We were all ears listening to the environmental issues in Mr Brown's budget yesterday, but were his ramblings much cop? The general consensus is that although Brown has increased road tax for the most polluting cars (such as 4x4s) from £175 to £210, that is not nearly enough. Both Greenpeace [see story here] and Friends of Earth say that the rise will not discourage road users from driving gas guzzling cars. FOE feel that Brown's commitment to an Annual Carbon Report needs to be linked to a statutory requirement for annual cuts in climate changing pollution (as per The Big Ask campaign). Friends of the Earth generally welcome most of the changes but feel they need to be backed up by policy and legislation, particularly in relation to energy efficency and related technology.
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Product Red is an ethical initiative encouraging consumers to join in the fight against HIV and Aids by supporting The Global Fund. The brand was launched by Bono back in January, together with partners American Express, Gap, Armani and Converse - not your typical ethical campaigners, I grant you.
Each company produces a 'Red' (not necessary of that colour) product from which profits will go direct to The Global Fund. American Express' 'Red' credit card has no annual fee and at least 1% of your spend will go to the fund. 50% of the profits of the Gap 'Red' merchandise will be donated, including a t-shirt priced at £14.50 made from African cotton, manufactured in Africa. The pictured Emporio Armani glasses, as worn by Bono, are available from April 2006 and Converse have created a unique Chuck Taylor All Star boot from a traditional African mudcloth design.
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The global cosmetics giant Loreal have today agreed to take over ethical high street retailer, The Body Shop. In a deal worth around £130 million to The Body Shop's founder, Anita Roddick, its hard to get past the fact that money makes the world go round. Ethical businesses are no stranger to takeovers; UniLever bought Ben & Jerry's, McDonald's acquired Pret A Manger and Cadburys Schwepps recently tookover Green & Black's. So what are we to make of this latest takeover?
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Bookstores hold a certain aura for me: all that knowledge - and cheap holiday reads - within four walls. But the prices! Since I discovered the Green Metropolis, my bank account is much happier. GM recycles second hand books by selling paperbacks for £3.75 including postage (hardbacks cost more, and postage is not included). Plus you can sell your own books for £3.00 each - the cash gets credited to your account, and you can buy more books, and then sell them back...what a lovely cycle. And we're not talking some old musty books. There are loads of recent releases, authors like Dan Brown, Dennis Lehane, Maeve Binchy, Penny Vincenzi, cookbooks, gardening, philosophy, the lot! As if the book recycling wasn't enough, GM donates 5p from every sale to the Woodland Trust and allows you to donate to the WT from your account, too. Now I'm off to hunt down that new Nigella book. [written by Elana]
If you're reading this from the US, please feel free to yawn away - you probably read about the credit card- and note-holding Jimi many moons before David Cameron's ascension. For anyone slumming it in the UK, however, this is your first chance to buy the 100 per cent recycled plastic wallet. We have Howies to thank for bringing the green style icon to these shores, although it's rather cheekily selling it for £15 - twice the $15 US price. Stocking filler, anyone?
More proof, as if you needed it, that there's gold to be made out of green. Following news on the cash to made from ethical investment funds such as Aberdeen and F&C's Stewardship, the Belfast Telegraph's regular IFA chap says such funds are 'a sound investment'. Malcolm Johnston's reasoning is pretty simple. In his words, a 'positive attitude to ethics and the environment signals a company's intelligence, efficiency and long term sustainability.' It's certainly worth considering as an alternative to another sack of tat this Christmas; take a look at Smile Invest's very good site if you want to get your head around ethical investing. Triodos Renewables (pictured) is also worth a peek.
Let's say you have a current bank account with the ethically-minded Smile, shares invested with Triodos to help wind turbines and a Greenpeace credit card for making big splurges. If you ticked all the above you would surely qualify as ethical money royalty. You would, but chances are you'd still be carrying your filthy lucre in a wallet made in China from chemical-filled leather. Which - in a slightly long-winded manner - is where this recycled leather wallet enters. Made from old leather belts in London, Paris and Los Angeles, it's a choice Xmas present which comes in four versions for ethical money princes and princesses. The cheapest is £87.50; they're available at Nigel's Ecostore (formerly the Insight Ecostore).
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For ethical cash, go to Aberdeen
We were all ears listening to the environmental issues in Mr Brown's budget yesterday, but were his ramblings much cop? The general consensus is that although Brown has increased road tax for the most polluting cars (such as 4x4s) from £175 to £210, that is not nearly enough. Both Greenpeace [see story here] and Friends of Earth say that the rise will not discourage road users from driving gas guzzling cars. FOE feel that Brown's commitment to an Annual Carbon Report needs to be linked to a statutory requirement for annual cuts in climate changing pollution (as per The Big Ask campaign). Friends of the Earth generally welcome most of the changes but feel they need to be backed up by policy and legislation, particularly in relation to energy efficency and related technology.
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