You like the idea of getting a green charger for your MP3 player or mobile phone and solar sounds good - but you live in the UK so bright sunshine is not something you can rely on. What to do? A company called Kinesis Industries is about to launch a product that may just have the answer!

Not only does the Kinesis K3 charger soak up the sun (when it's available) but it also features its very own wind turbine. It's a very portable 78 x 236 x 8mm and has LED indicators on the side to let you know just how much sun or wind has been turned into energy.

Related: The solar powered bikini: recharge as you tan | More solar-powered phones hit the market

Are you vegetarian (or vegan) and proud? If so, you might enjoy the chance to celebrate your lifestyle choice with the same vigour that gay people have been doing for decades, and take to the streets for some true veggie-loving zeal.

'Veggie Pride' is still a fairly new concept here in the UK, where we tend to be a bit more reserved about our eating habits than our American and European cousins, but that's all changing, says Paul Ridden, reporting from France (where I thought they still ritually burned vegetarians at the stake).

Read on for more info on how you can take part!

Whether you're looking for an effective, non-toxic sun cream or a natural alternative to botox, the place to be right now is Puresha -- and we've teamed up with the site to offer you some fantastic prizes!

One lucky winner will get a personal consultation with a member of Puresha's team of natural beauty experts as well as a tailored skincare regime worth around £200. There's also a great discount for hippyshopper readers on the revolutionary new range by Marie Véronique Organics, pioneer of the Yoga Facelift. Sounds good so far? Read on to find out more.

Are you a budding fashion designer who likes to make amazing stuff out of all kinds of discarded things? If so, the Ethical Fashion Forum is the organisation that could help you get the funding and guidance you need to turn your dreams into fully-fledged catwalk creation.

They're running a competition called 'Innovation' to find new talent, which will allow one up and coming designer to exhibit their S/S 2010 collections at either Pure or Estethica and receive business support from an expert consultancy team.

Follow the jump for details on how to enter!

Creative re-use is only one way of showing your commitment to clean, green living, but in my opinion it's got to be the prettiest. To find out more about what our crafty-minded friends are doing to celebrate the occasion, check out these eye-catching items I found.

Walking barefoot is one of the pleasures of summer, but unless you're on holiday or a complete hippy with cowrie shells and guitar it's probably better to wear shoes. Terra Plana have brought out their summer Vivo Barefoot range with a thin sole that helps you walk naturally, as if you aren't wearing any shoes. Based on the Alexander Technique principle that walking barefoot is best, it sorts your posture and helps your walking technique.

The Yukam slip-on looks a damn sight better than an MBT and there's no doubt it will make a great summer shoe. Terra Plana shoes are hard-wearing, and this one is bound be your faithful companion while you gad about enjoying the summer sun!

Paul Ridden writes: Want to help provide clean, safe water for communities in Africa, Asia, Latin America and island nations around the world? Then Aveda's upcoming 5 mile stroll could be just the ticket you need.

Why 5 miles? Well that's the average distance women in developing countries have to walk every day for clean water! Over one billion people throughout the world do not have access to clean water and Aveda is hoping that the new "Walk for Water" initiative will help focus much needed attention on the issue whilst providing a fun outlet to raise much-needed funds.

Follow the jump for details on how to get involved

Since its humble beginning in 1970, Earth Day became a global event in 1990, with some 200 million people getting involved. And now Earth Day 2009 is expected to attract between 500 million and 1 billion! Will you be one of them and what will you be doing?

Here are a few suggestions:

You could walk to work instead of driving. You could make Earth Day a recycling day. You could use less water or less power. Don't throw away or lock away your old mobile or PC, recycle it! You might even be able to make some cash in the process. If everyone in the UK had a meatless meal once a week it could save more carbon than 5 million cars. Imagine the potential of becoming vegetarian or vegan!

Follow the jump for more

I've included an extra-large image of the bottle this product comes in, just to make the point that Febreeze it definitely is not! Pairfum's room fragrances not only smell lovely (I'll get to that bit in a minute) but it looks pretty smart too, meaning you won't have to consign it to the under-stairs cupboard.

The 'Flacon' range of room fragrances by Pairfum, whose entire range is based around the idea of 'luxury with a conscience', can be used on linens, fabrics or on pot-pourri. What I like best about it is that it doesn't contain the overpowering, 'masking' chemicals found in ordinary room sprays, so I'm quite happy to waft it through my home with gay abandon, and it really helps make the place smell fresh. It's pretty packaging is also fully biodegradable. Available for £14.95 a bottle at Treasurebox

Related: Method want you to kick the bucket | Spring clean the green way with Maison Belle

I don't think I'll ever tire of clever and creative re-use ideas, and there are plenty of those to be found in the work of Annabeth Orton aka Glittermouse, who works with reused glass and tin to bring you richly decorated items which brighten and enhance interiors in a sustainably aware way.

Mouse, a selection of whose work you can see in the image above, is so committed to the idea of reusing discarded items that she's even been known to 'rescue' items such as discarded bottles and glasses from the streets in the aftermath of a Saturday night!

Read on over the jump to find out more about Glittermouse's work

Related: The art of upcycling: junky jewellery for spring | Remarkable recycled art by Robert Bradford

Motorists are being a bit slow on the uptake over electric cars, and the government has figured out that the incentive needed to get more drivers to ditch the fossil fuel is a sum of around £5,000.

The idea behind the £250m scheme is to get us all out of the habit of seeing electric cars as 'abnormal'; an aim that's becoming more realistic now that designers are cottoning on to the fact that electric cars will sell better if they look more like this than, say, this.

Related: The mini has an eco-friendly, electric adventure | Electric cars given the green light in UK shopping centres

If your body is an organic temple, into which you insist on only putting organic substances, then the benefits of this new Soil Association certified intimate lubricant will be obvious - score one! But its good points don't end there: unlike the commonly-found lubes branded by condom companies, this one doesn't scream 'sex!' with its packaging, and comes instead in a subtle and sleek bottle that won't cause any blushes if found.

The closest hint you'll find on a tube of 'Yes' as to what it's used for is a URL and the words 'water based' on the back of the bottle. Hence, no embarrassment if you leave it lying around- unless everyone had read this of course...

If you're left feeling confused and bewildered by the complexities of 'the energy debate' you're not alone -- which is why npower has created an online forum for ordinary people with concerns about things like how to lower our bills and how much our supplier is doing for the environment.

The Brighter Energy Debate aims to help consumers navigate the energy maze by answering your questions online with a simple Q and A format. Topics covered include energy prices, customer services, energy saving and green issues, so if you were ever wondering just how much of our electricity and gas is generated by renewable sources, for example, now's your chance to grill the experts! All you need do is submit your questions here.

It's gone by so quickly, but it's already been 10 years since TRAID opened its charity shop doors for business selling secondhand and recycled clothing. Offering an alternative model to the usual charity shop, they aim to channel funds from the stores into education and workshops in the UK & development projects abroad.

Marking their 10th anniversary, TRAID are opening a flagship store in retro mecca, Camden on Thursday 7th May. Because of its central location expect to find la crème de la crème of designer, vintage as well as the company's TRAIDremade label. If you missed our visit to the TRAID warehouse in North London you can catch up here, here and here.

Much as they may protest at the accolate, the Pet Shop Boys have become a British institution. But PETA recently got in touch with the duo to ask them to do away with over 20 years of pop history, and change their name to something more animal-friendly.

What snappy new band name did PETA suggest? Read on after the jump to find out...