Recent investigations show that shops like Primark, H&M, Tesco, Lidl, Aldi and Zara have been paying suppliers in Bangladesh less than the cost of production for their wares, which means the factories are forced to pay their workers less than the minimum wage. Some of the poorest people in the world work in the global…
Tag: ecotips
Sustainable Fish
Not a lot of people know this but species-rich, undamaged marine ecosystems actually draw down CO2 and sequester it through natural processes, which is very good in the fight against climate change. Over-fished marine ecosystems can cause greenhouse gas emissions in several different ways, including through destructive fishing methods such as bottom trawling – alarmingly…
Coping with Climate Anxiety
Climate anxiety is a straight-forward expression of stress from our subconscious telling us that we feel threatened. It can take several forms, from sleep disturbance to feelings of dread. It can be fleeting or it can be continuous. The neuroscience says that this anxiety is a signal to act. However action will only ameliorate the…
The Big One
In case somehow you have not heard about the Big One, this is it: a huge demonstration at the Houses of Parliament involving originally Extinction Rebellion and now everyone from WWF and the RSPB to the Nurses Union and faith groups from across the land. Protest is the sixth pillar of climate action that every…
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the garden centre…
The government in 2022 banned the sale of bagged peat-based compost from 2024, which is a big step in the right direction and should save thousands of acres of peat bog in the country. Peat bog destruction causes huge amounts of CO2 emissions. When that law was passed, the government explained that the use of…
Plant-based Milks and Dairy Milk
Milk from dairy cows has a higher carbon footprint by any measure than any plant-based milk on the market, including soya, oat, hazelnut, cashew, almond, rice, hemp, pea, potato or coconut. Replacing some or all of the cow milk in your diet and reducing your carbon footprint should be relatively easy from a taste perspective,…
Plastic Microfibres From Our Laundry Shouldn’t End Up In The Ocean
Polyester and other man-made fibres make great cheap clothes, but they slowly disintegrate, shedding plastic microfibres every time they are washed. In fact cotton does as well, but the cotton will break down in the environment, unlike microplastics. The microfibres end up in the oceans, where they appear as food to planktonic micro-organisms and enter…
Buying Sustainable Flowers
Mothers Day is on Sunday, March 19th this year, so there is time to think and avoid being trapped into getting the most unsustainable flowers at the last minute from the supermarket. There are three major sustainability problems with growing flowers: To a certain extent, the first two are mutually exclusive – the reason for…
Simple Eco-Labelling – a Start for Sustainability
Keep an eye out for products using eco-labelling from Foundation Earth, using a simple green-to-red scale design and a grading from A+ to G. If it’s A+, it has scored highly in the audit with a low carbon footprint, low water usage, the resultant pollution too, and lastly having minimum impact on biodiversity (the buzzword…
How Chimneys Waste Heat
People who live in an apartment can safely skip this tip, but otherwise think of that fireplace and chimney. Unused, open chimneys waste heat, letting expensive warm air out and cold air in. King Charles has probably got chimney dampers on all his palace fireplaces, which can simply shut the chimney when the fireplace isn’t…