We're all for new and creative ways of using natural sources to produce energy. We've previously written how installing solar panels is an excellent way to use renewable energy sources, but underwater kites?

Swedish site The Local writes that Swedish company Minesto believes that "a device modelled on a children's toy will make harnessing energy from the world's oceans as easy as flying a kite."

Perhaps the world's oceans could provide a viable clean-energy alternative other resources?

The underwater kite solution, called Deep Green, harnesses energy from ocean tides and currents at a far more efficient rate than wind turbines above the surface. Moving - or flying - in a circular motion converting tidal currents into energy, the devices can generate 800 times more energy than if they were in the sky. This is due to the fact that seawater is 800 times denser than air.

The prototype model was included in Time Magazine's '50 Best Inventions of 2010', and Minesto has raised €2 million to develop the technology further and build a scale model that will be tested off the coast of Northern Ireland after the summer.

You might ask how this will affect marine wildlife, as these giant foreign objects are placed beneath the sea surface? According to Minesto, extensive studies have been carried out to see what will happen.

"One of the major obstacles has been the threat of things getting caught up by the tethers. We will place the kites far enough apart so they cannot get intertwined, but there is a danger of floating devices and fishing nets for example," Minesto CEO Anders Jansson explains.

Speaking to The Local, Jansson added that in ways the kites can actually have a positive environmental effect as the kites pump air back into the ocean which will help clean up the water.

Easter is over and you're feeling all the fairtrade chocolate you devoured over the long weekend. But there are only three working days until we can do it all again! With the royal wedding on Friday and May Bank holiday next Monday us Brits are set for another long weekend (perhaps a bit less sunny and less chocolatey) than the one just gone.

If you're lost for ideas of what to do on 1 May, this cool event we came across on Facebook might be just the thing!

Sunday 1 May 2001 sees the fifth International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day, where guerrilla gardeners around the world unite to sow sunflowers wherever they see fit - such a nice way to bring some beauty to the neighbourhoods.

According to event listing on Facebook by GuerillaGardening.org "make a plan for 1 May and head out to a patch of public land" and we're guessing with some sunflower seeds and get planting!

If you want to see more of what the idea is check out this YouTube clip, and if you're taking part share your photos on Facebook and Flickr.
Happy sunflower planting!

80 million Easter eggs are eaten every year with the industry making hundreds of millions pounds of profit. We get chocolate, they get money, a win-win situation. In fact Easter eggs can have a downside and it's not just the sugar-low, a survey by Friends of the Earth revealed that in 2007, 4,370 tonnes of cardboard and 160 tonnes of foil waste was created by packaging. Also, cocoa production has a long history of alleged labour rights abuses and deforestation in third world countries.

Here are our favourite choices of ethical Easter gifts, be it fair trade chocolate, environmentally friendly dyed egg baskets or hand crafted eggs by local artists in Kashmir, to ensure that you can look out for the earth whilst simultaneously gorging yourself on delicious chocolate treats.

Former Pussycat Doll Kimberly Wyatt and British actress Joanna Lumley are asking people who are buying Easter presents to help save rabbits by buying beauty and personal care gifts that have not been tested on animals.

These products can easily be identified by the Leaping Bunny Logo that symbolises the product has been approved by the BUAV's Humane Cosmetics Standard, which guarantees a company doesn't test their cosmetics and toiletries on animals.

Kimberley, who is also the founder of a new cruelty-free cosmetics brand BM Beauty, said: "Please be kind to bunnies this Easter - don't buy animal tested cosmetics and toiletries when choosing gifts for your loved ones. Look out for the BUAV's Leaping Bunny logo."

Joanna added: "I'm helping rabbits this Easter by only buying cruelty-free cosmetics. Look out for the BUAV's Leaping Bunny logo."

Despite bans in the UK and EU that prevent animals from being used to test cosmetics and toiletries, products that have been cruelly tested on animals in other parts of the world are still allowed to be sold and the BUAV is campaigning for a ban that will prevent this from happening.

Kimberley and Joanna are not the only stars lending their support to BUAV to end cruel animal testing. In March, Sir Paul McCartney joined the animal rights charity in a European campaign.

You can sign the No Cruel Cosmetics petition at www.nocruelcosmetics.org.

