We've been having a lot of fun at Shiny Towers this week with the foot-powered can crusher by Ecozone; a nifty little device that lets you squash empty cans for easier recycling. I'm pretty sure I should have worn more sensible footwear to give this gizmo a fair trial, but considering the high-heeled handicap we gave it, I think it stood up pretty well!

The Ecozone can crusher is available for £14 at Big Green Smile

By the time you read this, I'll already be "rocking out" at Latitude, the music and arts event that's doing a ruddy good job of being the UK's greenest festival ever. And with over 30,000 people in attendance, that's no mean feat.

Most excitingly, Latitude is playing host to the world's first fuel cell powered festival stage with state of the art LED lighting. But the smaller details are often the most important, and these are being taken care of too. Read on after the jump to find out how you make a festival the size of a small town as green as possible...

Related: Top 5 tips for a greener festival experience | Top green and ethical festival footwear picks | Get 'glamping' eco style with Millets

Urban Decay totally rock. Not only do they make some of the coolest, most striking beauty products on the planet; they are also a deeply ethical company who never go on about it! So I am going to hammer the point home here. Urban Decay have been completely cruelty-free since forever, and do a good line in vegan products, too.

And now, they're getting into sustainability in a big way, with some really inventive new packaging made from materials like bamboo, recycled cardboard and recycled art paper. The new boxes have a '70s hippy feel about them and are very pretty. Kiss and Makeup got their hands on some early samples...read on after the jump for some shots!

Related: Cruelty-free beauty online | The ultimate in ethical beauty

I'm currently driving my colleauges to discraction with the persistent and irritating cough I seem to have picked up. I can't stand the taste of those gooey, over the counter remedies that never seem to do any good, so I've decided to try making my own natural cough remedy at home. Here's one that comes particularly recommended (it had me cough free for at least an hour last night):

Cough-relieving ginger tea

* 1 inch or so fresh ginger root, sliced thin or grated
* 1/2 a fresh lemon, sliced (peel & all)
* 1 clove garlic, mashed
* ~2 c water
* Very generous spoonful honey

Read on for instructions...

If you're heading to Latitude or any of the other remaining summer festivals, car sharing is a fantastic idea for lowering carbon emissions (73% of a given festival's footprint comes from transport), making new friends and escaping the hassle of public transport. But weren't we all taught to "never get in cars with strangers?"

A greener festival has thought of this, and provided a really useful list of safety tips for those planning to lift share to an event. (They left off one very important piece of advice though: make absolutely certain that your designated driver doesn't enjoy listening to Coldplay!)

The more variety you expose your baby to early on, the more willing they'll be to try more sophisticated, healthier food options when they get older. So how can you ensure you baby's tastebuds are fully tempted without too much slaving over the stove?

Hippyshopper Mums have long been fans of Plum; the 'organic superfood' for babies, so I was pleased to hear that four new varieties have been launched this summer. Follow the jump for details on the new products, all of which contain all natural ingredients with no GM, salt, sugar, meat, egg or dairy.

These psychodelic looking toadstools may not attract much in the way of wildlife to your garden, but if you're lucky, they might turn it into a sanctuary for any passing gnomes...

The 'shrooms are contain solar powered LEDS, which give off a magical glow after eight hours of sunlight. And if illuminated toadstools aren't already trippy enough for you, these ones also cycle through a spectrum of colour. A great, eco-friendly way to bring character to your garden during the barbeque season!

Related: Recycled garden lanterns | Get glowing with solar garden globes

Shiny Shiny have picked out this cool little alarm clock that's powered by plain old water and a pinch of salt.

Generating electrical power from water is not as complicated as you might think, so it makes sense to use it in tiny gadgets that would otherwise be taking replacable batteries. The water powered Bedol Wall Wave Clock has electrodes that use the ionization in the water to generate enough current to run the LCD clock. I'm going to omit the part about the pinch of salt - no idea?

