thegreenguy

Surfing the organic tee wave

You don't need to be a surfer - the closest I've ever managed was boogie-boarding behind a boat when I was 12 - to love Loose Fit's new range of organic t-shirts. Themed loosely around surfing, they remind me of Howies' brilliant ethical skater stuff and  Glo4Life's hip, heavily-designed organic tees. There's a range of six, and the entire collection's made from organic cotton with organic dyes - all certified by the Soil Association. Each one's £23 from Loose's online shop.

Today's ethical web picks

Natural Nursery sale is go - complete with this half-price pirate t-shirt that I wish they sold in adult sizes. There are a load of other organic cotton baby odds and ends discounted, too

Sony pledges to axe emissions - I'm a week late on this but it's still good news that the world's trendiest gadget maker is improving energy efficiency at its factories worldwide and switching to gas and renewable power

Solar-powered web designers - I've been meaning to link to this gang for ages. Its green credentials are awesome but - judging from its own pseudo Geocities-circa-1996 site - I'm not so sure about the design creds

Berry good bars

Once in a while I find something in a supermarket that is just so damn green I have to mention it. The awesome Organic bars from The Village Bakery warrant such special mention. Available in four varieties: Fruit, Nuts, Seeds & the newly launched Berries I can honestly say these do not last long once bought.

Be the Green Heff!

As you might have noticed Adam is having a well-deserved break and I have volunteered to do the second week of cover for him. But before I begin let me just ask you all for a quick round of applause for Ella for her stirling efforts this week. OK, to business. I consider myself to be a bit of a Hugh Heffner around the house and I love nothing more than coming home after a hard day's work and changing into what I call my 'house pants' which are my favourite shorts.

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.

Space Invaders lands on organic tees

If this isn't the coolest T-shirt design of the month, I'll eat my Atari 2600. Made by awesome organic t-shirt makers, Glo4Life, Butterfly Invaders' combo of flying insects and 80s' arcade is one of three new designs available in womens' and blokes' sizes and colours. To get an idea of the quality of this husband and wife team's wares, have a read of the glowing shopper comments on Hippyshopper. The organic cotton's also certified by Skal. Prices start at £20.

Lingerie, organic style

Hippyshopper points me towards today's find: Green Fibre's decent-looking underwear that's made from organic cotton and comes complete with the Soil Association's badge of approval. So what, right? Well, it's rather tricky finding organic stuff to dress your privates in - a shame, since  most of the non-organic cotton's grown with lots of chemicals. Green Fibre's bargain is this French camisole and knickers outfit on the left, which is down from £45 to £29.

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.

Reviewed: natural deodorants (that smelly issue)

Men don't usually discuss deodorants, unless you frequent gyms and pubs with very sensitive ensembles. Part of the reason, of course, is that there are only really two cheapo choices in supermarkets: Lynx - of Clicker advert fame - and Gillette, which are both alcohol-based and contain rather ambiguously named ingredients such as 'fragrance.' Braving the smelly status of social pariah, I've just reviewed three 'natural' alternatives from Jason, Organic Homme (pictured) and Dr Hauscka.

Your Ethical Tips: buy organic cotton

"Cotton production uses chemical insecticides on a vast scale. Almost a quarter of all pesticides used gloabally are used to grow cotton. So, cotton on: buy organic."
- Leigh Chadwick, Seasalt Organic Cotton Clothing

And, frankly, when you can get such good organic cotton clobber as the £25 Howies tee on the left, why would you want stuff filled with chemicals? Other good organic tee companies to check: Indigo Clothing (for bulk, bespoke orders), Glo4Life (for superb graphic designs) and Hug (for kids).