We do like to keep on top of our recycling here in the Hippyshopper office - as well as at home - and are currently drooling over the Ovetto egg shaped eco recycling bin!

It might not help with all your recycling needs but Ovetto's multi-compartment design makes is egg-tra simple to separate your plastics from your cardboard from your glass.

It's designed by award-winning architect and designer Gianluca Soldi to help people dispose of their waste in a fashionable manner.

Made from recycled polypropylene, the Ovetto is available in white, black or aluminium grey and a variety of customised colour panels of your choice so that your fashionable and eco selves don't have to fight it out.

The recycling egg can be bought at various retailers, but we stumbled across it on Bouf.com where it is currently available for £155.48.

If you've just had a spring clean in your lingerie drawer, you'll no doubt be looking to invest in some new items for the spring. You'll be happy to learn that Marks & Spencer is bringing out the world's first carbon neutral lingerie set.

The high-street retailer's new range of carbon neutral lingerie, that will be available online, was made in an 'eco factory' in Sri Lanka. The factory has cut down its energy use by a third by ensuring that all lighting is from the sun and low energy light bulbs are used.

Through its Plan A commitment, Marks & Spencer is also tackling climate chance by investing in local rainforest replanting projects.

Soozie Jenkinson, head of lingerie design explains: 'The new range is sophisticated, elegant and glamorous. We've used a combination of intricate lace and dramatic embroidery, inspired by the exotic foliage of the rainforest." So not just eco-friendly, it's fashionable as well.

Scandinavia is known for its green thinking and focus on eco-friendly materials, so it was just fitting that a Scandinavian brand would be the first to be featured in our Eco Fashion Focus.

FIN Oslo is a Norwegian label that was founded in 2007 with the vision of introducing high fashion collections that were also environmentally sustainable. Head designer Per Sivertsen explores interpretations of contemporary femininity in his quest for perfection.

"Taking inspiration from ever-evolving surroundings, FIN Oslo collections epitomize a modern, sophisticated Scandinavian look. The signature dusty colours, flowing volumes and attention to detail have led to a strong identity, visible through the collections."

All products are produced ethically; ensuring fair trade values are followed; and are made from organic cotton and bamboo, wild non-violent silk, baby Alpaca yarn or milk fabrics (made from surplus milk proteins that are not intended for food).

The company also buys climate credits based on the level of CO2 emissions from the production of FIN Oslo garments - the funds are consequently invested in renewable projects in the countries where the clothes were produced.

If you'd like to know more visit FIN Oslo's website.

The sun is out and it's looking to be a scorcher of a weekend. And as all girls (well most at least) sun and soon summer means dresses, lots of dresses!

It's a good thing that there are designers like sisters Tamsin and Seraphina out there. They are behind the label Nancy Dee who create ethical fashion that is so versatile and wearable, yet completely on trend.

Inspired by retro designs, the collections rework classic shapes with bold prints and strong colour palettes, utilising the characteristics of jersey - its softness, drape and stretch.

The sunset orange Dottie dress is available from Nancy Dee for £70.00

It's almost mid-week and the energy after the weekend has more or less worn off.

So what do we do here at Hippyshopper to get our energy levels back up again to face the rest of the working week? We take some time out to play a game!

This week we've been told about a game called Swat the Mozzy which is actually helping to raise awareness and funds in the fight against malaria. See you can have fun and do good all in one go!

Charity Malaria No More's Swat the Mozzy game invites you to hit as many mosquitos between now and 25th April - the World Malaria Day. Whoever gets the highest hit number will get the chance to win a host of prizes.

Malaria is a preventable and treatable disease that affects half of the world's population and claims over 780,000 lives each year, most of them children in Africa.

For more info and to play the game head on over to www.malarianomore.org.uk/swat-the-mozzy

On our daily quest to find the eco movements out there we came across Green Office Week - yes there is a week for everything these days.

It's all good being green at home, but what is the state of your office? A 2010 Avery environmental survey found that one in three office workers has a lazy attitude when it comes to looking after the environment at work, despite 69% believing that being eco-friendly at work will make a substantial difference to the environment.

Simply by making a few small changes you can make a difference to the environment - something we all should be doing every day of the year. Green Office Week (GOW) runs from Monday 9th May to Friday 13th May this year and is encouraging you to make your office greener by daily themes. So why not use this year's Green Office Week as a start to a greener office environment!

