According to a survey* by BBC Magazines nearly 60% of us are planning to get planting this year. The most popular vegetable people want to grow is the potato while the tomatoes are the most favoured fruit.

Apparently growing your own produce is also seen as a way of saving on expenses with 40% taking up gardening to save money. However a whopping 75% want to do it because they think the produce has better flavour when home grown. Now I don't have a big garden to plant potatoes in, or a shed to keep tomatoes. Perhaps I'll start with a herb garden in the windowsill...

Some of the main findings in the survey were:

Why people grow their own
1. Enjoy the process (83%)
2. Better flavour (75%)
3. For healthy eating (50%)
4. Saves me money (40%)
5. To know my food has been grown organically (35%)

Which veg are you growing this year?
1. Potatoes (65%)
2. Courgettes (59%)
3. Runner beans (58%)
4. Carrots (57%)
5. French beans (55%)

Which fruit are you growing this year?
1. Tomatoes (79%)
2. Apples (65%)
3. Strawberries (62%)
4. Rhubarb (58%)
5. Raspberries (57%)
6. Blackberries (57%)

Where do you currently grow your own vegetables?
1. In pots and containers (55%)
2. Dedicated vegetable bed (46%)
3. Greenhouse (29%)
4. In borders (26%)
5. On a windowsill (12%)
6. Allotment (9%)

What are the main reasons you don't plan to grow your own in 2011?
1. Too many failed crops (45%)
2. I don't have enough crops to make it worthwhile (24%)
3. Too time-consuming (18%)
4. Too expensive (10%)
5. No difference in taste to shop bought (6%)

*The Grow Your Own survey was carried out by 2,823 readers of BBC magazine readers in an online survey.

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.

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!

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

A Keep Britain Tidy survey has found that fast-food wrappers are the most common type of litter in more than half of the UK's cities and towns.

The survey which took a look at which brands are littering the streets also found that Londoners are out of step with the rest of the country with cigarette packaging making up 50% of the litter on the capital's streets.

Where Londoners are into smoking it appears that people in Manchester, Rugby, Sheffield and Southend are more into fast-food while other cities across the UK, like Carlisle and Gloucester, have more of a sweet tooth.

Taking a look around there's no denying that litter is a massive problem in the UK, with many having an 'open and drop' mentality, simply dropping sweet wrappers or food containers where they happen to be at the time, not bothering to look for a rubbish bin. According to Keep Britain Tidy the litter on the streets cost £858 million a year to clean up.

As part of the charity's ongoing drive to make England a green and pleasant land in
which to live, Keep Britain Tidy is now working with businesses, including McDonalds, Greggs, Wrigley and Imperial Tobacco, along with central and local government and the voluntary sector, on Love Where You Live.

Keep Britain Tidy's chief executive Phil Barton said: 'Love Where You Live is a unique campaign. It is about everyone, from individuals and community groups to local authorities and multi-national corporations, working together to transform our country.
'We need to make a change so that this country is no longer a place where it is, seemingly, acceptable for some to throw litter.

'It is time for us to start taking some pride in our country and for everyone to love where they live. It is not someone else's responsibility - it is everyone's responsibility.'

The top ten most littered brands are:

1. McDonald's


2. Cadbury


3. Greggs


4. Wrigley


5. Coca-Cola


6. Mars Incorporated


7. Unbranded fish&chips/kebab/pizza


8. Marlboro (Philip Morris Int)


9. Lambert & Butler (Imperial)


10. Subway

Yesterday saw the start of Climate Week and mayor of London, Boris Johnson, announced a £70m fund to make London greener, The Guardian reports.

London produces 2.6 million tonnes of organic waste each year which could generate revenues of £170m if diverted to composting and energy generation. Londoners and the capital's visitors also throw away around 280,000 tonnes of plastic which would be worth £140m a year if recycled correctly.

The £70m fund will finance the development of low-carbon waste and recycling facilities in the capital, and could create hundreds of green jobs, save 28,000 tonnes of carbon and divert 245,000 tonnes of waste from landfills.

Johnson said: "A century ago London was cashing in on carbon, but I am determined we now harness the wealth of investment opportunities coming from the shift away from the use of increasingly costly fossil fuels. The prize is not only better environmental stewardship and cash savings, but the injection of billions of pounds into the city's economy and tens of thousands of high quality jobs ... and a better quality of life."
He said the environmental goods and services sector was already worth about £23bn to the London economy, with carbon finance alone contributing about £5.8bn, despite the recent problems in the carbon trading markets.

We've briefly mentioned Earth Hour here on Hippyshopper. Do keep on checking back as we're certain to mention it again! One of the companies joining in on turning off the lights for Earth Hour on Saturday 26th March between 8:30pm and 9:30pm is Coca-Cola Great Britain. And it's not any light they're turning off; they are switching off the Piccadilly Circus sign! This is the fifth time the sign has been switch off since the Second World War.

And as an extra treat Coca-Cola is running a competition on www.cokezone.co.uk to win an environmentally friendly weekend at an eco-lodge and £150 in spending money. Just don't enter the competition on Earth Hour, as using your computer then would defeat the whole point of it...

