The tipping point of climate change!

We’ve just signed up to the website One Hundred Months which provides a monthly action on helping tackle climate change. Backed by organisations including Greenpeace, and the good old WI!, it’s based on the conclusion that even using cautious calculations, we have only one hundred months before we pass the climate’s ‘tipping point’ - the point of no return - where the chance to tackle global warming could be far beyond our reach.The site gives you month by month guidance on doing your bit. The first action is to invite others to join so click here http://onehundredmonths.org/For more info... read the guardian article http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/aug/01/climatechange.carbonemissions

tea and coffee - great for composting!

We love filtered coffee and drink copious amounts of the stuff in the office along with several cups of tea a day - fairtrade of course. I have been digging around the internet to see what i can do with leftover coffee grains and tea bags.

First, if you're a tea lover it's better to buy loose-leaf tea or tea bags without strings. Used tea bags can be recycled as compost as can coffee grains. We use a kitchen crock to collect ours !

(Place this decorative ceramic composting crock by the kitchen sink, after it's full, dump the contents in your garden or compost pile to feed nutrients to hungry plants. Keeps kitchen scraps where they won't leak or create a mess. Its activated carbon filter allows air to circulate to prevent rotting. Easy to clean, dishwasher safe. Holds 1 gallon and measures 17.7cms wide x 26.6cms high (7" x 10 1/2"). )

These can be put straight on to the garden or into plant potsTea is also good for the skin. Before you recycle it, you can put a tea bag on your face. It can make your skin fresh and even smooth.

Ecotopia.co.uk celebrates the launch of its new ethical food and drink range with over 1000 lines

Ecotopia.co.uk is delighted to announce the launch of its new organic and ethical food and drink department. Now in its 6th year of operation from its Eco offices and warehouse in Gloucestershire, Ecotopia.co.uk will now supply organic, natural, ethical and fairly traded food and drink to household consumers.

The new range includes a wide selection of products from snacks & confectionery, groceries, world foods and non alcoholic drinks. Brands include Suma who specialise in vegetarian, fairly traded, organic, ethical and natural products alongside Divine, Bottlegreen, Seeds of Change, Geo Organics and The Real Organic Food Company

Miles Owen, Director of Ecotopia.co.uk, says: “I am very proud to be able to offer our extensive range of ethical groceries to the market. Ecotopia.co.uk has been at the forefront of ethical living for over 6 years and this move underlines the commitment from the business to produce products for our customer’s specific requirements and needs”

Why buy fairly traded coffee?

Miles Owen, Director of Ecotopia explains the importance of buying fairly traded coffee...


Many people start the day with a few cups of coffee, or if you’re like our very energetic team at Ecotopia - a few pots of coffee. But have you ever thought where it comes from? If you haven’t checked out “Black Gold,” the acclaimed documentary that takes a look at the multi-billion dollar coffee industry and the poor farmers who cultivate the beans, then you should! You probably will never set foot in a large supermarket to buy your coffee again.

The film follows Tadesse Meskela, the General Manager of the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union, as he visits coffee-growing regions in Sidamo and Oromia, as well as a coffee processing center, a coffee auction house, and his union’s headquarters in Addis Ababa. He also travels to England and the US in an effort to promote Ethiopian coffee by eliminating the numerous middlemen.

With great frankness, Meskela uses “Black Gold” as a stage to describe the chronic situation Ethiopian coffee farmers face. When the price of coffee hit a 30-year low at the start of the Millenium, farmers struggled to feed their children and send them to school. Some quit farming. Others began growing a more profitable line - a local narcotic banned in the US and Europe. With their families malnourished and being forced to travel long distances to accept foreign aid, some farmers saw no alternative but to bring their families to government feeding centres.

So why do they call it black gold?

Coffee is traded as a commodity—just like oil or gold—and is second only to oil in commodity value. Because of the production surplus brought about by sun-grown coffee, the price of coffee has been chronically depressed on the world market, making it difficult for farmers to make a good living from year to year.

The price of coffee is rising, but little has changed in these communities. In Ethiopia, country that depends on coffee for about 40 percent of its export revenue, farmers make as little as 2.5p for every cup of coffee sold in Europe. Meanwhile, multinational coffee corporations collectively rake in as much as £160 billion each year, according to the film.

So why buy Fairtrade?

Fair trade organisations work directly with cooperatives of small farmers to eliminate much of the middleman costs and provide the growers with a stable price that ensures a reasonable standard of living. For instance, in 2004 the UK Fairtrade market guaranteed participating coffee growers a minimum of 126 cents per pound for arabica coffee beans, compared to a world market price of 52 cents per pound. Many fair trade organisations also encourage their growers to employ sustainable farming practices (such as organic and shade-grown).

