Eco Friendly House And Garden

Eco friendly and Fair Trade products are on the increase – and you can be a part of their success!

The only reason manufacturers never really use eco friendly resources for their products is because consumers as a whole were never really ‘that’ bothered where things came from – as long as we liked them in the first place and they were not too expensive. 

Even today, you may well still be buying products that don’t have a branded logo on them, like ‘fair trade’ or ‘FSC certified’ – even though these products are available.

Why?  Well, you can answer that one yourself.  I bet it’s the simple reason that they aren’t always available in your local shops, and if they are available there is very little selection for you to choose from.

The Problem:
Lets take, for example, tea for this first problem.  Fair trade tea has been available for years, but it started out as just the one type.  Basically you had to choose to have fair trade tea in the only flavour that it came in, or you could have non-fair trade tea in any flavour that you wanted (and had probably been drinking your whole life).  Not such a difficult choice for most: they went for flavour.

Secondly, with the example of shoes; one pair of plain, non-offensive brown shoes may have been made by a community of Fair Trade workers in India.  However, because they were made with care and a premium paid for their certification, they were usually a lot pricier than their non-fair trade equivalent shoes that came in a huge variety of shapes, colours and styles.  Again, factors were working against the new products.

Yet others were so hard to get hold of that they would never be seen by over 80% of the population.  Whether they were only stocked by online stores or only found in ‘hippy’ or ‘alternative health stores’ it didn’t matter.  If they weren’t on the shelf in Boots, M&S or Tesco – most people wouldn’t ever see them – and so most people wouldn’t buy them.

And ultimately, their scarcity and high(ish) prices meant that no-one could really recommend them to the general public as so few people wanted to risk their money on an unusual of slightly different product.

Step Into Today’s Market:
However, as we find today, there are now a whole host of ethical or eco friendly alternatives to almost every product available today.  They are still only really a small slice of the market, but at least now people are starting to actually ‘like’ and search for these products.

And we know that retail responed to this by stocking more – so by using such products ourselves, we are creating a better future market for these types of products.

Whether you prefer to help the planet by buying organic products, or you want to help distant farming communities with your support of Fair Trade doesn’t matter.  What matters is that you are buying these things in the first place.

And, the more support these products get, the cheaper they become too.  The reason why a lot of organic or fair trade products were not for sale in high street stores is because their retail price was so expensive compared to existing alternatives that there was no point taking them on – they were a ‘waste of shelf space’.

But now demand has made these product more reasonably priced and able to compete with known brands.  Take for example Ethletics cotton sneakers.

These cotton baseball boots look virtualy identical to a well known brand of baseball boots and shoes.  They come in the same huge array of colours, both for kids and adults, short or long, and even personalized designs – and they are even the same price.

However, Ethletics shoes are made with only organic cotton, use an FSC approved rubber source, offer a Fair Trade price for both the rubber, the cotton and the workforce and are 100% vegan and contain absolutely no plastic.

The other brand make none of these claims.  It doesn’t have to, it’s been selling it’s footwear for years based on the brand alone.  It may well use these same workers or forests for their supplies, and their shoes might also be free of animal derivatives – but they just don’t need to tell us.

Your Choice:
Whether you personally support the manufacturer who offers you certified proof of all their ethical attributes doesn’t really matter.

What matters is that we have got to a point where you can’t say you didn’t have a choice. 

But doing the right thing no longer means walking around in sandals, wearing a baggy t-shirt eating lentils.  Being ethical is now a lifestyle choice without the compromise.

Being ethical today means having everything you are used to, but sourcing it wisely!

In our new digital world, we can buy anything online – so why not make your home one of them?

If you are planning to move to a new home – either to rent or buy – then do all the groundwork from the comfort of your own home rather than out in the cold or in traffic!

We are quite happy to choose clothes and toys over the internet – so why not use that same tool to narrow down your property search – and save paper and petrol!

Why Online?
Well, we know that most estate agents create a printed sheet for each property detailing the size of the rooms and having at least 1 picture – as well as their logo and all their other sales and legal pitch – but what a waste when you compare it to what your computer can offer.

Firstly, you don’t need to print details that you don’t want, and estate agents don’t need to keep piles of sales literature in their filing cabinets – saving them money to spend on other services.

You can scan the properties online – and this means more pictures and even videos.  Rather than 1 simple picture of the outside of the house – which isn’t really of any use other than so you can find it when you drive past – you can see multiple images of each room, inside and outside, back and front.  Basically you can decide whether you like a place without a wasted journey to the property itself.

Save Your Time!
There is nothing worse than getting off work early to drive out of town to see a property to find that it is a complete mess inside, with totally the wrong layout for your needs.  Whereas, by looking online first you can narrow down you list of properties without leaving your own home!

You are free to view them at any time of day, and you don’t have to have the owners listening to what you say about their choice of decor either!

And, if you are the one selling your home – there is nothing worse than having to keep it uber tidy all the time incase someone wants to visit when you are out – only to find that they aren’t interested at all.  Needless visits to your home on your time just because they only had an external picture and a list of measurements to go by before arriving.

The agent is the key to a quick, efficient and time-saving sale.  So whether you are after Liverpool Lettings or York Estate Agents - check their credentials out first to see that they are going to do a good job for you.

Make It Easy On Yourself.
So whether you are in the market for a move or you are desperate to sell – make sure you choose your agent with care – helping to reduce the wasted viewings that don’t go anywhere – but take up your time!

1) Make sure that they take multiple images of all the important features and angles that buyers are looking for. 

2) Make sure that they offer a plan-o-gram of the property so potential buyers can get a feel of the layout before they arrive. 

3) Make sure that they have a great website that is easy to search on – try it out for yourself first to see if people will be able to find your home when it is on there.

4) Speak to the team to make sure that they are friendly, approachable and eager to promote properties that suit your needs rather than just what is on their books!

Following these simple rules can make sure that you find or sell your property as easily as possible, which is great news for everyone really!