Chairs made from milk bottles (left), sustainable wood tables designed by Terence Conran and hammocks made from rejected seatbelts -- these are some of the weird and wonderful green furniture pieces I've picked for the Guardian today. I'd be interested to hear what eco furniture you recommend, too. Just hit the comments below.
I'm not usually one to get excited about lampshades, despite the rash number of eco-friendly ones around - you can get green shades made from recycled card, wool felt, and all sorts more over at Ecocentric. However, I've been unduly overjoyed by the arrival of my shade from sixixis, pictured here in my lounge. It's made from 15 metres of Cornish Ash, and uses the wood's natural bendy qualities to make what is, effectively, a work of art. It's not cheap at £165, but each one is unique - and it's made in Britain with British renewable materials. As you've probably guessed, it's designed for use with energy-saving bulbs.
I'm moving home in January - ah, how my Scotland-based friends at New Consumer laughed at the joke that is the English housing system - and am jammy enough to be buying a house. Which, as well as a cat, means a huge eco project. My plan is to make it as green as Donnacadh McCarthy's virtually zero carbon home and Penney Poyzer's incredibly trendy Nottingham eco home. To that end, I've started re-reading a list of green suppliers that I wrote about for Inside Out magazine earlier this year; hopefully it'll be of some use to you too. Click through for the list. [photo from Green Roof]
Now you've got litres of wine swag from Threshers - you did take advantage of its 40 per cent offer, didn't you? - you'll need somewhere to store the plonk. I've seen few better designs than this rack by Jennifer Barratt, which is made from old bottles melted down at 820 degrees over oval kiln moulds. The frosted effect comes from sand-blasting. Price is on application from Jen, whose email is jenbarratt *at* hotmail.com. Incidentally, this is a bit of belated blogging following my visit to the Eco Design Fair - expect more finds later this week as I dig through my notes.
for ultimate green festive points, a trad holly wreath is where it's at. This handsome alternative, though, is made from recycled materials by an African co-op and is shipped by sea. It's £25 from Biome Lifestyle.
Funny Weather - a fab, fun-looking comic book ('graphic novel') about climate change, endorsed by George Monbiot and Guardian genius Steve Bell. There's a generous free taster online, and the book's £7 at Amazon.
Kids are more worried about climate change than homework - 74 per cent of 11-14 year olds are more 'concerend' about global warming than homework (64 per cent) or having a boy/girlfriend (41 per cent), according to a survey by YouGov and RM. RM makes this ecoquiet PC.
Majestic. That's the only fit word for the design and presentation of Nest's new eco cleaning range (mentioned previously here). Where Ecover is proudly practical and spartan, Nest's products resemble posh toiletries - see for yourself in the pic on the left. Now, because a person should only read so many words on cleaning products in their lifetime, this review's short. I've tested the laundry water and antibacterial surface cleaner.
Should you get solar? Is it really worth switching to energy-saving bulbs? They're just two of the questions I tried to answer last week in an article for the Indy's nice little green living supplement on Wednesday. It's not in their online archives, so I've reprinted the best eco upgrades for your home after the click-through. [photo: TaranRampersad]
Looking for a coffee table book to seductively persuade mates that green is the way forward? This new tome, Green Design, is a contender, featuring lavish full colour pics of obvious stuff like the HP corn printer and Jimi recycled plastic Nano case, plus some cool bits I haven't seen before: bowls made from vinyl, swim trunks fashioned from recycled tees and more. Interspersed with the green porn photos are several interviews with the people behind the products, though it mostly reads like brochure copy than fascinating insights. Still, it's the best eco design book I've enjoyed so far, but, please, make the sequel larger, glossier and dump the excess text! It's going for $35 (£19) direct from publisher, Mark Batty.
I've seen reclaimed wood tables and recycled plastic chairs before, but never combined into a single, outlandish set of furniture like the one on the right. Made by a Cornish bloke, the 'Jazz Group' employs the sort of recycled plastic you usually see on kitchen worktops, which should make it a contender for the 2006 Furniture Strongman competition. It's all yours for £850 from new recycled goods' outfit, Recyclerus.
That's the word from the design, fashion and health-loving team over at new eco mag Style Will Save Us. Like much of the stuff I feature here and used to over at Hippyshopper, the ethos is on brilliantly designed stuff - that just happens to have the bonus of being good for the planet and people. Fittingly for a mag that's all about style, the design is very slick, and the features include a spot on Jimi's recycled Nano cases, Natural Magic's paraffin-free candles and a piece on Noir (pictured), which sells 'fairly traded' (not official Fairtrade) clothes over at Harvey Nicks. All told, well worth a bookmark.
