisle next time you are in a store and try some of the alternatives - you might quite surprise yourself with what is available, and how much you like it.

And to be honest - dinner guests will eat whatever you cook them as long as it’s tasty - and if you don’t tell the kids or the partner when you serve up a fantastic vegetarian meal - they probably won’t even know the difference and so you can easily convert dozens of people you know without any fuss!

Seriously, just taking your kids to a toy store could make presents more expensive next year!

I don’t mean the normal cost of demand or an increase in the cost of material - I mean that prices have to go up to account for the behaviour or your kids - or more importantly - You.

How A Toy Store Works:
Like all businesses it runs on a balance or 3 main things: the cost of buying in the toys in the first place, the cost of staff and the cost of the rent and bills on the shop.  These 3 must be less than the total money that goes into the till - leaving a profit (hopefully).

If any of these 3 things costs too much - the store isn’t worth opening every day so something has to give - and it’s normally the price you pay.

So, based on the short time I worked in a toy store, here are the 2 ways you can help to keep these costs down - and therefore, the cost of your toys!

The Products Themselves:
When you buy a toy, the store make a profit on the difference between what they paid for it in the first place and what you paid for it to take it home.  So, if they buy a wooden toy for £1 and you buy it for £3, they make £2, right?

Well, not always.  You see, they may well buy 100 wooden toys (costing them £100) to sell for a total of £300 - but if 10 of those are accidently broken by children playing with them roughly - the store has lost £20 profit plus the £10 to buy them, so each remaining toy will only be worth £2.70 each.

Imagine this multiplied up by all their products on display (my store had over 1000 different products) and on the more expensive items.  That’s a lot of money being lost by the store because your child accidentally tore the packaging of something, or burst something else when you weren’t looking.

So, the answer is only let your children play with the display models (those that the store has singled out for everyone to play with) - therefore limiting the number of manhandled products to one of each.

Don’t let your children eat food while visiting a toy store as a chocolaty finger on a furry puppet is not what the store were hoping for - as you aren’t going to buy it and neither will anyone else!

And also - don’t leave your kids in a toy store while you stay outside talking to friends or are on your cell - as they can do a lot of damage in just a few short minutes alone!!!!

Too Many Staff:
As a result of the number of people who do leave their kids alone in toy stores - the store manager needs to employ a larger number of staff to keep an eye on them all to limit the damage they cause!

Most toys in our store were for 3+ but of course children under 3 can’t read that so they pick them up and snap bits off - off more commonly lick or bite them.  And quite a lot of ours were filled with liquid!

If the store is having to employ more staff than say a shoe store would need, then their overheads become higher, and higher overheads means less profit.

And stores want more profit, but they can’t have less staff - so they raise their prices!

Less Rent:
The only real way to lower your rent is going to be bad for business.  It is either going to be moving to a smaller store (so they will have less products), moving to a less busy street or smaller mall (so less customers will visit) or going totally online (so you have to advertise your site).

None of these are good for you as a customer either.  If they have a smaller store - you have less choice for your children’s toys and gifts; if they move to a less popular street or mall - you have further to walk to find them, if at all; and if they move online - your kids won’t be able to play with the toys at all until you buy them!

Less Waste:
Don’t forget that all the toys that can’t be sold - whether they are broken or not - will be thrown away.  What a total waste! 

Even if it is just the packaging that’s torn - the product can’t be sold on the shelf.  Some stores would use it as display model, but not all of them.

And, the more that get broken before making it to a home - the more that need to be made in the first place!

So, next time you visit a toy store - hold on to your kids and save money - and you will also be saving those resources!

With all this talk of climate change and preserving the rainforests - it’s time to get to grips with the facts!

And, to help you understand all the issues surrounding deforestation, climate change, CO2 emissions and what you can do to lessen the impact - the Princes Rainforests Project has produced a small, free, easy to read guide for everyone who is interested in learning more.

HRH The Prince of Wales heads up this booklet and it is supported by a host of other celebrities and ordinary people like you and me.

Why Care?
The Rainforests are a lifeline for our planet, not just for CO2 - although this can make a huge difference to the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.

The forests absorb and emit moisture that can help cause rainfall in other parts of the Americas - including the plains of North America and the grasses of South America - which in turn feed the world and it’s animals.

The animals and plants that have evolved to live in these areas are also dependant on the forests for their very lives.  Medicinal plants are key to our search for cures and treatments and we could be losing them before we even find them!  And key wildlife can support all the other creatures that live in these delicate ecosystems.

Also, people depend on these areas for their livelihoods and survival.  Generations of native indian tribes have survived in harmony with the rainforests and their way of life is being destroyed by our way of life.

Why Are We Destroying It?
Unfortunately cutting down trees is no longer just about the trees, it’s about what makes more money for the person using the land.

If, for example, a field of trees are worth nothing to anyone apart from the odd free fruit you can eat.  Cutting the trees down to sell for wood could make a decent profit - but using that land for growing simple crops for yourself could make even more money. 

Selling that cleared land for cattle ranching though could make you a hefty sum, and selling it to large scale farmers for soya beans could make a small fortune.

And can we blame them for doing it?  No, if that was your land - and you needed to feed your family - what wouldn’t you do the same?  Everyone needs money - and why not get the most money you can for the same thing - after all, it’s just a field.