Image: brandrepublic.com

Environmental artist Ha Schult has installed his army of one thousand life sized trash people in the Arctic at Longyearbyen, Svalbard.

The German artist has travelled the world with his sculptures made of discarded materials since 1996 and has been below the La Défense arch in Paris, in the aptly named Piazza del Popolo (the people's square) in Rome, by the pyramids of Giza and now the freezing conditions of the Arctic.

Images: top - www.lokalstyre.no / all others www.haschult.de

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...

Forget about the toasters, gravy boats and candlesticks if you were planning on sending a present to the royal couple. Prince William and Catherine Middleton on Wednesday requested charitable gifts instead of wedding presents.

Not that the couple would need more traditional wedding gifts - we're sure Buckingham Palace has that covered - but it is great to hear that the modern British royals have opted for a more benevolent approach as they pre-empt the flood of extravagant gifts that typically are gifted at royal weddings.

The statement by Clarence House said the couple is "touched by the goodwill shown them" and "have set up a charitable gift fund for those who very generously may wish to donate to charity to help the couple celebrate their wedding." A total of 26 charities have been personally chosen by Kate and William (see complete list below).

The 29^th April wedding is set to reflect the state of Britain and perhaps the world - a time of economic uncertainty and philanthropic need - and the list includes charitable causes in the UK as well as some in Canada, Australia and New Zealand that reflect the couple's close ties to and affection for the three countries.

The couple famously got engaged while on holiday in Kenya which is reflected in charities focusing on wildlife conservation in Africa and beyond.

If you would like to donate to the happy couple, you can do so through the official website www.royalweddingcharityfund.org.

The full list of charities that will benefit from the fund is as follows:

• Peace Players


• Ocean Youth Trust


• Greenhouse Schools


• Oily Cart


• Dance United


• IntoUniversity


• Venture Trust


• Beat Bullying


• Keyfund


• A National Voice


• Association for Children's Palliative Care (ACT)


• Youth Access


• Community Foundation in Wales


• Community Foundation in Scotland


• Community Foundation in Berkshire


• Combat Stress


• Cruse Bereavement Care for Children of Forces' Families


• Household Cavalry Benevolent Fund


• Irish Guards Appeal


• Army Widows Association


• Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund


• ZSL


• EarthWatch


• The Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary


• New Zealand Government's Christchurch Earthquake Appeal


• Royal Flying Doctor Service - Australia

This article first appeared on Bridalwave.tv

Environmentally friendly materials and packaging have been the source of many news stories this month: Coca-Cola unveiled plans to create a recycling plant to tackle UK's plastic bottle recycling issues; and new research show recycled cardboard might not be as good as initially thought.

Yesterday, PepsiCo - the company behind brands like Pepsi, Tropicana, Quaker and Gatorade -unveiled what it claims is "the world's first 100 percent plant-based, renewably sourced PET bottle." Boasting that the 'green' bottle beats technology of other industry competitors like Coca-Cola, it appears that Pepsi has won the race to take recycling and plastic bottles to the next level.

Pepsi's 'green' bottle is made from bio-based raw materials like switch grass, pine bark and corn husks. In the future, the company plans to also use orange peels, potato peels, oat hulls and other scraps from its food manufacturing business.

This is a welcome innovation and in terms of recycling biodegradable bottles, made from reused materials, will be a wise investment for beverage companies wishing to remove themselves from using PET plastic made from fossil fuels.

The pilot production of the new bottle is set to start in 2012, and upon successful completion Pepsi intends to move directly into full-scale production.

The supermodel has joined forces with shopping centre Westfield for the pop-up store, which will open its doors between April 6 to 13 to sell designer items in aid of The Prince's Trust charity.

Among the products up for grabs will be a Vivienne Westwood evening dress previously worn by the British beauty, and a Tom Ford suit donned by comedian David Walliams.

In addition, labels including Stella McCartney, Mulberry, Givenchy and Christopher Kane will donate pieces to the shop, while fashion set designer Michael Howells will be responsible for dressing the store windows.

Naomi will also be joined behind the till by a string of as-yet unnamed famous faces, with mystery guest DJs also promised to boost the shopping experience.

The Prince's Trust benefits young people who need practical and financial backing in order to turn their lives around.

The supermodel's previous altruistic efforts include her annual Fashion for Relief catwalk show, and a collection of t-shirts, which were sold to raise money for the charity.

Mrs Orlando Bloom, Miranda Kerr counts Rosehip oil as one of the essential products every woman should keep in their handbag.

The Australian model and mother-of-one finds the essential oil is particularly useful as a make-up remover and that it can also be a useful tool to protect against the effects of exposure to the sun and ageing.

Miranda said: "Essential Fatty Acids main function is their ability to counteract the drying effects of sun exposure and other environmental influences that lead to signs of aging and age related skin damage.

"I use this under my moisturiser of an evening and as a makeup remover around my eyes. I also use it more frequently if my skin is particularly dry at any time."

Miranda endorses a brand of Rosehip oil through her KORA Organics range, which she says has a particular blend of ingredients designed to give the optimum care for skin.

Looking in my bag there is no Rosehip oil to be found, but I have heard about its positive effects before so might just have to invest in some...