Check out the gallery below to see how you can make your office greener in just five steps!

When we came across these Nasa satellite images on Guardian.co.uk of a whole range of agricultural patterns as seen from space we knew we had to share some of them with you.

If you've ever traversed your way around London's streets you know it can be a daunting and dangerous task - both on foot and on bike!

Following numerous serious and fatal incidents the capital's cyclists and the London Cycling Campaign are taking to the streets on Wednesday 30 March 2011 to highlight the problem of lorry-related cyclist fatalities and to collect signatures for its No More Lethal Lorries petition.

Gathering across nine locations during the morning and evening rush hours they hope to emphasise the problem of preventable accidents that involve lorries and bikes - lorries may only make up 5% of London traffic but are involved in over half of the cyclist fatalities.

Campaigns officer Charlie Lloyd said, "Too many cyclists have died or been terribly injured already in 2011, and all councils are being asked to take steps to prevent further casualties.

"Councils must take the lead in providing cyclist-awareness training for all their HGV drivers, and we hope that one day such training will be mandatory for all London lorry drivers."

If you want to show your support for the Londoners that think about the environment and cycle instead of using gas guzzling cars, you can sign the petition on www.no-more-lethal-lorries.org.uk.

Click here to find out where the London Cyclist Campaign staff and volunteers will be on Wednesday 30th March 2011.

We love this energy-saving lightbulb called Plumen 001. It picked up prize for Design of the Year at the Brit Insurance Awards 2011 last week, and since then we've been wanting to decorate our offices with it.

Created by designer Samuel Wilkinson and product design Hulger, the Plumen 001 uses 80% less energy and lasts eight times longer than an incandescent bulb. Not to mention it looks great!

The Design Museum in London, which organizes the award, said the Plumen is "imaginatively sculpted" and possesses a "beautiful silhouette and organic form".

We want!

Via designtaxi.com

It's always great to come across unusual and inspiring green art projects. Have you ever heard of "reverse graffiti"? Neither had we until recently.

Reverse graffiti is when you take filthy, moss covered surfaces and wipe away the dirt to create amazing green artworks.

UK artist Paul Curtis, or Moose as he calls himself, is a reverse graffiti artist. It involves no paint. No defacing. Moose makes his art by cleaning; removing the evils of dirt and pollution by wiping it away.

Below are a few examples of Moose's work. Looking at makes us want to invest in some cloths and a bucket to fill with water and head out in the London streets.

Climate Week is "a supercharged national occasion that offers an annual renewal of our ambition and confidence to combat climate change. It is for everyone wanting to do their bit to protect our planet and create a secure future."

During this week, thousands of businesses, charities, schools, councils and individuals will run events to show what can be achieved, to share ideas and encourage thousands more to act during the rest of the year and consider eco-issues like saving energy, recycling and solar power to lead a more sustainable lifestyle.

The campaign is supported by several well-known faces including actress Sienna Miller, presenter and Monty Python actor Michael Palin as well as ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney.

Sir Paul McCartney says: "Anything that brings people's attention to the subject of climate change, such as Climate Week, is an important initiative."

On the official website www.climateweek.com there is lots of useful information on how to run an event, including a campaign toolkit with posters and logos, as well as a Climate Week Pub Quiz - a fun and easy way of being part of Britain's biggest environmental occasion. There is also a handy tool to find local events by simply entering your postcode, location or your chosen keyword.

To date the total number of events registered for Climate Week 2011 across the UK is 2,450.

If you would like to get involved in Climate Week but don't know what to do here are a few tips that you can do at home:

Change something small in your daily life, like reusing plastic bags (or investing in reusable bags!), turning appliances of at the socket, or reducing your water use.

Organise a low carbon meal. This can be done by using local, in-season produce. Alternatively use left overs and try to recycle as much of the packaging!

Run a swishing event! Gather your friends or colleagues and have a fun night swapping clothes and items you don't need or use.

Find alternative transport to work. We're talking about walking or cycling to work instead of getting on a stuffed tube or bus. Try it - we have - you'll be astonished how noticeably improved your mood becomes after not having to stand in a stranger's armpit for half an hour...