If you weren't sad determined enough to camp out in your local Sainsbury's car park last night, the chances are you won't be getting your hands on Anya Hindmarch's I'm not a Plastic Bag bag anytime soon. The bags had already sold out by the time shoppers were buying their morning papers and croissants, and they won't be making any more of them. Shrewd designer Hindmarch has made no secret of her wish to keep the bags 'exclusive', and appears to have succeeded in this aim. But if you missed out, don't take it too badly - you can have a free 'bag for life' on Friday...alternatively, Sainsbury's website has a competition to win one of the fabled items.

Popular as the bags may be, Sainsbury's won't be earning any green points from us, as a tip-off who visited the supermarket's Merton branch this morning revealed that the Hindmarch totes were being handed out to customers in huge plastic bags. My source added that she was 'the only person I saw to refuse the plastic bag (the clerk smirked; 'want to show it off, do ya?'), though I suspect that most other buyers wanted to make sure they stayed clean so they can put them on ebay within the hour...' Shame on you Sainsburys!

[picture: Getty Images]

[Via Catwalk Queen]

There's plenty of organic beauty and skincare products out there to be had and MyBeingWell stocks a large range of cosmetics so you have no excuse that you can't find what you're looking for. Pick from cosmetic brands like Jane Iredale and Lavera and give your makeup bag a proper green spring clean or check out the other ranges for plenty of bath and bodycare, baby and manscaping essentials.

Related: Origins natural beauty I Be kind to your nails with Green Hands

IWC Swiss watches invented the world's first automatic watch with a with a four-digit perpetual calendar display over 20 years ago. Now they have produced only 2500 of this limited edition Spitfire Laureus Sport timepiece. Proceeds from sales go to their Laureus Sport for Good Foundation which helps socially underprivileged children.

The watch has a mechanical chronograph movement which is self-winding. It also boasts a small seconds hand with stop function, day and date display, a soft iron inner case for protection against magnetic fields and sapphire glass which is antireflective on both sides. It is also water-resistant to 60 metres.

Related Stories: Loist II self-winding watch | Solar watches

As a single-ish guy, well I have a single-ish mentality anyway, with no kids, when a couple of my friends had babies recently, I was pretty stuck for gift ideas. I mean there’s the usual high street stuff, but that lacks imagination and quite clearly demonstrates laziness of both thought and effort on my part. I mean, how can I demonstrate my green credentials and impress my friends with a squeaky plastic thing made of God knows what?

That’s where the Organic Baby Hamper by Fair Trade Media comes in. This really is the answer to my prayers. It is a beautifully wrapped hand made cane basket containing lovely organic and fairtrade goodies for the ethical mum and her lovely new baby. There is even a ribbon tied around the basket. It not only looks great but it is useful and practical too.

Contrary to popular belief vegans don’t live off carrots and lettuce leaves and they do enjoy being vegan. Once at my mum’s house I was dishing myself up a vegan treat and one of my relatives said to me, “How long are you going to have to eat that for,” as if I was somehow afflicted. Although mildly entertained by the comment, I realised, that some carnivores (mainly the avid ones, who wouldn’t limit their meat intake for love nor money) view vegans with a kind of abject pity. It made me think of how I became vegan myself and my attitudes, prior to my, dare I say, ‘conversion.’

I have only been vegan for coming up to three years. I used to gobble meat on a regular basis. I didn’t really think about how the animals were reared and slaughtered and the means by which they came to be sitting on my plate. I think this is the case for many people. They see the animal as a pre-packaged item on a shop shelf.

The festival frenzy continues apace, with the announcement of yet another big summer party - and this one's got a green agenda. Beach Break Live combines some of the UK's best bands, DJs and 'mixologists' with theatre, comedy and indy films, all taking place on and around Cornwall's beautiful Polzeath beach. With the help of Global Cool, the festival's student promoters aim to make the whole shebang completely carbon neutral, right down to refusing to fly in any of the acts, serving only locally-sourced fairtrade food and drinks, and offsetting all carbon emissions they can't avoid. Tickets cost £65, with free camping and the chance to upgrade to a 'luxury teepee for decadent groups'. Book today to avoid Glastonbury-style disappointments.

Related posts: Green festivals and fairs for your diary

[Via New Consumer]

One of the UK's leading recording studios The Premises, used by the likes of Bloc Party and Frans Ferdinand, have just opened a new studio which is entirely powered by photovoltaic (PV) panels. The company had to move from their old studios and the new building had a huge flat roof, which they felt was perfect for installing solar panels. They took an audit of the amount of electricity they used in a typical year in the old building and from that they calculated the number of panels needed.

