thegreenguy

Hang your togs on the news

Take one neat graphic design print, add it to a clothes hanger ingeniously made from compressed recycled newspaper - did we really have metal ones when I was a kid? - and you get the Zilka. It's made by Ryan Frank, a London designer who's also responsible for such rad recycled designs as the Hackney Shelf (made from blocks of graffiti found in Hackney) and the Inkuku chair (old plastic carrier bags and recycled aluminium). I've emailed Ryan for a pricing on the trio. 14/06/06 update: the hangers are, sadly sold-out. The shelves are £2100 a pop and the chair's currently at prototype stage - I'll keep you posted if that changes...

Ecocentric opens doors with green goodies

Prepare yourself for a feast of fresh eco-chic products over at Oliver Heath's brilliant new  Ecocentric online shop. Highlights include (from left to right), this easily recycled Low Cut side table (£56), the Juicy Cosmetic Bag made from old fruit juice cartons (£9), the DIY Book Light formed of recycled paper (£29), a rather spiffing recycled glass Astay dinner plate (£9) and a modern twist on the doll houses of old: a recycled card pod (£39). Ecocentric's also bravely pledging to source as many products as possible from the UK, which could make this a top outlet for green-minded design graduates across the nation.

Hip hemp blinds (and the answer to organic curtains)

Finding yourself in John Lewis' curtains department at the age of 26 is a  disturbing experience: I never knew you could buy so many floral designs. My excuse for being there was a search for organic, well-insulated curtains to stick up at my new flat. Well, John Lewis didn't have a clue about chemical-free stuff and Googling for 'organic curtains' you'll soon find that lots of people flog organic cotton bedding but no one sells organic curtains. Which is where my hemp Roman blind, right, came to the rescue.

Amazing all-in-one bamboo chair

Continuing this week's bamboo tip, I present you this ingenious and beautiful chair from Adapt Design. Since it's made out of a single, folded, piece of bamboo, it avoids the sort of off-cuts you usually end up with when making furniture. And, being, bamboo, it's mighty sustainable: the stuff grows quicker than the tension in that new French thriller, Lemming. If you're feeling flush, you can import one for around £400. [spotted in this week's Time magazine]

Get 20 per cent off eco-homeware with Biome

I'd love this vase even if it didn't have any eco-credentials. The fact that the Handkerchief is made entirely from recycled glass and is on sale for a reasonable £55 from  Biome Lifestyle is just a handy bonus. The good news from my end is that, as a reader of thegreenguy, you can now get 20 per cent off it - making it £44 - and anything else on Biome's site. Details after the link.

Rack up your bicycle in style

The Cycloc is one of those cool products that ticks all my boxes: it mounts cycles on walls in hallways, garages and the like, is ridiculously cute-looking, UK-designed and built, cheap(ish) at £50 and - if you buy the black version - is even made from 100 per cent recycled plastic. Plus you can screw it in at different angles so it'll hold anything from a boy racer hybrid to a sloping frame grandma machine. [spotted in Weekend mag]

Your Ethical Tips: buy flatpack

"Look out for products that are flat-packed or stackable. If a product is cleverly designed to be transported in big volumes taking small spaces it becomes extremely eco-friendly as it saves energy and waste in the transportation."
- Giorgio, IKEA

Well, what else did you expect from IKEA? It's a sagacious pearl of advice, and the added bonus of buying flat-pack - such as the £35 AGERUM IKEA book case pictured - is that it's easy to pack up when you're moving house as I recently did.

Vitra's back and planet-friendly office chair

If you're reading this, you're probably reading it on a computer and - chances are - sitting with the sort of shoddy desk posture I usually adopt. Enter, stage left, Vitra's smart new HeadLine chair. As well as looking after your lower back, it goes one further and supports your neck and shoulders, handily doubling as a shield to stop your boss noticing you've fallen asleep on the new lux ortho-eco chair he bought you. Best of all, though, is what it does to look after the ol' planet...

Knock 20 per cent off at ByNature

There are a stack of eco homeware and fashion shops online, but I can count on one hand those that I come back to regularly. ByNature, unsurprisingly, is on at that hand, which is why I've hooked up with them to offer you 20 per cent off all its wares for the next month. The site's filled with green goodness such as these cushions made from recycled seatbelts - down from £45 to £36 to you, guv - plus chemical-free hemp attire, organic toiletires and more. Just stick in the code ID06Z at the checkout to claim your thegreenguy discount.         

Ideal Home debuts cool green concepts

The Ideal Home Show: home to magic mops, giants Agas and orgiastic cheese-tasting sessions. Not the sort of place you'd expect to find this chic, energy-saving chandelier from Changing Rooms chap Oliver Heath, right? Well, it was there - low power LEDs and all - amongst his Ecocentric range of 'sustainable products' and several green concepts from other designers including a solar composter, biodegradable bin and real nappy washer. More details on those last three soon. [via Hippyshopper]