Archive for April, 2009

Are real nappies greener?

Ethical Superstore unravels the government report on reusables vs. disposables for Real Nappy Week – which are the greenest?

The first government report suggesting “no significant difference” in environmental impact between reusable or disposable nappies, was speedily sent back to the drawing board a couple of years back for major revisions after campaign groups slandered it as being “seriously flawed”.

Then, finally, last October, came the revised report nappy-users had been waiting for. Yet, if you read the media reports surrounding the findings, no one would blame you for being left somewhat perplexed as to which was the ethical option.

Depending on which media coverage you read, parents portrayed as too-posh-to-Pamper were reviving trendy reusables, yes, but through using them, were oozing tonnes more CO2 into the atmosphere than those parents popping disposables on their nippers. Those in the green corner, however, were heralding reusables as being 40 per cent better for the environment – all based on the same government report findings.

So where is the truth? As usual, it lies somewhere in the middle.

Crucially, the updated report had taken into account a broader range of user behaviours for reusable nappies than first time around in order to give a more accurate representation, which is of course, good news.

But unfortunately, the user behaviours in the study tended to lean towards the extremes. Real nappy users are polarised as either modern mamas addicted to heat and tumble drying, or hippies happily hanging out nappies to dry outside – whatever the weather. The former having a higher CO2 footprint than a disposable user over the two and a half year nappy-wearing period, the latter a much lower one.

It might come as no surprise then to know that using high temperatures of 90 degrees to wash, and always tumble drying has the highest carbon emission according to the report due to, wait for it, “increased electricity consumption” – ahem. In carbon terms, it’s 80 per cent more expensive than using disposables.

I wonder how many real nappy users can relate to this high-energy approach?

Opting to line dry, however, and have more ‘efficient washing loads’ (in report terminology, this means owning more nappies and washing every three days rather than two) reduces the carbon emissions by 38 per cent compared to disposables. Choosing to pass on your nappies reduces the impact further still.

So, it’s key to note their so-called ‘high energy efficiency’ category – which means you simply wash at 60 degrees, have average tumble drying use, and use an A+ rated washing appliance – will be greener than the average disposable user. And perhaps, most significantly, even the average real nappy user (who according to the report washes at 60, averagely tumble dries but does not possess an A+ appliance) only has to pass on their nappies once in order to have less of an environmental impact than the average disposable user.

So, if you are at least as energy-efficient as the reports’ ‘high energy efficiency’ user or choose to pass them on, then real nappies are the greenest way to go.

One major fault with the report is it doesn’t bring into play the fact that nappies could be mixed with other laundry loads which saves on energy considerably. What parent doesn’t shove in a few extra items in a load to economise? This would bring down CO2 further. The report is also based on using ‘shaped’ reusable nappies only, and these are notoriously tougher to dry than say, pre-fold nappies confounding matters further.

And, as far as disposables go, the report reduced their manufacturing impact by 13 per cent from the previous study – based on information provided by the disposable nappy industry – as nappies have become “less weighty”. However, the fact that increased usage might follow due to lower quality was not taken into consideration and nappy numbers were based on the previous studies’ figures. The CO2 emission could in fact be more than the stated 550 kg per user.

As before, the report is someway towards helping us decide the greenest option, but read between the lines and I hazard a guess that simple green, not to mention economic, reasoning would guide you to the greenest way to care for your reusables and hence sway you to opt for the real nappy deal and go real.

Find out how real nappies are the cheaper option to disposables by up to £600.

Any questions on using real nappies? How do you wash and dry your reusables nappies – any tips to save energy? Comment below.

optical brighteners, no thanks

Read a book this morning with my little girl about a boy who put a red coat in the washing machine and turned all his Dad’s washing red. The coat had shrunk, which was a good thing, as it had been bought from a charity shop and was initially far too big. What astounded me was the reaction of Mum and Dad. No shouting. No reprimands. No tantrum from Dad about having to wear a pink shirt, pink boxers and pink socks to work. Just smiles all round that the coat was now the right size. Bizarre.

It set me thinking about the lengths people go to to keep whites white, colours bright and now even blacks black. New and improved laundry products promise us much. But at what cost?

Most conventional detergents contain an optical brightener, a chemical which reflects light, making your clothes look brighter than they really are. Magic. But let’s be clear, they do not increase the cleanness or the hygiene of your wash.

However, optical brighteners are only effective if they remain on the fabric after washing.
They make an irreversible chemical bond with the skin and skin rashes blamed on perfumes and dyes can actually be caused by this ingredient of illusion. Who knows what affect they are having on the rest of us? Time will possibly tell.

Moreover, optical brighteners contain chemicals that can be toxic to fish and other animal and plant life. Both Bio-d and Ecover’s laundry products contain no optical brighteners. They cause on average ten times less damage to the natural world than conventional products. They are readily biodegradable, with minimum impact on aquatic life.

As if that wasn’t enough, we can experience the positive benefits of unperfumed plant based ingredients with no harmful chemical residues. Maybe it’s time to rethink what we mean by clean. Do we want clothes that appear cleaner? It’s all an illusion. Or do we want our clothes cleaned with the minimum harmful impact to our own skin and the natural world around us? Your choice.