The organic wine market is growing slowly, but these wines would probably go down quite quickly. Domaine de Clovallon makes certified bio-dynamic wines in the Haut Languedoc region of France. The grape growers don’t use chemical pesticides, fertiliser or weed killers and to maintain their certification all interventions in the vineyard must be traceable. Check out their Domaine de Clovallon Grains de Folie 2001 (50cl). A truly individual late harvest white wine perfect as a sweet aperitif, with blue cheese, foie gras or a fruity dessert. Alright, alright I didn’t write that last line, but let me live the dream of an eco-wine expert for a minute. You can buy this and other organic wines at Terroir Languedoc

[via newsonsumer.com]

Related Stories: Carbon Neutral Wines | Sussex Organic Wine

Taking a greener holiday was among today’s carbon-diet advice in a two-day feature run by the Times. UK holiday makers have increased carbon emissions by 85 per cent since 1990 by flying abroad. Taking a cheap flight to Europe is deemed a carbon sin compared with the same journey made on emission-friendly trains. Flights from London to Paris or Brussels generate ten times more carbon dioxide emissions than taking the train, according to independent research for Eurostar.

The Times’ advice is to start cutting down on carbon calories by taking less flights. Limiting ourselves to one carbon-fat long-haul holiday every other year is one suggestion, exploring Britain by train or car is another. Perhaps they have missed the point when they suggest doing New York shopping online. But if you must fly we can do our bit by what they call “carbon offsetting” - a scheme by which concerned consumers can cancel out their impact on climate change by paying towards energy-saving projects in developing countries. We can donate towards installing wind turbines or rooftop solar panels when we book our airtickets. Check out British Airways’ scheme on their website.

Related Stories: Green Air Travel | Treeflights

You probably would never have thought of Asda as a port of call for your furniture and certainly not for eco-friendly styles. But with a flash of the Oakley range, from mirrors to tables, chairs and more, you may just change your mind. All items are made from sustainable oak with prices starting at £65.

Other eco initiatives include organic towels from £2 and a recycled glass collection from £6.

Related: George at Asda to promote homegrown fashion I More home and garden

Instead of listening to the usual rubbish on the radio, why not check out Passion For The Planet, which discusses the planet’s biggest issues and best tunes without being too hippy dippy.

Free from chanting, mantras and crystal bowl thingies, you can listen to music from the likes of The Eels, Bjork and the Mock Turtles or ponder on features about health, the environment and alternative solutions for the planet.

Passion For The Planet was set up with the aim of introducing, a newfangled format to the growing Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) Digital Radio market. DAB Digital Radio signals are more efficient than analogue signals, prevent interference and allow broadcasters to transmit more varied programmes and services.

Richard Branson announced today that trials of 'green' passenger planes could start next year [Guardian]

Cheryl Crow now says toilet paper comments were 'a joke' [ABC News]

China speeds towards 'biggest greenhouse gas producer' title and could overtake US, experts say [BBC]

Apple is unpopular with Greenpeace again, rated worst among major electronics firms for its environmental policies [Independent]

Chris Goodall's take on preventing climate change is that it's too important to be left to governments and corporations - each of us needs to do our part individually to reduce our carbon emissions.

In his book, 'How to live a low-carbon life' (currently available for £14.24 from amazon), Goodall lays out tips on how to do exactly that, dealing with everything from tumble dryers to public transport. To keep you up to date with all the latest news, there's also a website to accompany the book.

Related: Rubbish! book by Richard Girling | Plant some trees, get climate book cheaper

If you're a Londoner, Mayor Ken Livingstone wants you to walk to work on Thursday - so don't forget your trainers! Along with TfL (because legs are one of the best forms of transport), he's backing Walk to Work Day; a campaign to get people out of their cars and on their feet - and luckily for us, he's chosen a lovely week to do it.

Contrary to popular belief, Ken's quite a bit fan of walking these days. So if you think you're up for the challenge, why not work out a good route on walkit.com. I've worked mine out, and discovered that to get to Shiny Towers in Covent Garden from my humble abode in West Kensington would take as little as 1 hour if I really got my skates on, or 80 minutes at a more reasonable estimate. I'd burn around 240 calories, and save 0.40g of C02 by not getting the bus for my 4-mile journey, passing some historic sights and with the option of going through two rather lovely parks. Try it for your own journey, and prepare your map for Thursday!

'The guvnah' loves her bags, so I thought I'd give her a little treat by showing this funky satchel by Kampuchika. It's made from strips of deep coloured raw silk with a silk strap, held on by rings carved from coconut shells. It has a little pocket, handy for your mobile phone, and a magnetic patch which keeps it closed. Kampuchika's products are all handmade ethically in Cambodia, by 'disadvantaged' groups such as women and the disabled. They operate a strict fairtrade policy and support local charitable groups who help these groups work from home, and earn a decent wage.

Related: Recycled bags of style from Planet Silverchilli | Hatti Trading handbags and manbags | Recycled plastic bag crochet bags