Photo credit: jsbarrie

New range of lightbulbs now available at ecotopia.co.uk

Ecotopia.co.uk Launches New Range of Energy Saving Eco Light bulbs

Energy saving light bulbs have always been a bright idea - for your pocket and the environment. They use up to 80 per cent less electricity than a standard bulb, but produce the same amount of light. They can help you to save money and energy, all in one wise purchase. Check out Ecotopia.co.uk’s new range of Energy Saving Light bulbs which includes:

Full Spectrum (S.A.D) BioBulb - from £14.95



This brand new 'BioBulb' out performs our old model as the full spectrum has increased to 380-780nm and the light output in lumens has increased to 1750 in the 100w and 1250 in the 60w. The BioBulb is claimed to be the closest replication of sunlight that may improve mood, night time sleep, and day time energy. Daylight helps restore the body's natural rhythms and brings nourishment to body, mind and soul. The BioBulb radiates less heat and can last for an amazing 10,000 hours. They are flicker-free and with a colour rendering index of 85 are ideal for sufferers of S.A.D.

Low Energy GU10 Lamps - from £6.95

This comprehensive range of 50mm diameter lamps are designed to be retrofit to existing halogen lamps. The range consists of 7W, 9W and 11W lamps, giving an 80% saving in energy consumption with an average life of 8000hrs

Luxina Compact Low Energy Helix Lamps - £4.45

Helix energy saving compact fluorescent 11 watt BC warm white 2700k. Offers 8000 hours of life!

Luxina Micro Low Energy Candles - from £4.45

These ultra compact fluorescent candle bulbs are designed to replace your standard incandescent bulb, saving you money on your electricity and still giving an alternative design

Sylvania Mini Lynx Fast Start Bulb - from £3.47

The Mini-Lynx is a new range of Ultra Small, energy saving compact fluorescent that switches on instantly. Ideal anywhere where light is required, this bulb is a direct equivalent to an incandescent. Offers an amazing 6000 hours life.

Check out the full range on ecotopia.co.uk

Find food local to you

Find the very best local produce with River Cottage & Free Range Review. Join THE local food community to discover, review, add and discuss your fave foodie places. Remember to vote for your favourite Glos outlets

Check out our new arrivals

New recycled range of stylish slate -like accessories are great for the home!
New arrivals from ecotopia.co.uk
Ecotopia.co.uk are committed to sourcing unique, clean, beautiful products that seek to improve both our home and global environment. We are delighted to announce the arrival of a recycled range of sundials, clocks, tide machines, coaster and placemats from ashortwalk . All are hand crafted in the and made from vending machine coffee cups direct from the national Save-A-Cup scheme.
This innovative new material has a lovely solid, heavy, earthy feel, very much like slate. At work buy one vended cup of coffee today, drink the coffee, place the plastic cup in the recycling bin, and see if it's home time on your wall clock made from plastic cups next week. The recycling loop has been closed!
Check out the recycled indoor/outdoor clock and thermometer at £26.95 .The clock and thermometer combination range are designed to be weather proof, so be can be used inside or out. The clean, contrasting design can be easily read from the far end of the garden! 160x260mm in dimension. It is wall mounted and comes with full instructions and guarantee.
For the ethical gardener try the recycled sundial at £26.95.Easy to read and set to latitude it comes with full instructions.
For impressive table settings check out the recycled placemats at £18.95 for four and recycled coasters at £5.95. With an easy wipe clean surface and felt pads to protect table these look great and will impress your friends.
For a fab kitchen clock we have a classic design for indoor use at £24.95

Cleaner, Greener Home

Cleaner Home, Cleaner Planet With Ecotopia.co.uk and Ecover
With increasing emphasis in the media on climate change and the way in which we pollute our planet, environmentally friendly consumers will welcome Ecotopia’s move to increase accessibility to quality, natural household cleaning products.
The online ethical shop is a specialist supplier of Ecover products and is now the cheapest internet source of all Ecover branded items.
Many householders are unaware that the chemicals they use for washing their dishes, clothes and home can leave harmful residues, or contain petrochemicals which do not biodegrade once they have been thrown away,” says Ecotopia director, Steve Jones. “The government estimates that in, around 100 million tonnes of household waste is produced annually. Most of this waste is not recycled, ending up instead in landfill sites. This generates methane as it biodegrades which then adds to harmful greenhouse gases polluting the atmosphere.”
Ecotopia supplies a huge range of innovative, ethical products which can be easily incorporated into everyday life. Actively promoting a lifestyle which produces less impact on the environment, the emphasis is on hip not hippy. “Along with products such as the recycled car tyre mouse mats and bamboo screen computer monitors, the Ecover range is a fresh and fun way to do your bit for the environment,” adds Jones. “ Ecover shower gels and Ecover hand soaps are kind to the planet and to skin, making use of natural ingredients like lemon and Aloe Vera. Not only do Ecover products not cost the earth, they actually smell nice too!”
All Ecotopia Ecover products contain plant extracts instead of chemicals and are sold in 100% recyclable containers. To encourage consumers to make a commitment to creating healthier homes, all ordesr over £100 are delivered free of charge.
Find out more and order online at http://www.ecotopia.co.uk

