It’s a basic requirement for self-reliance that everyone should be able to sustain themselves. A community will rely on its own people to pool their resources and trade among themselves to ensure their survival. They will scrape every little resource they have so they can use it for their basic needs; of course, they would replenish them for future requirement. Managing wastes by recycling or re-using some of them will leave minimal real waste and be less harmful to the community’s own environment. The innovation of every individual would be a great resource for the community so they can continually support themselves and future generations.

Only when you don’t have the necessary resources to sustain your needs, that you’d start looking for trade partners outside your local area. This is where macro economics will come in: every community (state, nation, region) will compliment each other by sharing resources abundant to other communities. Trading fairly among communities and not exploiting other’s ignorance.

If we rely only from multinational companies to supply us with cheaper products (with poor quality) coming from other countries, then we’d be killing our own self-reliance. Surely, local suppliers would have already priced their products fairly to sustain their own survival and be competitive (with better quality you can scrutinise). We’re not even sure if cheaper products from other countries were traded fairly, though multinational companies claim them to be. One such sample is the world’s reliance to oil: supply is controlled only by few countries belonging to a cartel; we’re all at their mercy. It would be beneficial if supply of money is retained within the community, paid/circulated among its own people; a big disadvantage if paid to multinational companies belonging outside the community.

For this reason we have to consume local products when possible. Reducing our reliance on foreign products by transporting only the minimum necessities will also minimise carbon emission that affect all communities as a whole, wherever we are.

There’s always a need to trade outside our own community, we can’t be totally independent, as each land has its own limited resources. (The truth be said.)

A.G.
(What is life?)

If you think that just because it’s called paper, you can still be green by recycling it, think again. But, not to worry, we’ve found some great eco gift wrapping ideas for you.  

 via Martha Stewart 

Wrap bottles in newspaper 

 Simple gift wrapping 

 Try using kraft paper 

 Pretty newspaper ribbons 

 Recycle old music sheets 

I think that if you put a real effort in your wrapping and make it very pretty, nobody would dare tell you you’re cheap for not using store-bought wrapping paper.  

But if you have to, please make sure you buy FSC-certified or recycled paper.

Buy-one-get-one-free offers by supermarkets are recently highlighted by the government as one of the main causes of the billions worth of food thrown away each year in the UK.

And there have been talks of banning this kind of offers.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that BOGOFs are meant to get rid of the supermarket’s/manufacturers’ extra stock as opposed to help consumers save. But they can be a godsend for those who count the pennies.

I don’t think the government should have the right to dictate to companies what marketing strategies they take to entice customers.

But it does take a little more discipline from us the consumers. Because it really isn’t a great deal if we end up not using what we buy. BOGOFs are great for food staples – oil, pasta, toilet rolls, toiletries. But in buying perishable food, you have to put a little more thought into it – can you freeze it? can you work it into your menu for the week?   

But we all have been guilty of buying too much. And I am still trying to find ways to make sure that we use up the food in the fridge before they go off.

The problem in our household is that we don’t plan our meals. We usually get inspiration on what to cook based from what is in the fridge. And lazy days that we eat out unplanned can mean that the chicken left defrosting in the fridge can go off. And stressful days at work can mean the cheese sandwich goes uneaten and inedible by the time we get home.

I’ve eaten my share of less than fresh food just because I couldn’t get myself to throw it away. Or left my hands yellowed trying to juice all the oranges still sitting in the counter after more than a week.

Here are some tips I will try to do myself:

• citrus fruits. juice them.
• other soft fruits. make a smoothie out of them.
• apples. make apple sauce. lovely with pork chops, sausages. or topping for your cereals.
• stale bread. no don’t feed the wildlife with them. make bread crumbs. if it’s not furry yet, toast them.
• leftover vegetables. add chicken to make chicken and vegetable soup.
• potatoes. use in soups. make mashed potatoes. make potato omelettes. potato cakes.
• and of course if you have compost, throw inedible food in.

And this site will prove really useful for ideas on what to do with your leftovers. They’ve got an index there of ingredients that need using up, and it shows you a range of recipes using that.

We’ve been doing this for years, yet only though about blogging about it just now.

We’ve never really liked paper. But we like keeping records. of everything. bills. mortgage statements. bank statements. insurance certificates. Face it, there is a lot of records you need to keep these days with the thousand-and-one insurances we have to cover just about everything. So we scan, and print to PDF.

It’s so much easier to organise. You have folders in your computer instead of the shelves and shelves of storage. not to mention the filing folders and boxes you have to buy as well.

When you need to keep a record of something you received online, print to PDF, instead of printing on paper. These days, I’ve been PDFing my travel itineraries and maps whenever we’re on holiday and bring a PDF reader with me.

