thegreenguy

Do you suffer supermarket guilt?

That's the question I'm asking today over on SmartPlanet. Who else feels green and ethical guilt when shopping at supermarkets? And do you know anyone who manages to get all their food without going to a  supermarket? Let me know...

Natural Collection site gets a makeover

Check it out. It's a big improvement on navigation and design.

Top 10 organic, Fairtrade and vegan chocolates

I've got a piece over on the Guardian today on the top ten ethical chocolates in the UK - i.e. the best-tasting ones with the most scrupulous commitments to Fairtrade, organic standards and the environment. Obviously, any such list is going to be subjective, so let me know what your favourite ethical chocs are in the comments. One chocolatier that narrowly missed out on the list was Chocaid, which donates money to Save the Children. Update: Seventypercent.com has a very interesting response to my article  here. If you ever eat chocolate, it's worth reading.

Help London 'do a Modbury' and ban plastic bags

Live in London? Here's your chance to tell your council if you'd like plastic bags banned across the capital or - alternatively - heavily taxed like they are in Ireland. Click here to find out more, and here to submit your views directly. Personally, the over-consumption of plastic bags doesn't keep me awake at night in the same way as bigger carbon cutting tricks do. Still, most do use oil - some are corn starch - and I don't think anyone apart from the dude in American Beauty would consider bags swirling down our streets 'beautiful'. You can read more about Modbury, the Devon town that kicked off the bag-banning trend, here. [via Tom Taylor's ever useful Delicious links]

Big names deliver verdicts on organic air freight debate

An interesting Soil Association press release hit my inbox this week with a list of contrasting opinions on banning air freighted organic food. It features the likes of Abel & Cole, Planet Organic and campaigners at Airport Watch. Some love the idea, some hate it. Click through to read a copy and paste from the release. Right now, the Association's considering everything from a general and selective ban to a labelling scheme and business as usual.

The sequel to that Climate Challenge game: the Ethical Eating Challenge

Remember that Sim City-ish climate change game the BBC had on its website a while back? Where, for a change, you had to save the world from climate change instead of killing aliens with Warthogs and other implements? Well, I met up today with its makers Red Redemption, and it looks - fingers crossed, sponsors permitting - we're going to create an ethical eating game with them for New Consumer.

The inevitable first-hand wormery post: Blackwall v Wiggly Wigglers

Having just moved house, I've been enjoying such mundane eco pleasures as switching to a green electricity tariff, swapping out IKEA halogens for LED ones and getting a water meter installed. It's been a riot. Adding to the fun, our new Can-o-Worms womery turned up at the weekend. As well as being very popular with our cat Boo - see pic, top right - and made from 100 per cent recycled plastic, the thing that struck me is how superior it is to Blackwall's one.

Soil Association to set London 2012 gold medal goals

I've just got back from a pretty dry Triodos-arranged event about the greening of the London 2012 Olympics. It was torpedoed because this very morning the Olympic Delivery Authority chap decided he wouldn't attend. However, Peter Melchett of Soil Assoication fame let out one interesting news tit-bit: the Association folk are working on an imminent report about what targets 2012 needs to hit to be considered 'sustainable'. The focus'll be on food and whether it's local, seasonal, organic, unprocessed. Sustain and NEF are helping out.

Organic olive oil - the solution to Middle East peace?

I know, I know, it's a facetious headline, but this olive oil made by Arabs, Jews, Bedouins and Druze in northern Israel is clearly a step in the right direction. As well as the cool bridge-building aspect, the oil - dubbed PeaceOil - should taste good since it's harvested from organic Suria olives. It doesn't yet have organic certification (such as a Soil Associaton badge) but it plans to get certified in 2007. You can get yours for £10 a bottle via a crazy retro-tech known as a phone: the number's 0207 435 6500. These shops also stock it. Update: you can invest in PeaceOil's business for £25 at Good Gifts.

Reviewed: Nest eco cleaning stuff

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.