Green gadgets
There were loads of iPhone solar chargers at CES this year but this is one from Novothink is probably the best. It fits snugly on to your phone and can deliver thirty minutes of power for two hours of charging. It doesn't have to be connected to the iPhone to charge and if the sun isn't playing you can charge it up via USB.
It goes on sale soon in Europe including the UK, for 80 (not 8 as it says in the video) Euros. It comes with a free app that works out how much you need to use the sun to charge the battery depending on where in the world you are. See video after the turn.
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Fashion & accessories
These look interesting for younger kids (my six year old would love them). Called Shains they're eco-friendly accessories made out of 100 per cent recycled and recyclable materials. The idea is that you can customise them with whatever message/statement you want by pressing different elements into the bracelets and cuffs.
Up to 60 different elements (letters/icons) are available and the bracelet cuffs come in 12 different colours. You can also add a Shains brooch or keyring to your bag or whatever you want to accessorise. Prices vary from £1.50 for the accessories to £9.50 for the cuff starter kit.
www.ticktocktrading.com
CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW TO SEE GALLERY OF SHAINS PRODUCTS
Energy saving
Grannies Inc has teamed up with energy company npower to produce a range of cosies designed to encourage our great nation to make tea in a pot rather than mugs.
The idea - of course - is to reduce the number of times we boil our kettles and hence the amount of household energy we use.
Themed to some of our favourite TV shows, various designs are available. Just pop one of these over your pot and do a little something for the environment while enjoying a cup of the good stuff.
Pictured is the 'Lancashire Hot Pot' Coronation Street cosy which is available online at granniesinc.co.uk/cosies.htm for £45. Alternatively there's a Dalek tea cosy, called Dalekjeeling of course. You can also download patterns to knit it yourself.
Via Corrieblog
Galleries
Looking for an alternative to leather? Green Shoes uses Lorica which they claim is durable, soft, lightweight, and water-repellent. It looks and breathes like natural leather and comes in a wide range of colours; red, purple, navy blue, dark green, brown and black. Nor is it just the vegan leather that is 100 per cent animal-free; the glues, soles and threads are too.
They even offer a vegan alternative for kids' shoes. Vegan Lorisuede, a soft vegan suede, is available on most of the footwear and a few of the accessories. These are what the Sweetpea baby booties are made of.
All products are handmade and boots, shoes and sandals come in a range of leg and foot width fittings and are even available in half sizes. Children's shoes too can be customised with a range colourful appliqués. Prices range from £20 for the kids' booties to over £200 for some of the women's boots.
Unfortunately it's too late to order shoes for Xmas now, but there is still time to post out accessories providing you get your order in by December 21st (they have some nice Vegan satchel and shoulder bags)
CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW TO SEE SOME OF THE LATEST SHOES FROM GREENSHOES
Transport & travel
How do you convert your car to run on mushed-up seaweed? It's not something your average man in the street is wondering, but fortunately some intrepid American fuel-pioneers are, writes ShinyShiny's Anna Leach.
Fed up with the oil industry and pollutant effects of burning petrol, Josh Tickell had been experimenting with biofuels and successfully converted a car to run on waste cooking oil. After concerns that using plant oil created food shortages, they turned their attention to algae. And they reckon that biodiesel created by algae is the answer to the fuel crisis. Well that'd be nice.
In a mini documentary on ViceTV, America's alternative fuel guy shows how you can convert your car to run on alternative fuel. Adding a battery-pack in the boot seems to be the first step, though getting hold of algae gasoline seems to be trickier. Though a group called Solazyme are growing giant vats of algae in the Midwestern desert with an eye to creating biofuel, it's not exactly widely available. Apparently you can condense the oil-making process from 150million years to 3 days. Excellent.
Until some of that seaweedy power liquid ends up in your local fill-up station, it's going to be hard to embrace the algae lifestyle, but it's really interesting. Check out the ViceTV doc below:
Green gadgets
Driving the eco-bandwagon into the mobile phone market, Sony Ericsson has just gone and launched a pair of green phones today, the Sony Ericsson Elm and the Hazel, writes ShinyShiny's Anna Leach.
Elm and Hazel like the trees - the nice green trees.
"The Sony Ericsson Elm and the Sony Ericsson Hazel phones offer consumers a green choice without compromising on features or fun" say the company in a press release.
So, names aside, what's so green about these handsets?
1. Less energy and raw materials are used in their manufacture and packing:
- Made out of recycled plastics
- Free from hazardous chemicals
- The instructions booklet is not printed on paper but is an e-manual in phone
- Packaging has been minimised
2. The Greenheart phones are designed to be more energy-efficient
- Low power consumption charger (EP300 GreenHeart(TM))
- Clearer voice technology should mean lower volume is required
- A Widget Manager application, which allows users access to their social networking page via the stand-by screen and quickly switch between different social networks, reduces the battery-wasting waiting time.
3. They come with apps for helping you cut down on CO2 and energy use in other areas of your life..
- Walk Mate eco application
- Green calculator
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Health & beauty
Want a moisturiser that hasn't been tested on animals? Bulldog has become the UK's first cruelty-free male grooming brand to be recognised and approved by BUAV (British Union for Abolition of Vivisection) under their Humane Cosmetics Standard.
Born out of frustration that there were no options available for switched-on men who wanted to reduce the number of man-made chemicals in their bathrooms, Bulldog's products also don't contain controversial man-made chemicals such as parabens, sodium laureth sulfate, artificial colours, or synthetic fragrances.
Bulldog Co-Founder, Simon Duffy, said: "I'm delighted that Bulldog is the first male grooming brand to be recognised by the BUAV. Consumers deserve to know that the products that they use are cruelty free." Bulldog is now calling on other brands such as L'Oreal Men Expert, Nivea For Men and Gillette to follow its example and make their own positions clear. Via Brandish.tv
www.meetthebulldog.com
There were loads of iPhone solar chargers at CES this year but this is one from Novothink is probably the best. It fits snugly on to your phone and can deliver thirty minutes of power for two hours of charging. It doesn't have to be connected to the iPhone to charge and if the sun isn't playing you can charge it up via USB. 
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