thegreenguy

Wake up and smell the Fairtrade

Life is busy, and whilst rushing to and from work every day I often consider buying a coffee. The smell of the roasted beans at Kings Cross just get to me. They smell soooo good. Most days I can't be bothered if I am honest as I am in a rush (is there another way to be?) and figure I will have a free coffee as soon as I get to work or reach home.

New Fairtrade wines, I heard it on the grapevine

Good news today for anyone who likes a glass of plonk: there are 33 new varieties of Fairtrade-ceritifed wine headed your way this summer. Grapes range from Sideways' favourite villain, Merlot - including this Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, on sale at £68/12 bottles from Traidcraft - to Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. Rose and dessert wines also feature amongst the fresh vino by the likes of Stellar Organics, Equality and Las Lomas (anyone have links for those last two?).

Well Fashioned ethical show: new pics

If you've been loitering in London at all in the past month, you may well have already visited Well Fashioned, the huge and hugely cool ethical fashion show at the Crafts Council. If you haven't, the good news is it runs 'til 4th June. In the meantime, I recommend hopping over to the Telegraph's freshly redesigned site to have a gander at its beautiful photo shoot of the togs being modelled. The stuff ranges from Fairtrade (Juste) and organic outfits (Osvomode) to the punk-tastic recycled clothes of Red Mutha, whose leary jeans are pictured left.

Half price Fairtrade summer tee

Ladies: here's a half price bargain to kick off the summer heat wave. Made by La Redoute, it's a handsome sporty tee that just happens to be made from 100 per cent Fairtrade cotton. And it's down from £10 to £5. I know, I'm not sure how it can be so cheap and still be Fairtrade, but it has the official badge so it must be La Redoute taking the hit, not the chap/lady who picked the cotton. There are nine other Fairtrade bits and bobs returned on the French brand's site.

Kit yourself out with an ethical summer bargain

Grab your diary and prepare yourself for the ethical fashion world's equivalent of a TK-MAXX. Yes, I'm referring you to People Tree's Summer Sale starting 11th May - which just happens to be the weekend of World Fair Trade Day - at the Truman Brewery in east London. As well as cheap last season goodies from People Tree, you'll be able to peruse discounted wares from my fave organic skater outfitter Howies, organic cotton and recycled material label Ciel (pictured), no chemical hemp streetwear maker THTC and several more: Beyond Skin, Eternal Creation, Hug and Tonic.

Reviewed: Taylors' Fairtrade and organic coffee

I've documented the peculiar rarity of tasty Fairtrade coffee before, so it's with dewy eyes and open arms I welcome Taylor of Harrogate's Fairtrade Organic brew. It has the official Fairtrade stamp, is picked by a co-op in Nicaragua and tastes - prepare for coffee porn adjectives - rich, strong and armed with a hearty caffeine hit. It's the best Fairtrade coffee I've tasted, and is available for a very cheap £2.50 a bag online.

Holy Fairtrade Easter eggs, fatman!

There are 12 days to Easter Sunday, which - the way I see it - means 12 days of lobbying friends and family to get you a decent one. Divine's £5 egg on the right ticks all my definitions of the word: it's made from high grade dark chocolate, tastes nearly as good as Green & Black's dark choc ones and - the deal-clincher - is Fairtrade, too. It's not the only Fairtrade egg this Easter, though...

Your Ethical Tips: make Fairtrade your habit

"Make Fairtrade your habit!"
- Martine at the Fairtrade Foundation
It's obvious, it helps the people out who are growing all our luxuries - such as the superb Palenque coffee on the left - and it puts you in good celebrity company: the likes of Harry Hill, Amanda Burton and Harry Hill are all Fairtrade fans. Besides, today you can buy everything from Fairtrade brews to footballs, cotton t-shirts and wine. There's a very useful list of all the products here.

Fairtrade flowers for Mother's Day, Easter... and beyond!

I hold my hands up: I was amongst the thousands of daughters and sons buying blooms from garage forecourts and supermarkets this morning. What I should have done, of course, is buy a Fairtrade bunch (there's a list here) or ordered some of Wiggly Wiggler's awesome if pricey seasonal picks (pictured).