In today's Guardian, Lucy Aitken talks about the ethical shopper's worst nightmare: Greenwash. We're all aware that the claims to greenness made by many companies are at best, exaggerated, but how clued up are we really about being tricked into buying eco-friendly products that are anything but?
Firstly, if you've been taken in, don't panic. Marketing bods do everything in their power to make us believe the stuff they sell us is greener than freshly-cut grass, so you shouldn't be ashamed to admit it when you buy the latest bit of 'green gear' only to twig later that it came in yards of plastic packaging, or was transported halfway across the world to get into your eager hands. There is even an award for the worst examples of greenwash, whose 'winners' will be announced later this month.
So, if it's happened to you and you'd like to prevent future mishaps, we've prepared a brief guide to detecting greenwash before it hits you in the pocket. Follow the jump for the rest of the tips.
1. Watch out for over-use of jargon.
By and large, companies that make the most noise about helping the environment are the ones that are actually doing the least, and those that do make a difference will be honest about what they are doing and - crucially - what they're not. Two companies being very honest about their efforts at the moment are Eurostar and BSkyB.
It made me sad to think of all that food going to waste when I read this story last week, so I've been thinking about what we can do about it. Here are some suggestions for creative and fun ways to use leftover food, and some simple ways to stop it going bad in the first place...
• Take leftover food into work. There's almost always one hungry person in the office who'll appreciate it! And last night's mashed potato can feel very comforting at your desk, while others make do with supermarket sandwiches...
• There are lots of recipes out there specifically designed to use the food you didn't eat last night, and they're not limited to bubble and squeak! Check out Leftover Chef, which has a great tool that let's you search for recipes using different leftovers.
• Got lots of leftover bread you're not going to eat? This can be a great excuse for a walk to your local park where you'll soon meet some very appreciative birds and ducks.
Want to cut down on the potentially harmful chemicals that can easily build up at home? Here are some simple steps you can take to make your home a toxin-free haven!
• Bleach is a powerful corrosive substance, so try to use it very sparingly, if you use it at all. The sort that contains phosphates can upset the balance of natural systems in rivers and lakes, so you should always try to buy phosphate-free varieties, e.g Selden ACT toilet cleaner. Alternatively, white distilled vinegar can be used to disinfect, clean and deodorize. But be warned: NEVER use bleach and vinegar together, as the two can cause a reaction releasing toxic chlorine gas.
• When decorating, always buy the right amount of paint for the job. Alternatively, choose a paint that does not contain volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), like the range from Oliver Heath. VOCs are solvents that evaporate during use (hence the horrible smell associated with painting), can damage the environment and affect human health. B&Q has introduced a handy labelling system that tells you a product's 'VOC count'. There's some great info on the nasties found in paint here, as well as some great tips on where to dispose of old tins if you do over-buy.
I know some of you super-organised people out there will already have started thinking about decorating your homes in anticipation of the festive season - and I imagine the suddenly rather wintery weather may well have been a catalyst! If you like to go overboard in the run-up to Christmas, but aren't so keen on the idea of the usual plastic, planet-pillaging decor, keep reading... Instead of tinsel and baubles, use potted poinsettias, rosemary, thyme and sage, branches of mistletoe and holly wreaths. Eschewing a tacky plastic tree is also better for the environment, as well as being far more aesthetically pleasing. If you look after it properly, you can use a living, potted tree year after year, and it won't get tatty round the edges like its artificial counterparts, or shed its needles like a cut tree.
If you need further inspiration on what to use and how, there's plenty of help out there. For instance, leafing (ho ho) through the latest Royal Horticultural Society Diary of Events this morning, I spotted a flower-arranging demonstration entitled 'A merry floral Christmas' taking place in Lawrence Hall on Greycoat Street in London on the 9th November - the demonstration takes place at 2.15pm, and is repeated at 4.15pm. If you're considering getting yourself a living Christmas tree, these tips should help you keep it healthy.
With all those prickles, you might be mistaken for thinking the humble hedgehog can easily fend for itself, but it seems the once-common garden creatures are finding it harder and harder to co-exist with humans.
A steep decline in their numbers has recently led the UK's wildlife experts to add hedgehogs to the Biodiversity Action Plan for threatened species. What can you do to be a better host and prevent a further drop? Here are a few (pointy) pointers:
Hedgehogs have traditionally been welcomed in gardens because they provide excellent pest-control. But use of chemical pesticides has driven them out, since some are poisonous to them, despite the fact that 'hogs have developed immunity to a number of toxins that other garden critters can't handle. Avoiding the use of pesticides as much as possible will help create a kinder environment to this far cuter form of pest control.
Rubbish can be a real hazard to hedgehogs. Make sure you keep anything that hedgehogs and other small creatures could get tangled in sealed up in bins, particularly netting of all kinds, plastic containers, empty food cans, yoghurt pots, plastic mugs, etc.
Here’s another important piece of knowledge needed to make our central heating systems efficient and green for the coming winter. According to the National Energy Foundation good heating controls are vital for a green system. Even if you have an A rated energy efficient boiler, if it’s running too hot or for too long, or when people are not in the house, energy is being wasted. It’s probably safe to say that even super efficient boilers are less green than switched off boilers.
According to the NEF, good controls require a minimum of four things:
• an electronic timer or programmer that allows separate switching of heating and hot water
• a room thermostat wisely positioned in the right place
• thermostatic radiator control valves (TRVs) which turn radiators off when the room has reached the right temperature
• separate thermostatic control on the hot water system (if you have a hot water cylinder)
There are also a host of other funky extra gadgets which you can add to your heating system to boost your green credentials, which I’ll try to cover shortly. Keep an eye out.
Find out how to handle the new floppy plastic saving eco-pak from Waitrose. They're not as easy to get to grips with as you might have thought, but with a bit of practice and following our simple tips, they're a good way to save on packaging.
In today's Guardian, Lucy Aitken talks about the ethical shopper's worst nightmare: Greenwash. We're all aware that the claims to greenness made by many companies are at best, exaggerated, but how clued up are we really about being tricked into buying eco-friendly products that are anything but? 
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It made me sad to think of all that food going to waste when I read 
Want to cut down on the potentially harmful chemicals that can easily build up at home? Here are some simple steps you can take to make your home a toxin-free haven!
With all those prickles, you might be mistaken for thinking the humble hedgehog can easily fend for itself, but it seems the once-common garden creatures are finding it harder and harder to co-exist with humans.
Here’s another important piece of knowledge needed to make our central heating systems efficient and green for the coming winter. According to the 