One clear word of advice though: when your child brings that particular reading book home from school, use it as an opportunity to explain the need for sorting washing before you too end up with a new pink wardrobe.

Image via Flickr

If you’re expecting your first child and wondering whether to ‘go real’ and opt for reusable nappies, then there has never been a better time.

If the shocking fact that 3 billion disposable nappies a year get trashed in the UK – that’s 8 million a day – isn’t enough to win you over to the benefits of a soft, cotton-covered bottom, then the fact that using real nappies can cost you less than half the price of disposables, might just tip the balance.

And the difference is quite substantial. Opting for real nappies can save you between £500 and £600 until your little one is two and a half – and hopefully toddling to the pot themselves. To demonstrate just how, we sort the sums for you in a celebration of Real Nappy Week.

So, just what are the costs of using real nappies?

First, you need the kit.

Based on one of our best sellers Bambinex, 34 cotton nappies (a mixture of size 1 and size 2) plus 10 wraps, will set you back £188. This will take you through till your little nipper is out of nappies.

Then there’s the cost of laundering.

Here we had some expert help from our friends at the Women’s Environmental Network who have done rigorous tests on washables. Based on their detailed study, the laundering expenses ring in at around

Read the rest of Are real nappies really cheaper? Ethical Superstore explores. »

The first thing I did this morning when the kids went out of the door after two weeks off school was to go down the garden and sit by the pond for ten minutes. The sun was shining and the pond was teeming with life….snails, tadpoles and a million other unidentified wriggly things. This observation of nature at work so close to home brought a smile to my face, calmed my anxieties, and restored my soul.

It led me to reflect that the highlight of my youngest children’s Easter holidays was going up to the lake with my son and his girlfriend and her three dogs. Not because they hadn’t done anything more conventionally exciting, but because they too respond positively to fresh air and interaction with animals.

I’m not telling you anything new. We all know that animals do us good. Even the toughest among us will go soft over a baby kitten. Jonathan Ross seems to have a particular soft spot for photos of baby animals on his late night Friday show – his pride over his namesake, the rescued baby badger, was obvious.

“You should stroke the cat more”.
This was my husband’s answer to my irritability over the weekend.
Probably true. Stroking the cat does calm me.
Unfortunately, I was way past calming at that point!

Many of us would consider ourselves to be animal lovers and would agonise over an injured bird, swerve for a pheasant and stop the cat massacring a mouse.

But what about the things that we do that are directly harmful to the animals in the world around us?

If we could see the damaging effects of phosphates, which are used to soften hard water, would we change our dishwasher tablets? Phosphates contribute to eutrophication in rivers, the excessive growth and subsequent decay of primary plant life due to overcrowding. The resulting lack of oxygen affects all that lives in the rivers and consequently, all the birds and mammals that feed on what lives in the rivers. Would you rather stick to your preferred dishwasher tablets or enjoy spotting wildlife on riverside walks for years to come?

If we could see the effect of surfactants on a frog’s skin, would we change our washing up liquid? Surfactants lower the surface tension of a liquid and are found in most cleaning products. Once they arrive in the rivers, they destroy the protective coating on a frog’s skin. Would you rather keep buying the same washing up liquid or feel that you are contributing to the protection of frogs in their natural environment?

If we really understood the effect of the petrochemicals in our cleaning agents on aquatic life, would we change our multi-surface cleaner? Petrochemicals are undeniably harmful to the life in our oceans. Moreover, they do not biodegrade and are sourced from unsustainable resources. Would you rather continue using your usual multi-surface cleaner or enjoy scuba diving amongst shoals of fish for many years to come?

If we knew that pleasant artificial fragrances remained potent even when washed back into the rivers and that this fragrance can confuse butterflies and other insects, would we change our bathroom cleaner? This confusion has been shown to interfere with the life cycle of these creatures and has been linked to the increased scarcity of butterflies. Would you like to remain loyal to your bathroom cleaner or be able to count how many different butterflies you can see in the garden on a summer’s day?

Ecover does not use phosphates in any of its products.
Ecover ensures its surfactants biodegrade before reaching the natural environment.
Ecover uses plant-based ingredients which biodegrade completely and leave minimal traces in the natural environment, as well as being wholly sustainable.
Ecover uses only natural plant-based fragrances in their products.

Visit the Ecover website and prepare to have your eyes opened.

We consider ourselves to be a nation of animal lovers and yet we turn a blind eye to the effects of the products we choose to use. What we don’t know won’t harm us. But it will harm wildlife. It will harm aquatic life. It will harm the environment. And ultimately, it will harm our quality of life, as the natural living environment is changed by what we pour down our drains.

I rest my case.

Time to stroke the cat.

Cat image via Flickr

Peaches Geldof lives her life in the limelight. As the daughter of Bob Geldof and Paula Yates, Peaches has had a high profile right from day one, and as one of the UK’s most prolific socialites she’s rarely out of the glossy mags.