So google it up, there’s lots of free print to PDF software out there you can use for your Macs or PCs.

Call me lazy. I used to wash my glasses and mugs after each use. And I find myself in front of the sink for a good part of the day. I soon got tired of that.
Call me icky. I now use the same mug for my coffee and tea and water and juice. Just a little swish of hot or tap water and it’s ready for the next beverage.
Now I think people who can’t stand using the same glass for different beverages are such *snobs*. Maybe they need to stand in front of a sinkful of dirty dishes for them to realise it is a lot of work to do the washing up. Not to mention a lot of wasted water and polluting soap.
So be lazy and save the environment at the same time.

We’ve done our part!

We’ve given away Guui bags on different parts of London. Now, it’s up to those people to use it to contribute to a cleaner environment for their children. By giving it away we’re trying to make people aware of the current environment issues we now face (and could be worse when our children inherit it).

The Guui bag is not only organic, ethical or reusable, as already printed on the bag, but it’s also certified fairly traded. So this bag is not only dealing with one or two issues that we now face but also the issues of child labour or unfair trade practices happening in other countries. By including these issues with this end product we can be sure that we have clear conscience when we use it and we’re not compromising on other issues while trying to deal with what directly affect us.

The more people use bags like this the better for our environment. Others who are currently unaware will be conscious once they see more people using it. From my point this is one way of passing information.

This is not a change in lifestyle – just a different perspective. I hope to see more organic and reusable bags being used around the street.

I had been on the lookout for a more environmental loo roll. I have seen these on a few online sites, and have tried to look for them in the shops. I couldn’t find any, and for the meantime, I made sure that I buy only FSC certified ones.

I decided to buy Cotton Soft online. The write ups look promising – better for the environment and for me as they are made from organic waste cotton.

They arrived in a pack of 4 rolls. in a plastic packaging with no signs saying the packaging was from recycled material. I opened one, and found out the packaging wasn’t completely sealed. There was sello tape at the bottom to keep the two ends together and another sealed fold over it. I just hoped they have been stored in a clean environment at all times, as I think it could still be easily contaminated.

The loo roll is softer than the paper ones. it doesn’t break as easily. and there is less tissue left on wet skin. Only comes in 2-ply. Though it doesn’t seem like the 2 ply stick very well together. I had a bit of a struggle on the first roll I took out as the perforations on them don’t align. But you get this even on the paper ones, so no biggie. The only thing is, I do end up using a bit more than my usual 3-ply paper rolls as this doesn’t seem to be any more absorbent.

Cost me £2.89 for a pack of 4. A bit expensive if you also add the shipping costs as you can’t just buy them along with your weekly shopping.

But the question is, would I buy again? I would. Though I know, I would probably be back to using FSC certified ones whenever i forget to replenish my stock. I buy the idea that cotton loo rolls are better for the environment as it would mean less trees being cut down to add to the ever growing demand for paper products. So maybe, whilst I am still unable to give up on such modern conveniences such as the loo roll – I might as well try and be more responsible where I buy them from.

So if you are out looking for a functional carrier bag (ours come with short and long handles and has the room for your shopping), why not do a bit more? Go for one made out of Fairtrade, organic cotton. Not only do you reuse, saving thousands of plastics going into the landfill, you also buy into ethical trading and organic farming.

Get the guui bag here.

A lot of manufacturers have already realised the importance of having a green credential. More and more customers have been asking how their products are manufactured – can they be more eco-friendly, what is their stand on environmental issues?

And whilst a lot have made the necessary changes. Others have resorted to greenwash.

I’ve seen a lot on the grocery shelves. With big words- ‘environmental’, ‘eco-friendly’, ‘WWF’. But look closely, and you see nothing more. They don’t say why they’re environmental. They don’t say what steps they’re taking. It’s like buying their product just magically transforms you.

Recently, the husband and I booked a trip to the continent. Travelling by the now ‘carbon neutral’ eurostar and staying in an eco-friendly hotel – this trip is promising to be not too bad for our carbon footprint.

I booked a train and hotel deal, so really, the hotel being an ‘eco’ one was a bonus that I did not quite expect. But I did wonder why the credential of being ‘eco’ was in the smaller prints.

So we got there. And looked through their brochures and did not find any explanation as to how they became eco-friendly. There was a sign in the bathroom saying we should reuse our towels and to hang them if we don’t want them replaced. Another sign by the door reminds guests to turn off the lights before leaving. But was this enough to say they were an eco friendly hotel? I mean, isn’t every other hotel doing this already? Because it makes sense – as a hotel, not only do you save precious resources, you save money as well. All for printing and displaying a few signs.