Is There A Solution?
There are many ways we can slow or stop this destruction, but it’s not going to be easy.

People are going to have to make an effort to change things and that includes you as an individual checking a few things when you shop, or maybe even being pro-active. A few ideas found in the booklet are as below:

1) Pay to keep trees standing by supporting a charity - and your support doesn’t have to be with money - your time can be just as important.

2) Stop the demand for rainforest products - check your sources for wood, paper and toiletries.

3) Pay to visit that field of trees - if people pay to visit these rainforests while they are standing, they could be worth more than if they were farmed, remember it’s all about what makes the most money forthe people who live there!

4) Help get your voice heard by contacting the government to share your concerns, whether you do this alone or you associate yourself with a larger charity or organisation.

So, go to Rainforest SOS to get your guide and more information about getting your voice heard!

Posting something isn’t just about getting it totally wrapped up in paper - it’s about sending with love!

What I mean is, that the actual packaging and size of the packaging you use can have a huge environmental impact when sent through the post - and also the item you are posting could be better selected if you really want to save resources!

The Packaging:
Starting with the materials you choose for wrapping, it would make sense to avoid non-recyclable materials in the first place as they can only be thrown in the trash upon receipt.  And wrapping something up and then putting it inside an envelope or another layer or wrapping for posting seems to be just a waste of resources.

Bubble-wrap should be used inside the packaging rather than as part of the wrapping so that it can be re-used at the other end in both parts.  I mean, if you send a gift wrapped in a sheet of bubble wrap and then put inside a normal envelope or sheet or parcel wrap - then both parts can be put to use again by the recipient or the envelope recycled!  However, using an envelope with it’s own bubble-wrap concealed within cannot be recycled - only reused as a whole.

And, you don’t really want to use heavy packaging - like loads of sticky tape - as this will make your entire package heavier to post and therefore it will use more fuel and energy to move from your post box to the recipients!

The Size Of It:
Many, many, many people use the wrong sized packaging when posting an item.  It makes sense to find out the categories for your countries postal charges so that you can find out which is the most cost effective way to post it - and - the most energy-efficient way to post it.

Buying or using a larger-than-necessary envelope will take up more room in the postal system than a smaller one - creating more journeys for the postman and their fleet of trains and vans when added to all the other post going the same way. 

And in the UK, the rates charged for packages depends purely on the dimensions - so folding a pliable gift a certain way could save you a lot of money!

Anyone who sells things over the internet will know all about the best way to package something!  For example sending a ‘packet’ weighing up to 750g (1st class) is £2.65 - but sending a ‘large letter’ weighing the same (1st class) is only £1.77 - with just a few millimetres between them!

It’s worth knowing the small print if you have a lot of gifts to send! 

And why post items that the recipient can get for themselves - for example; toiletries and cosmetics.  Why send weighty bathroom goods through the post when they can buy them in their own stores?  Just use a paper voucher for that store - or make a personalized voucher telling them what you want them to buy with your money.

It’s still going to be the same gift - just from the store 10 minutes from their home rather than your store 500 kilometers away!  The items have already been driven across the country from the factory to the warehouse and then to your store - why get the postman to drive it somewhere else as well!!!!

The Gift Itself:
If you know you are posting something - then make sure you choose wisely.  Why send an item that is going to be costly to post in the first place?  And - are you going to pay the postal service to guarantee it arrives in one piece or more importantly credit you if the item is lost or damaged before it even arrives!

And, would it not be more eco friendly to have the item delivered directly to the person in the first place.  I find it quite funny that the wrapping of a gift is so important.  Some people have a gift delivered all the way to their home (at a cost) then wrap it themselves (at a further cost) then post it back out to the recipient (at even more cost!).

Why not just get it sent directly to the recipient in the first place - and have already told them to expect it and not to open it until you desire.

It’s still ‘wrapped up’ by the company - and it is still a gift from you?  This is even worth doing for overseas deliveries in some instances as the company your order from may well have overseas distribution sites that make posting items direct more cost and energy efficient!

Or better still - buy them an item that is virtual, so you don’t have to post anything!  Why not buy a ‘gift’ that helps others rather than clutters up our homes further, like charity gifts, memberships, or other good causes!

Make a difference with your money rather than making more things for landfill!

The RGS are hosting a fantastic EcoFair on the 5th and 6th of December in London.

They are bringing together some fantastic international eco friendly companies and charities to fill your day with excitement and fill your bags with great goodies!

Stalls include some of the old favourites like the RSPB selling wildlife gifts, memberships and information for your gardens and great days out and the CO-OP will be promoting their eco friendly and fair trade clothing ranges.

There are also products available from around the world, with alpaca clothing from Peru, ethical accessories from Nepal, hand-made silks from Cambodia and Luxury fabrics from India.

There are also creations from the UK, including recycled household goods, hand-made bespoke jewelry, fair trade organic babywear and luxurious oils and soaps.

There is also a free puppet show being performed at the show just after lunch time - called the Forest of Fables, and is performed using Japanese style puppets (made from recycled materials) to African music depicting well known Greek fables!

In addition, there is even a puppet making session beforehand - so your children can make their own recycled puppet like those from the show and learn how the show is put together - including a sneak preview at some of the songs - and they get to keep their puppet!

The whole show is free entry to all - with free fairtrade wine for all RGS members and guests - see the RGS website for more details……..