Some people might be tempted to criticise her for having life handed to her on a plate, but today we’re applauding Miss Geldof for going the extra mile. Proving that she’s listened to some of the lessons that her dad’s work has taught her, Peaches has been working alongside one of our favourite fair trade jewellery manufacturers, Made, to design and produce a fabulous new range of handmade fairly traded jewellery which we think really hits the spot.

In Peaches’ own words:

“I like Made because it’s ethical yet this doesn’t compromise the fashionable status of their collections…the handmade attention to detail adds something special to each piece created.”

This bold, bright and stylish range was inspired by warm summer days and daisy chains. It’s the perfect way to jazz up your summer wardrobe as the days (slowly!) start to get a little warmer.

Photo via: peachesgeldof.net

Bottled water attracts its fair share of bad press, maybe even more than its fair share.

One such example of this was when a government minister claimed that drinking bottled water should be made as unfashionable as smoking;

“We have to make people think that it’s unfashionable just as we have with smoking. We need a similar campaign to convince people that this is wrong,”

said Tim Lang, the Government’s natural resources commissioner.

And all of this negativity surrounding bottled beverages seems to be having an impact with recent figures from market research company TNS suggesting that last year bottled water sales fell by 9% (this on the back of approx 10 years of year on year increases in sales).

However, is the bottled water industry really so bad?

Read the rest of Bottled Water Doesn’t Have to Cost the Earth »

hip to be square

Huey Lewis is perhaps more famous for his contribution to the ‘Back to the Future’ soundtrack than as environmental spokesman. Even if his green activity is only the result of the way my brain links song titles and causes.  I’ll attempt to explain.

I’m regularly surprised by people’s appetite for avoiding personal responsibility. If that sounds harsh I apologise.  Please keep the emphasis on ‘surprise’.  Perhaps we all fall victim to the very seductive logic that any change we might make to our routine and consumption habits is so small that it can’t make a difference.  But today I’m feeling inspired.  Inspiration came in the form of laundry liquid.  Now I’m not usually in the habit of letting laundry products shape my thinking.  Nor was I transported to a higher mental plane by the feel of soft fabric on my skin or the inhalation of that fresh,just washed smell.  It was actually the new packaging which was responsible.

Usually I’m pretty sceptical about the whole packaging thing. (I still shudder thinking about the ‘turbo’ claims emblazoned on the box of the last vacuum cleaner I bought.)  But Ecover’s new packaging really got me thinking.

Read the rest of It’s hip to be square »

Two years ago, I yearned for a pond in my back garden. I really believed it would make my life complete. My ever hopeful husband dutifully obliged, dug a hole as a labour of love and created a natural looking pond. Natural enough to nurture our first batch of frog spawn to adulthood no less. Although I also did my share – my maternal instinct kicked in and there I was, freezing an ice cube tray full of lettuce to nourish my new babies.

I even had aspirations for a solar powered water feature. Having been runner-up in a local short story competition with prize money to spend, a fountain seemed a suitable momento. It never happened. Then, since the sun did not shine at all last summer, the pond did not get visited and a solar powered fountain seemed pointless. However, hope springs eternal. Another short story has been entered into the competition; the sun has been shining and the fountain has been bought and installed.

But I can’t help wondering if it is tempting fate. Can I really expect any sun to shine in my garden this year?

Read the rest of Life with a Solar Powered Fountain »

So Easter gets ever closer – just 10 days left in the Ethical Superstore diet (regular readers will recall I have been challenged to only eat food and drink that can be purchased from ESS for the whole of lent).

I guess the biggest change for me is that I have ended up cooking virtually all of my meals for the last few weeks. Helen (my long suffering wife and fellow blogger) has put up with cooking me a vegetarian option for years, but the idea of then having to cook my option separately using Ethical Superstore ingredients was a step too far! So most evenings I’ve come home and cooked a meal for myself. Previously, this would have been getting a veggie ready meal out of the freezer, popping in the microwave and 4 minutes later sitting down to a portion of vegetable (plus salt, sugar and fat) goodness. For the last five weeks I’ve been looking at a pile of ingredients and waiting for inspiration.

I suspect this will be the biggest change when this little project comes to an end. Ready meals just don’t do it for me having now cooked for myself for the last 5 weeks. Even with my cooking and slap-dash approach to quantities, the taste and the freshness is way better than the average pack of freezer fodder.

So what have been my highlights?

Read the rest of 10 Days to Go! »

Whether it’s simply an ‘urban myth’ or simply a popular but unsubstantiated statistic, the fact remains there are numerous claims that over 2500 left handed people are killed each year from using products designed for right handed people.

These same sources claim that it’s fairly common knowledge that left handed people do not live as long as right handed people, mostly due to accidents. Even if you look at a simple tool, like scissors, they have to be used in a less than efficient way in order to make them work. So a task that might be usually considered safe may become extremely unsafe.

Here at Ethical Superstore we’re passionately committed to providing the widest range of ethical products to the widest range of consumers.  So we’re proud to announce that we have worked with all our chocolate producers to compile a ‘safe list’ of chocolate products which not only meet strict ethical criteria such as Fairtrade, Organic and Vegan criteria but are completely ambidextrous.

Click here to view our full range of ambidextrous chocolate bars.