But still, being greenwashed once too many times is just making me feel a bit stupid.

Most of the time, I carry a book and some technical materials (read: boring stuff i need to read!) with me. But, there are just days that I wanted a non-challenging read – maybe to pore over the latest news, and gossips (sshhh!!), and maybe the latest must haves.

So, yes, never mind that the articles are poorly written or that it’s a rehash of something we have read like a week ago in another paper or in the internet, the free newspapers do come in handy sometimes.

Everybody else usually leave their paper on the train, I guess it became a habit for most. As most of the time, it gets picked up by another person dying for something to read. Quite considerate, if you think about it.

Most of the time people think that leaving litter is quite antisocial, and why it doesn’t apply to leaving newspapers as well still baffles me. You’ve probably left your paper on the seat, or at the back of the seat, or even stuffed them in between the seats. But, I’ve seen people just dropping them wherever, without looking back. Grown men. Professional looking, well-dressed people. It just seemed acceptable, and nobody else would raise an eyebrow. Either that, or we are too polite to tell them off – I am guilty of this, though at times I stare them to death, but to no avail as they had their backs turned to me anyway.

It’s an eyesore. And it could be dangerous as people are likely to slip on them in stairwells.

Aside from that, they’re most likely to end up in the landfill.

The cleaning fairies do exist to clean up after us. London Underground staff, and people from one of the afternoon free papers regularly pick up what we’ve dropped. Keeping the eyesore to a minimum and nobody slips and sue them.

6,500 tons of our garbage, mostly paper, is left on the Metronet-maintained trains and stations each year. Only about half can be sent for sorting and recycling, though improvements to these figures are being made and a further 21 tonnes each week are being recycled.

Some 1.5 million of these free paper are given away in and around London each day. Note that this article is still in 2006. There are certainly more of them around today. An interesting aspect in this article is that, we are all paying for those “free” paper in the form of our council tax – for clearing up, to be put into the landfill, incinerated or recycled. Not to mention the costs to the environment. I think our council tax can be of better use elsewhere.

It might be helpful to note, that at least some of these free papers are doing something to help. Publisher of London Lite and the London Paper, have each installed 35 bins in the West End and Victoria. And the London Paper “uses environmentally friendly ink that can be broken down without specialist recycling techniques”. Too little help, I think, but it is a start.

Meanwhile, I think I’ll just stick to my books and technical reads to keep me entertained in the Underground. I don’t really want the free papers to print any more copies for my sake.

You’ve had the best intentions. You’re out to save the earth. And then…you forgot your shopping bag. Or you realise your coffee flask is still sitting in the sink and you’re running out the door.

It does take a while. It’s like forming a habit. Well, it IS forming a habit.

I remember I took to using reusable bags a couple of years ago. And every other trip to the grocery, I’d forget. This is still happening to me last year. Now I don’t forget them on shopping days but keep forgetting to keep a reusable bag in my bag for those impromptu shopping sprees.

Now that I got my flask, I start to forget again. There are days that it’s still in my bag waiting to go into the sink just when I’m already runnning late.

Most of the time, I’d forgo a coffee rather than get a disposable cup. But other times, well, I just got to have a coffee.

And remember that out of the way coffee shop with fairtrade coffee and organic milk? I was in a hurry once, and in need of caffeine and ran to the nearest one to the platform.

But this is no new year’s resolution. It’s much more than that. It’s a resolve to make my difference. I can be forgetful, and I can waver when pushed. But my intentions are there. I just need to keep working at it. Wish me luck.

Ever since I moved to London, I have made a habit of getting breakfast on the go.

Aside from quickly realising the hole this is creating in my pocket, I did notice I am certainly not alone with this habit. The little tray table on the train is often littered with paper cups from various coffee shops. And so I assigned myself the task of putting them in the bins if I happen to beat the cleaners to the train.

For a little while, I was quite smugly thinking about how considerate I am. But thinking again, I am using a disposable paper cup - most likely ending up in the landfill, drinking coffee whose source I can only trace back to the shop.

So should I take my cup home and recycle? Not quite. This carboard is usually lined with wax and will not be recyclable.

Not all is lost though. Some coffee shops have taken the initiative to make their cups from recycled contents. Introduced sleeves if their coffee becomes too hot to handle instead of giving you another paper cup, to reduce what gets thrown away (but those sleeves, you can keep and use again!). Some wax are replaced with biodegradable material. I’m not sure if this means they can be recycled though. It just meant they can go in the compost bin. And some shops offer discounts if you bring your own mug (a little saving can go a long way). Fairtrade coffee is quite all the rage these days and many retailers will at least give you the choice.