Related: Long-lasting solar alarm clock | Susumu Suzuki's water powered battery

I'm off to the Latitude festival this weekend, and with the long-range forecast looking surprisingly bright, I'm thinking a pair of tough but stylish flat sandals is the way forward.

My first port of call was the Natural Shoe Store, where style and comfort merge, and you can guarantee you'll find something a bit different. So instad of going for the obvious Birkenstocks option I gave Think! shoes a try, whose 'Julia' thong shoe in hard-wearing veggie leather has all you need in a simple, rugged shoe that doesn't lose any cool points. There are various colours and styles available, all at £59

There's no way to prove it, but I'm absolutely certain that food cooked on a good old-fashioned barbeque grill tastes a million times better than if it's been blasted by one of those enormous gas models that roast everything to cinders in seconds.

And I'm willing to bet that a crisp jacket potato, slowly baked on this traditional style outdoor stove would taste pretty damn amazing. Available at Hen & Hammock, the 'West African cooker' is made from recycled enamel, by a cooperative of craftsmen in Senegal.

Related: How to have an eco-friendly barbeque | Help butterflies as you barbeque with UK Charcoal

Amid soaring petrol prices, the government has today 'postponed' a green fuel tax that would have added an extra 2p on the cost of every litre.

Some have pointed out that the cost of fuel is already so high that an additional levy would be pointless; those who cannot afford the prices are already being forced to leave their cars behind, so the charges would make little difference from an environmental perspective. Others believe that the government is removing the tax only through credit crunch-fuelled fear of sinking further in the public's estimation.

Related: Top 5 weirdest alternative fuel sources | Fuel efficiency: nice it you can get it | Electric cars given the green light in UK shopping centres

Everyone's favourite fairtrade fashion emporium is slashing its prices as of today, with up to 50% off some of its hottest summer items.

The organic cotton waterlily dress we featured earlier in the year is now down to a jaw-dropping £21, while you can pick up the adorable alphabet baby wrapsuit for just £4. This is ethical fashion at its stylish and most affordable best, and there is plenty of summer left. So I suggest you head over there now for some fabulous new wardrobe additions.

Related: Summer dresses: Thakoon for People Tree | Tonic sells new '1984' t-shirts at '80s prices

The internet is awash with places to buy natural beauty products at the moment, and this week brought the launch of a new player: The Natural Beauty Store.

Compared with some of its competitors, this site is a biggie, with more than 800 products from 35 natural and certified organic brands including Weleda, Green People, Trilogy, Living Nature and Primavera. It also stocks a selection of organic raw materials, such as essential and vegetable oils, floral waters, dried herbs, herbal extracts and natural cosmetic ingredients, so it's a good place to check in if you're into making your own potions and lotions.

Cherries are without a doubt my favourite homegrown fruit: they taste amazing, look lovely in the trees, make fantastic puddings and are as much a part of the British summer as rain and Wimbledon. But over the last 50 years, we have lost 90% of our cherry orchards and now import around 95% of the cherries we eat -- not good for food miles, our economy or the taste of the fruit, which is at its best when bought locally and in season.

To address these concerns, Saturday (19th July) has been designated British Cherry Day, with the aim of raising awareness about how you can help save the British cherry. Tips include buying British, renting or planting a cherry tree, and buying exciting cherry-based products including beer and ice cream made from cherries. Check out the Cherry Aid site for more details!

For the time being, this red carpet shot is the only image anyone's likely to see of the Pitt-Jolie twins. But since the birth, a frenzied paparazzi scramble for first pictures of newborn Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline has taken place, with talk of sums of money so phenomenal that a figure has not yet been released. One thing we can be sure of, however, is that the socielly conscientious couple will be donating the money to an as yet undisclosed charity.

Brad and Ange are already well known for their charitable work, and this is not the first time that Jolie -- a goodwill ambassador to the UN Refugee Agency has sold baby photos in exchange for hefty donations to the projects she supports.

[Via Ecorazzi]