the wastelands

I'm very annoyed at myself for missing Buy Nothing Day on the 25th but this doesn't mean that I can't nominate another random day in which to buy nothing! From the website, it is aiming to encourage us to:

"...make a commitment to consuming less, recycling more and challenging corporations to clean up and be fair. Modern consumerism might offer great choice, but this shouldn't be at the cost of the environment or developing countries."

BND is the brainchild of Adbusters who I know nothing about but I shall be perusing their website some more ove rthe coming days. I think next year I will try and be organised and publicise this and celebrate properly!

We have Adili- "the best in ethical fashion". They say:

Adili is the Swahili word for 'ethical and just'. As a company Adili believes that it is possible for fashion to be both stylish and made in an ethical and just way; in a way that gives rather than takes from people and the planet; in a way that upholds the dignity of those along the supply chain.

There are organisations, initiatives and companies showing that trade can be done differently, that working in fashion can have dignity, can respect the world around us and can be a way for individuals and communities to trade their way out of poverty, to save fast-disappearing skills, to gain new ones and to have the resources to educate their children... Some brands trade fairly and directly with producers while others have a focus on the environmental cost of growing and producing fibre and fabric. Some brands achieve both these objectives and many aspire to.

There is also People Tree who have a Fairtrade logo on their site.

Fairtrade Media whose stock includes cards and calendars, t-shirts, cotton wool and music.

Cred Jewellery.

" Cred is commited to providing a positive fair trade alternative that pays special attention to human rights, labour standards and care for the environment. Our pursuit of this has led to unique partnerships with small-scale mining communities (Oro Verde), cutting and polishing co-operative workshops, master jewellers and stone setters. All of whom are dedicated to the idea of fair trade jewellery.

Each piece of jewellery we create comes with its own social and environmental certification issued by IIAP and the Cred makers mark."

That's all for now. Will blog some more on this...

It costs £1498 and here is the product information:

The Windsave wind turbine delivers up to 1KW of supplementary energy synchronised and adjusted to supply directly into your household power circuits, using Windsaves unique technology the appliances in the house will absorb all the energy from the turbine before using grid voltage. This will contribute to the average home a saving of approximately 30% (based on average wind speeds and suitable locations) of the average electricity bill whilst reducing the household CO2 emissions

I was reading the pack of my Waitrose recycled paper kitchen towels to see the claim:

"Waitrose Recycled Kitchen Towels have been independently judged and awarded the eco label by the European Union. It is a sign that throughout its manufacture the impacts on the environment have been minimised."

On investigation I found the symbol opposite and a website dedicated to how to obtain it

Sir Nicholas Stern, a former chief economist at the World Bank has released his report on climate change this week and it bears no surprises but carries massive weight that we are at a crossroads, teetering on the brink of no return. The time for action is now otherwise we will suffer the consequences. We all knew that anyway but maybe the "people that count" will start to notice because an economist and not an environmentalist has put concrete figures about how the changes affect economies.
We have the expected nightmarish vision of displaced populations in this report but he's got out his calculator and worked out how this will affect our economies (and personal wealth). Mortage repayments will suddenly become irrelevant when what used to be your home is under 7 feet of water.
Here are some stats for you:
Inaction will cost a permanent loss of 20% of global output (£3.68 trillion)
To act now will cost us £184 billion per year. This is 1% of world GDP
The level in the atmosphere of CO2 before the Industrial Revolution stood at 280 parts per million. The level of CO2 in the atmosphere today stands at 382 ppm.
200 million people are at risk of being driven from their homes by flood or drought by 2050
World temperatures are likely to rise by 2C by 2050 or sooner, and could rise by 5C
4 billion people could suffer from water shortage if temperatures rise by 2C
A temperature rise of 2C would threaten 40% of species with extinction
35,000 Europeans died in the 2003 heatwave, an event likely to become commonplace

"Another absolutely vital conclusion is that dealing with climate change, even though very costly, need not derail worldwide economic growth. The report stresses that the two are compatible...
out goes the sackcloth and ashes, in comes having your cake and eating it (as long as you take the problem seriously now)"
Michael McCarthy, Environment Editor, The Independent

I use cling film every morning to wrap the girls sandwiches. This really isn't good for a number of reasons but it does keep the sandwiches really fresh, more so I've found than when wrapped with greaseproof paper. I have started a new roll today- I wonder how long it will last? I intend to find out! I'm putting the date on the packet and will blog when the packet is finished. I use it for at least 2 sandwiches a day (on at least 2 days, 3 sandwiches) and I always use barely enough to cover. I also use it for covering jugs/recepticles heating things in the microwave. It lasts a long time. But I need to find out how much oil it takes to make the roll. I also need to investigate good alternatives.
I'll keep you posted...