So I got myself a flask. And asked my coffee shop to fill it up. But it wasn’t quite the happily ever after I had hoped. One coffee shop I had frequented (for the love of their pastries), always gives me the funny look. Other customers behind me would give me the same funny, but sometimes annoyed look as it takes a few seconds more for the staff to fumble with my flask than filling up the usual paper cup.

Also there are the ethical and organic issues to contend with. So I had gone a little out of my way from my platform into this shop tucked away in the corner that sells all fairtrade coffee and organic milk. The girl took my flask and did not bat an eyelash (but still stole a funny look as I count my change, maybe I should just get used to it). It is less busy, so I had no trouble from customers scrambling to get their caffeine fix (at least not everyday).

So there, the path to being green is not exactly well paved. Not even in this country where everybody seemed to have seen everything. I do wonder what people think when they give me that funny look. Is it a quick glance to see if I look like a new age chick complete with unwashed hair and flowing vintage clothes? Or do they think I have some sort of allergy to paper cups (everybody’s allergic to something nowadays aren’t they)? Or maybe they’re thinking… “Now, why didn’t I think of that?”.

I used to think they were always made from recycled paper. Partly because I wished they were as I had been using them like there was no tomorrow.

But the truth is, because of consumer demands for the softest products, it’s virgin fibres that mostly goes into loo rolls, facial tissues, kitchen towels, and table napkins. And after you’ve used them, they cannot go into the recycling bin (they’re considered hygienic wastes and can cause contamination). I know I had a bias for the soft, thick, really white ones.

Here’s a lowdown on the available statistics:

• 270,000 trees are flushed down the toilet or end up as garbage every single day according to the WWF.
• Every Briton flushes 17.6 kilos (39lb) of toilet paper down the lavatory every year, almost two and half times the European average, based on this article from the Telegraph.
• The European average use is 11 kilos of tissue per year.
• Each person in Britain uses 4,000 rolls of toilet paper in their lifetime.

And whether they all add up, the truth is we are using quite a lot. What to do? Tissue has been one of the most important products for personal hygiene. It’s hygienic, it’s convenient. I don’t think any modern household can completely do away with it. I’m certainly sure, I can’t go without it at the moment.

Of course, reducing my use is one way to go. I can take it seriously and follow Sheryl Crow’s advice of using “only one square per restroom visit, except, of course, on those pesky occasions where two to three could be required”. But . . . hmmm . . . i’m imagining really messy hands. Maybe I won’t go as far as counting the squares just yet. But there are still plenty I could do:

• after I’ve finished up the remaining pack of table napkins, switch to linen ones. sure, I had to wash them, which would cost the environment as well, but I am pretty sure they will go in with my weekly washing load. And linen table napkins just feel so decadent, doesn’t it?
• I don’t keep facial tissues at home. I’ve always been used to cloth hankies. Again, they go in the weekly wash. Downside? Just yesterday in the train, i was sitting across a woman who accidentally sprayed herself wet as she opened her sparkling water bottle, I reached in my bag and realised I only got my (used) cloth hanky at hand, and I certainly can’t offer her that.
• use rags more often around the home instead of kitchen towels. Rags are washable and can be reused over and over again. Though I would still keep a couple of rolls in the cupboard for emergencies, but hopefully they will last me for the rest of the year.

And then, there’s the loo rolls. WWF recommends we buy ones made from sustainable material, with high recycled content, and the not so white ones (as the bright white ones would have been bleached). WWF did a report ranking as to which among the major toilet paper manufacturers are most responsible. SCA (makers of Velvet) have ranked first in these charts. But note that they scored a mere 46% last 2005 in these rankings, quite a low score, I thought.

A recent trip to the groceries had me picking up a pack with the WWF logo stamped on it. On closer inspection at home, I didn’t find anything in the label that even claimed what percentage is recycled or where the materials were sourced from. Is the WWF allowing use of their logo to greenwash consumers now?

So, I set out to list what I should be looking for in the labels in loo rolls from now on:

• amount of recycled content.
• FSC certification to say product is from well managed sources. Not all recycled content are sourced responsibly.
• unbleached, chlorine free. I had always been concerned about my health. And the less chemicals in products we have intimate contact with is surely better.

I was setting my heart on buying 100% recycled ones (dramatic choice of words, i know, but it is still shopping isn’t it?). But I had my second thoughts. Recycled paper does have it worries too. This article says “one German study in 1993 (that’s how far back we had to go to find data) suggested that there can be 10 to 100 times more toxic metal residues in recycled paper than in that made from virgin pulp.”

I’m now thinking, maybe paper isn’t the way to go. Organic cotton loo rolls anyone? I’ll let you know as soon as my first pack arrives in the post.