It doesn’t sound like the most inspiring of fabrics, and yet The Wet Felting Company produces a marvellous range of cosy products made from locally-sourced Devon wool.

My particular favourite is the luxurious pairs of slippers. Each pair is handmade for the individual out of one complete piece of felt. You can design your own or use a standard design. Prices start from £11.95 for babies and £23.95 for adults (postage included).
There are also lovely, old-fashioned teacosies in wonderful chicken designs boiled egg cosies in chick guise, as well as rugs, room divider screens and mobiles to gladden any child’s heart and brighten their bedroom.
This is a wonderfully individual and quirky company making gorgeous and unique products out of an often-overlooked local resource. Well worth a look, especially if you have presents to buy!

There are lots of innovative ways emerging to reduce excess packaging, and one of the most exciting I've seen is this Lite2go by Knoend. It basically uses the polypropylene packaging as the light shade, and when you unwrap and assemble it, all you are left with is a small strip of cardboard and some hemp twine (both of which can be composted or recycled). The pack includes an energy efficient 7W compact fluorescent lightbulb (CFL), and the light can be used as a pendant or a table lamp. It's such a great, and really simple, idea and one which will hopefully catch on with other manufacturers. Knoend are hoping to replace the petro-chemical based polypropylene with a bio-based plastic, or laminated bamboo in the near future which will make the Lite2go even more desirable to green consumers. US$38 from Knoend's website.

[via treehugger.com]

Related: Green light for Ecocentric | LightWedge - the energy-efficient reading light

Not everyone has the luxury of space to store large recycle bins, especially if you live in a flat and don't even have an outside space. This pull out recycler by Simplehuman solves the problem by allowing you to have two recycle bins in a kitchen cabinet, and the clever ball bearing track means they glide in and out smoothly to allow you access to them. The unit includes two polypropylene buckets so you can separate your waste and they have a generous combined capacity of 35 litres. The unit costs £54.99 and comes with a free five year warranty.

Related: Heal's recycle bin set: separate in style | Ecopod brings recycling revolution to your kitchen

If you're a fan of BBC's Gardener's World you may have seen this fabulous insect study centre already. Made from FSC timber the study centre has three viewing chambers. The top chamber has a solar attraction light with it's own storage batteries which comes on automatically at dusk and switches itself off at dawn. The light attracts moths, butterflies, lacewing and other flying bugs. The middle chamber has creepy crawly viewing tubes and the lower one has three interactive trays for bee nesting (don't worry, Red Mason Bees which pollinate fruit, vegetables and flowers and are non aggressive). All three chambers are easily accessible to allow you to provide food and to watch the insects without disturbing them. £41 from Wildlife World.

Related: Solar insect theatre | Insect Lab Clockwork Insects

It's good to know I'm not the only person fed up with Ikea style, generic, flat-packed furniture which takes an eternity to assemble. Celery Furniture create sustainable and stylish furniture for children, and the clever designs, which use mortise and tenon joints, mean they are 100% hardware free. They also use materials which will not harm the environment, this Lullaboo Crib for example is available in bamboo and/or formaldehyde free MDF.

Related: Eco crib | TITAN hanging cradle

The Roberts Tower in St Louis, Missouri will be the first high-rise building to be awarded a Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy Efficient Design) Certification by the US Green Building Council.

The tower will be constructed with environmentally responsible and sustainable materials and designed to make significant energy savings of 50-70%. It will even have its own recycling program and feature energy efficient appliances.

This month's Jane magazine features an inspiring Cubicle Refugee. Three years ago, Sarah Strauss was made redundant from her architecture firm. Since then she has set up her own design company Bigprototype.

Today, in addition to its standard design projects, the company works designing eco-friendly tropical homes in Puerto Rico. The designs are all intended to be as ecologically sound as possible. They are particularly concerned with not damaging the local habitat. The projects try to limit problems with run-off and create as little construction waste as possible.

I remember eating at a Swiss restaurant and being served soup in a bowl made from bread. I really enjoyed both bread and soup, but I didn't think it was an idea that would take off. That's not the opinion of Sebastiano Oddi, a student at the University of Brighton, who has created an edible picnic container. The container comes apart to form two plates (more like very shallow bowls actually) with a handle at one side. You can eat all your picnic goodies from the plates, and then scoff them too! It's an idea to reduce waste, and presumably washing up! It's currently available in eight different flavours and can be sampled at the New Designers show, at the Business Design Centre in London between 5th and 15th July.

