Whole Foods Market announced this week it plans to banish all plastic grocery bags from its US, UK and Canadian stores with the goal to be plastic bag free by April 22, 2008 (Earth Day).

With the slogan: 'Bring your own bag - save your own planet', the natural and organic foods supermarket chain has been conducting tests eliminating plastic bags in its San Francisco, Austin and Toronto markets. The tests were well received by customers and paved the way for their chain wide plan to remove plastic shopping bags from their stores. The company estimates the impact of its plan will be felt immediately keeping 100 million bags out of landfills in 2008 alone. So get down there and support this great new initiative (if you can afford the cost of the groceries!) [Via Sustainable is Good]

Related: Abi gets a sneak preview of UK's first Whole Foods Market | Sainsbury's says goodbye to plastic bags (for a day)

If you have need in your life for an actual calculator (beyond that one on the computer you can never find), why not make it a recycled one?

Canon brought out a range of three recycled calculators today, each made out of the company's own post consumer waste, including old photocopiers. The LS-8TCG, HS-1200TCG and TS-1200TCG use 100% recycled materialsfor the front and back plastic covers. Packaging and instruction manuals are made from recycled paper to further cut down on waste, and all products are dual-powered through solar energy and a replaceable battery. Follow the jump for prices and more info.

With the public focus firmly fixed on animal welfare, there could be no better time for 'Spoilt Cow' cheese to hit the shelves. The freedom food-approved cheddar is a hand-made variety, uses milk from cows reared on Denhay Farm in West Dorset.

The pampered cows on this farm are certainly luckier than most, with 1650 acres to roam in the summer, and warm indoor acoommodation with mattresses in winter. I've no idea if this makes the cheese taste better, but it would certainly make me happier to eat it! And for added karma points, 5p will donated to the RSPCA for each pack you buy.

A high demand for Spoilt Cow Cheese is expected, so the makers are not yet disclosing which supermakets will be stocking it. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled, and will let you know when I've sampled it!

[Via New Consumer]

This weekend, I got the chance to see Tim Burton's long-awaited Sweeny Todd movie. I was as impressed by Johnny Depp's singing and amused by Sacha Baron-Cohen's cameo as most, but it only occurred to me today that the film is having a curious impact on several of my carnivorous friends: none of them can touch red meat since seeing the film!

I have to say, this is something I approve of wholeheartedly, and hope that the abstention continues! The question is, will Sweeney Todd do for the red meat industry what Jamie Oliver did for chicken farming? Sales of organic and free range chicken are up by 50% this week following his campaign along with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. I'd be interested to see if a similar 'Sweeney Todd effect' takes place in the steak counter...

If you're a fan of Origins skincare products, you'll love the brand's new USDA certified organics range which has just hit the UK market.

Each product is made with as much organic content as possible, and this figure is displayed on the labels; the current certification is based on US standards, but Origins is awaiting the seal of approval from both the Soil Association and EcoCert. Look out for the range, which includes body lotions, massage oil, lip balm, face wash and much more in branches of Boots and John Lewis.

Here's some good news for the hippie knitter: Rowan has just brought out a new range of 100% organic cotton yarn in a tasty new selection of colours.

'Purelife' is produced under fairtrade conditions using sustainable practices that respect the environment. But what's it like to knit with? I've got a squishy ball of the 'lipstick tree' shade in front of me (looks a bit like pale coral), and can honestly say that it's some of the softest and most delicate yarn I've handled, and the colour is beautiful too. Natural dying allows the softness of the cotton fibres to shine out, giving the yarn fantastic definition.

The dyes are also organic, and are made of interesting ingredients like brazilwood, Quebracho bark, madder, yellowood and logwood. Available at John Lewis stores or online from 1st February, £4.25 per ball.

If you're into indie style, Mod to Modern Recycled Wool Sweaters are definitely worth checking out. Chic, quirky and original, they fuse sustainability and style.

Though her eco-friendly fabric sources are a closely guarded secret, Vancouver-based creator Michelle Bergeron-Mok states, “I source and deconstruct the materials myself and the cutting, tailoring and finishing is all done by hand.” The site details measurements, including the stretching capacity, of each sweater. No two sweaters are alike, but all are high quality, warm, and snuggly. My favorites are Smokey Argyle and Winter Lilac. [Via Alternative Consumer]

In a move that has delighted climate change campaigners (and Star Trek fans) the world over, Prince Charles shunned flying and opted to deliver a speech to a summit in Abu Dhabi by means of a talking 3D image of himself yesterday.

