Browsing: Random

It’s April 2009, and I’m saying goodbye to a cushy job as a creative marketing manager for a games firm; the recession having swung its deathly scythe at this industry, particularly anywhere more than a mile and a half outside London. So, having been given my marching orders, I hastily put together my portfolio and CV (or if you’re a recruiter reading this – painstakingly hand-crafted my portfolio and CV) and set sail on the seas of recruitment.

Read the rest of Fair Trade – is it a load of old rubbish? »

In the truly British fashion, regardless of your stance on the monarchy in general, a royal wedding means two things; a free day off work and an excuse for a party!  Like those that only watch football when their home country is playing, any opportunity to display patriotism at your convenience proves most welcome.  So out come the balloons, bunting, cakes and sweets and to hell with inhibitions, bring on the party.

Read the rest of Royal Wedding Party with an Eco Kick »

We’re often approached with new eco product ideas but we’ve honestly never encountered anything with such bold ambitions to take greener motoring to a whole new level.
Have you ever got back to your car on a sunny day and as soon as you climb in say to yourself ‘it’s like a greenhouse in here’? Well it was just such a seemingly throw away comment  which provided the inspiration for an idea which grew and blossomed into the mobile greenhouse, or as it’s been dubbed by  its creators the ‘Car-den’. (Beating off stiff competition from ‘Go n Grow’ and ‘Thriving Driving’.)
Researchers have long hinted that plants in our environment can have a positive influence on our

Read the rest of ‘Wheelie’ Practical Mobile Greenhouse kit? »

Well, our 365 Project on Flickr is off to a flying start!

Read the rest of 365 Project Update »

We’re happy to announce…Our New Venture, the 365 Days Project!

Read the rest of The EthicalSuperstore 365 Project »

It snowed here in Gateshead, and we are feeling so festive in the warehouse at Ethical Superstore! Deliveries are coming and going, and all staff are working hard, packing away to the sounds of seasonal music on the radio.

Read the rest of The Elves Come To Help at Ethical Superstore! »

Twenty years ago, my husband and I got married at Castle Methodist Church, Colchester. I wore gypsophila in my hair a la Charlene from Neighbours; he should have gone to Specsavers. It was a beautiful sunny day and we were happy smiley people.

Twenty years ago, we were local Traidcraft reps in a fair trade wilderness. We held stalls in church halls and did talks at women’s groups in church halls. We tried to persuade people to give the coffee a go. Muesli and honey were seen as the safe options to try (although I did once find a small lump of coal in my muesli which was reduced to dust by the time I sent it to Customer Complaints). You could not buy a single fair trade item in a supermarket; you could not even envisage a day when that would become a reality.

Sixteen years ago,

Read the rest of Twenty Years On…. »

That time of year is upon us once again where the mornings are getting lighter, the evenings brighter, and our bodies are waking up from winter-mode. For me and for my family, that usually means a passion for all things Spring Cleaning comes to the fore like never before.

Whether it’s finally getting round to painting the bathroom ceiling again, fixing that dodgy shelf, clearing out your wardrobes, or giving the house a good once over; there always seems to be something to do!

But in our hurry to get the job done and in our attempt to create the tidiest and cleanest environment possible, do we sometimes neglect to think of attaining the greenest environment possible?

Read the rest of Spring Clean: The Greener Way »

BarryNana; Don't Leave Him Hanging!

In the run up to Go Banana’s For Fairtrade day, which is tomorrow (6th March), we here at Ethical Superstore have been racking our brains to come up with the most creative, entertaining, bizarre, and thought provoking banana-based activities!

Late last week we had a trial run of our banana-eating-a-thon, a few more games and events are in the Top Secret pipeline, and over the past couple of days we’ve been trying to get rid of a Fairtrade banana by offering it to passersby.

Let me explain; we tied a Fairtrade banana to a tree outside our offices so that it was hanging above the footpath within arm’s reach of any pedestrian, with a note attached saying “Please eat me, I’m safe & Fairtrade too!” in a hope of raising awareness of Fairtrade.

BarryNana has received a few funny looks, been ignored, been pointed at, but not once has anyone attempted to free him from his state of limbo and indulge in some Fairtrade goodness.

This got us wondering why people seem to be so adverse to freebies, why people seem to ignore what they don’t think is really there, and why people’s confusion or apathy leads to inaction or inertia.

Read the rest of Somebody Else’s Problem? »

Don’t Panic! (or should that be rejoice?!) The fast-food chain we love to hate hasn’t been subject to some kind of McDisaster. Rather, this is the latest installation from the Danish art-collective Superflex entitled “Flooded McDonald’s”.

Read the rest of McFlood »