[via treehugger.com]

Related: Celery GMed into a literal straw

Bus shelters are certainly more exciting these days, with the introduction of solar powered timetables, and animated billboards, but if artist Nils Norman had his way they would also be spreading an important environmental message. For the current Global Cities exhibition at the Tate Modern he has created, among other things, a bus shelter with a conscience. Inside there are posters that, instead of promoting consumerism, give a warning of impending environmental disasters. They also give possible solutions to surviving a flood, making your own bio-diesel and surviving West Nile Virus! On the roof of the shelter is a wooden planter containing drought-resistant plants, such as agaves and arids, a stark reminder of how our gardens may look in the future if global warming continues. Unfortunately this bus shelter isn't going to be put onto our streets any time soon, infact after the exhibition it will be stripped back to it's former glory and given back to London Transport.

The Global Cities exhibition runs from 20th June to 27th August, and entry is free.

Related: More arts and information

I don’t know about you, but I love to sleep. If there were an Olympic sport for sleeping I would be in training for it 365 days a year! Which brings me nicely to the main component needed for good sleep – a good mattress. DoJo Ecoshop make a range of natural mattresses and futons to not only help you sleep well, but sleep in a natural and organic environment free of chemicals and toxins. The mattress range has firm and medium types and the futon range includes traditional and springy types. The mattresses are made with natural ingredients like organic cotton, organic British wool, coconut fibre and natural latex (which is 94% natural latex sap from rubber trees). With prices starting at £395 for a single size up to £550 for a king size, you won’t be losing sleep over the cost. You can buy organic mattress overlays/protectors to keep your mattress clean and fresh and with their FSC timber bed frame you can complete the package. A great way to sleep safely, organically and ethically.

Green Apple offers a range of ethical and stylish products to adorn yourself and your home beautifully. You can rest safe in the knowledge that these products have been created without harming people, animals or the environment. 1% of their pre-tax profit goes to charity. Here are my five hot buys from Green Apple.

1) Maxi Handbag Chardonnay, £140 – handcrafted by designer Sarah Donegan from vintage textiles and trims.
2) Recycled Pipe Bangle, £22.50 – made by Jordan Moody from recycled copper pipe, beaten flat and decorated with stripped out copper electrical cable.

This is a beautiful, and functional, book from Little Otsu. It's divided into 3 sections - the first is two sets of to-do lists, with origami instructions at the back so you can make art from your lists, once the tasks have been ticked off. Second is a set of pages where you can doodle and draw to your heart's content, and third is four different note page designs (three lined and one graph). The artwork is by talented young artist Lart Cognac Berliner, and her drawings run through the book from front to back. It has been printed using vegetable based inks on 100% post-consumer recycled paper. If you're a sucker for cool, functional stationery then this is the book for you. US$12.99.

[via greatgreengoods.com]

Related: Latest recycled paper stationery designs from Ecojet | Recycled business stationery sale

A funeral director in Dundee has helped revive the local jute industry by creating jute coffins. The Company, J Funerals, have been making urns, linings and shrouds from the biodegradable material for years, and now they have added coffins to their collection. The Managing Director said it's been a dream of hers for many years, not only to help the dying jute industry in her home city, but also to respond to the demand for more eco-friendly funerals.

The coffins are made by layering and compressing felt jute and the outcome is as strong and tough as traditional woods. Although jute is not yet a fairtrade product the company have confirmed they are using an ethically managed factory in India to produce their coffins.

Related: Putting the 'fun' into funerals with Ecopod | A green and modest death with the Acorn Urn

We all know how celebrities love putting their names to good causes, especially ones that help the environment. The latest gesture sees celebs designing deck chairs, which will grace the grounds of London's royal parks this summer. The likes of Damien Hirst, Anthony Worrall Thompson and Will Young have come up with designs inspired by nature. The general public can rest their tired behinds on the chairs for a small fee of £2, and all funds raised will go to raising funds for London's green spaces.

From the 7th June you will be able to limited edition copies of the chairs for your own garden for £38. The chairs will be out in the parks from mid June to late September.

[via newconsumer.com]

Related: Giant Seed sculpture set for final journey to Eden | More events and happenings

It's nice to have furniture that's kind to the planet, as well as being pleasing to the eye. This chair by Whit McLeod is made from recycled 70 gallon oak wine barrels. It folds down into a slight, but perfect curve, with each individual slat fitting seamlessly with the next. Each chair has the vineyard's name branded on the underside, so you know exactly where your chairs have come from. They come in a variety of naturally stained wood finishes, including ebony and mahogany, and are varnished with linseed oil to give it a sleek look which makes it a great piece of furniture for inside, or outside your house. Each chair costs US$159 and they are available from Bluehouse.com

Related: Reel rocker chair by David Meddings Design | Connection introduces UK’s first carbon neutral chair | Myakka fairtrade furniture