Credit Crunching Ideas to help you save money around the home

It's a rough and uncertain time to be a homeowner. Plunging value, tightening credit and a slowing economy mean fewer people have the cash to invest in major home-renovation or cash saving projects. But there is some green light at the end of this dark tunnel thanks to some great energy saving ideas from http://www.ecotopia.co.uk/which will enable you to save your cash and reduce your carbon footprint.

Perhaps you have received a higher than expected energy bill and want to reduce your future energy costs? Try a smart meter at £44.99 to see how much energy you are using and where you can save. The efergy smart meter will positively encourage a reduction in energy usage, because it gives retime, instant and accurate reading of how much energy the use is consuming. Every time an electrical device is turned on and off the direct results can be seen. Comparing day to day usage gives the use direct feedback of daily changes of habit towards energy use can have an effect on costs, CO2 emissions and power use.

Check out the Radiator Booster at £14.99. Radiator Booster is an innovative and brand new eco-friendly product that can heat your room faster, save energy at the same time and reduce your heating bills. Simply place a Radiator Booster on the top/rear of a standard domestic water filled radiator, plug it in, and away it goes. This ingenious and unique UK Registered design uses miniature 12-volt electric fans to suck the heated air from behind the radiator, firing it into your room far quicker than any natural convection in addition to reducing the heat losses through the wall behind your radiator. Heating rooms quicker allows your heating system to shut down far sooner, saving you huge amounts of energy. Help save the planet and cut your energy bills, all for a running cost of about 30p a year!

On a water meter; want to save cash and preserve the most precious resource in the world – then get yourself a hippo at just £1.20 each. Did you know that 30% of your precious water supply is flushed down the toilet? Most toilets don't need a full cistern to flush effectively. With this Hippo in your cistern you will help conserve your water supply. Each Hippo will save between 2.5 - 3.5 litres of water each flush when fitted in an average cistern of 9 litres capacity.
Look out for the fab new Eco Shower Drop at £9.99. The Eco Showerdrop is the world’s first low-cost, universal shower meter. A simple digital display lets you know exactly how much water your shower dispenses through user-friendly graphics and tells you when the recommended amount of water has been dispensed. The savings can be substantial in both water and energy. For a family of four that could be over £180 a year saved on water and energy bills, as well as over 40,000 litres of water and two thirds of a tonne of carbon! There’s no installation, just a very simple set-up, and no tools are required. We love it!

One third of our waste from our homes is kitchen or garden waste that can be composted and used for our gardens. It also reduces energy and pollution from artificial fertilizers. Try our kitchen composting croc at £12.95. Place this decorative ceramic composting crock by the kitchen sink, after it's full, dump the contents in your garden or compost pile to feed nutrients to hungry plants. Keeps kitchen scraps where they won't leak or create a mess. Its activated carbon filter allows air to circulate to prevent rotting. Easy to clean, dishwasher safe. Holds 1 gallon and measures 17.7cms wide x 26.6cms high (7" x 10 1/2").

Save gas and cook faster. Most gas hobs burn gas inefficiently resulting in wasted energy, un-burnt bi-products and lost heating costing you money! The Gas Energy Saver at £5.99 solves this problem; its special catalytic alloy disc fits neatly over your hob heating to over 1000°C instantly, converting all the un-burnt gas to heat and energy. This saves heating time cooking your food faster with less gas. The special stainless alloy is dish washer proof.
These are just a few of a large selection of energy and money saving products we stock.

Ends
For more information, please contact Sara Hobbin on 07885975671/ Sarahobbin@btinternet.com

Ecotopia.co.uk is your ethical online supermarket for everyday products, ethical gifts, eco-friendly gadgets, fair trade and natural groceries. Established in 2002 with assistance from the Prince's Trust, Ecotopia assists people in leading a more natural and lower impact lifestyle. Forthe largest choice of eco friendly products, ecotopia.co.uk has to be the one stop website for all your eco friendly products. With so many different ecologically sound products to complete your every need around the home, garden or even self-pampering, we can help you decide on how well you want to conserve your planet and lower your level of pollution. For those of you, who have an interest in gadgetry; why not browse the lists of eco gadgets, from our solar powered Glow Bricks and shavers to our hydrogen fuel cell racing cars and education sets. We include a wide variety of water powered andwind up gadgets to compliment our exciting range of eco gadgets.
Our images are stored on http://www.imageloft.co.uk/ - please feel free to download from this site or contact Sara with any other requests!