The Prince wanted to both congratulate a Middle Eastern country on an eco-friendly project and show that flying people around the world for appearances is unnecessary. A single camera and projector were used by Musion, a British firm, to record Charlie speaking at Highgrove and then rebroadcast the speech in Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi's plans to build a zero carbon city have excited the interest of the eco-worrier prince, so it was the perfect opportunity to try out the not-so-new but carbon saving technology. [Via Shiny Shiny]

Somewhere, there is a perfect eco-house filled with fabulous sustainable furnishing. It sure isn't mine, but I can dream. And if my dream came true, I'd certainly have these vintage tapestry items dotted around the place. They're the handiwork of Frédérique Morrel, a French designer who once felt a pang of sadness at seeing her grandmother's needlework going in the rubbish bin. She founded a company re-using old tapestry (or 'saving it from oblivion' as she puts it) and has since produced the beautiful products above, and more. [Via The Style Files]

Adili, the home of beautiful and ethical clothing, has just added some exciting new lines to its ongoing January sale.

Up for grabs are some great deals on men's footwear, stylish baby wear from Frank & Faith and for women, the soft and snuggly Stewart & Brown sweater (pictured), which is made of cashmere from Mongolian goats, which supports nomadic herders is reduced from £115 to £75. The real bargain-hunter will no doubt be impressed by huge reductions, including this Laume dress by Alchem1st, reduced from £135 to just £35, and every bit as wearable with a pair of jeans for a casual look as it would be on its own at a party.

Related: Ethical Retailer Adili overhauls its image | Video Review: Adili's hottest eco chic summer dresses

This bright and beautiful bunch of roses is one of three specially picked fairtrade bouquets for Valentine's at Interflora.

Buy one of these bunches of roses from a modest £21.99, and you'll ensure that your gesture won't mean someone else's suffering; Interflora say that the scheme in which they participate helps disadvantaged farm workers in Kenya benefit from fair labour and environmental standards and receive a social premium.

If you'd like to give your loved one some fairly traded flowers and want to be sure they're kosher, you can find out more about why they're great and where to get them on the Fairtrade website.

Here's another of those 'wish I'd thought of it' ideas, that will appeal to greenies and meanies alike: it's a pan that splits neatly into three so you can cook different ingredients in one go.

Like three pans reduced into one, the Eco Cook reduces energy consumption, water, energy and time. There's less washing up, too. As well as using it for veg, you could heat pasta or rice for a complete meal-in-a-pan. The concept was given an 'honorable mention' in a competition called 'dining in 2015' in Milan.

You may remember that our 'fluffy' friends over at PETA launched a competition for budding designers to come up with a pro-veggie t-shirt back in June. Well, a winner has now been picked by none other than Bloc Party's Russell Lissack.

The indie star chose a design by Swiss entrant Eric Ahnebrink, which will now be printed on t-shirts by April 77, a French company specialising in band tees that refuses to use any animal products (pretty impressive for the French!) You can see the winning design, along with runners-up, here.

Related: Gore 'too chicken to go veggie', says PETA | Dita Von Teese defends decision to wear fur despite figureheading PETA campaign

Surely the last word in sexy green geek chic, the Day-for-Night dress (pictured) is made up of 448 white circuit boards -- or more, depending on the modesty of the wearer!

Made as an hommage to Paco Rabanne and as a 'celebration of the beauty of electronics', each tile in the dress is designed in such a way as to accommodate a solar cell, a RGB LED, or a photocell. In non-dork-talk, that basically means it has the potential to pick up solar energy during the day so (presumably) the unfortunate wearer can be used as a decorative battery once night falls. Or that's how I read it anyway. Isn't that taking the philosophy of The Matrix a little too far?

The Day-for-Night dress made its debut at the Siggraph Fashion Show (home of all things geeky and wearable). Let's hope it'll lead to a rise in affordable, solar clothing in future!

Last week, I was singing the praises of hemp as a fabric, but did you know it can also be used in skin and hair products?

It's the principle ingredient in the Alterna Hemp range, which is both luxurious and surprisingly cheap: a bottle of the shampoo costs just £14.30, yet there are all kinds of posh sounding ingredients in this celeb-friendly range, including white truffle oil, avocado, cranberry, cucumber and white tea that's been grown without the use of chemical pesticides or fertilizer. And the organic ingredients are natural and sulphate-free, making it a far less damaging product to wash down the plughole than many others. A great, affordable and sustainable buy for those who want to treat their hair and the planet with utmost respect.