bemoreeco

BeMoreEco has signed up to 10:10 - an ambitious project to unite every sector of British society behind one simple idea: that by working together we can achieve a 10% cut in the UK’s carbon emissions in 2010.

By signing up to 10:10 you commit to support the national drive to reduce Britain’s emissions steeply in 2010. That means urging your staff, suppliers and customers to sign up to cut their own emissions by 10%, helping to distribute our tags, and doing everything you can to reduce your own operational emissions

HOW CAN THE UK CUT 10%?

The simplest way to tackle your 10% cut is to use the 10:10 10 point checklist below;

The holidays are nearly over and it is now time to make sure that you have all your kids ‘back to school’ gear ready.

So the team at BeMoreEco have gone through its post archive and have come up with a few post that you may find helpfull.

• The Ultimate Round-Up Of Green Back-To-School Advice
• Eco Shopping Guide Going Back to School
• How to Set Up an Environmentally Friendly, Green Classroom
• Top 10 eco, green and fun websites for kids

WRAP Recycle Week will took place between 22nd and 28th June. In support of recycle week the teams at BemoreEco and MoreEco blogged their recycling exploits each day.

Below, are all the posts have made were made.

Recycle Week Posts

• Sun 28th June – Day Seven -
• Sat 27th June - Day Six – Recycling at Glastonbury, Mike Skinner Crop Circles, Lunch and making plastic flowers from recycled bottles.
• Sat 27th June - Green Think Tank for Kids
• Fri 26th June - Day Five – Vision Food Hall, lunch (woops!), Miniature New York made out of recycled items video – cool!
• Thurs 25th June - Day Four – Computer waste, Garbage and dodge lunch
• Thurs 25th June - So how do I ditch my old computer?
• Wed 24th June - Day Three – Plastic recycling, lunch, and recycling centre video
• Tues 23rd June - Coco-Cola, Sussex Woman & Chalk Cliffs! – pictures and video
• Tues 23rd June - Day Two – Lunch, clothes, more recycling bins
• Mon 22nd June - Recycle Week Poem by Nils
• Mon 22nd June - Day One – Lunch, recycling bins and amusing video

Pre Recycle Week Posts

• Recycle Twitters
• Top 10 Favourite BeMoreEco recycling articles
• The BeMoreEco Pledges
• National Recycle Week Summary – make a pledge

Also as bonus if you sign up to MoreEco during June and July they will give you an extra 100 joining points. Use offer code ‘recyclenow’.

WRAP Recycle Week will take place between 22nd and 28th July and it is to get involved during Recycle Week.

In support of recycle week the teams at BemoreEco and MoreEco will be blogging their recycling exploits each day.

Click here to visit our recycling page to see what we have been up to during the week.

We can all help by doing anything from re-using our carrier bags to recycling old electrical items – remembering to put as much of our recycling out, reducing our food waste and home composting of course! However you choose to waste less, it’s easy, it helps the environment and you might even save money in the process.

Everyone’s invited to join in!

To show how much we can all contribute as individuals, the team at Recycle Now have  put together a list of easy-to-achieve pledges which include:

I pledge to…

• recycle all my cartons
• recycle all my glass
• recycle all my newspapers and magazines
• sort and recycle my old electrical items
• re-use my carrier bags
• use my leftovers to make delicious lunches
• choose peat-free compost
• recycle drinks bottles and cans when I am out and about
• look out for the new ‘Recycle’ packaging labels
• home-compost my kitchen and garden waste
• go waste free for a day
• donate/recycle my unwanted clothes

From early June you’ll be able to make your pledge on the special Recycle Week ‘home page’.

You’ll receive details about the positive effect your pledge will have on the environment, plus hints and tips on how to make a difference. And at the end of the week, we’ll tell you how much we’ve achieved together.

So, why not join us this June and let’s all waste less less this Recycle Week...

Also as bonus if you sign up to MoreEco during Recycling week we will give you an extra 100 joining points. Use offer code ‘recyclenow’.

In part two of our green wash feature, (part 1) we put the energy and oil companies under the microscope and ask if they are really doing their bit for the environment or pulling green wool over our eyes. Not every company that claims to be green is lying with many businesses spending millions reworking practices to become more environmentally friendly.

This can be demonstrated by Inc.com’s Green 50 which charts what businesses are doing to become more environmentally friendly. However with all these efforts there are many more big companies getting their big green paintbrush out.

Take energy giant Shell for instance. They bought out their big guns to shout about their commitment to a low carbon future but started selling off their Solar business as it wasn’t making ‘much profit’ and putting more money into oil sands. Oxfam criticised Shell in 2008 for massaging its emissions figures of oil sands as a “dangerous green wash” that hides its contribution to further climate change and puts poor people around the world at greater risk

In early 2009, Energy regulator Ofgem sparked controversy by making the decision that power companies wishing to offer green tariffs would be required to make additional efforts to reduce carbon emissions. This means that that currently suppliers offering green tariffs need to demonstrate that they are making additional investment in renewable energy or carbon offsets, on top of their legal obligations. The top six energy companies signed up to this. However this decision was slated by Dale Vince, MD of Ecotricity who accused the six of greenwash and said that this action would divert investment from increasing renewable energy capacity.

So what do consumers think? We know we are getting wiser about greenwashing and the web is helping us spread our distain for it. Consumers are quick to use the web to condemn green washing and voice their skepticism about corporations, researchers from Nielsen Online found during a recent survey.  “When it comes to the environment, consumers are insisting on both transparency and consistency from the corporations they patronise,” said Jessica Hogue, research director for Nielsen Online.

The team at MoreEco have decided to support a student at London Metropolitan University with their dissertation on ethical consumers. Their research is focussed on a new bottled water product from Iceland called Icelandic Glacial which is carbon neutral. This is, they say, the first bottled water in the world to be given a carbon neutral label. 

For each completed questionnaire we will add 100 FREE MoreEco points to your account. If you wish to receive this please send an email to ’support  at moreeco.com’ or download a copy from here.

All responses need to be sent to ’support at moreeco.com’ by Friday 24th April. 

- Do you enjoy modern living but are aware of climate change?
- Are you keen to reduce your footprint but need inspiration?
- Do you wonder what kind of world future generations are inheriting?

UK AWARE 09 in Olympia, London on Friday 17 & Saturday 18 April 09 shows you how easy greener living can be, how it will improve your quality of life and how much money it can save you.

UK AWARE is the UK’s only green lifestyle exhibition for people who want to learn how to reduce their carbon emissions.

Their exhibitors will be showcasing hundreds of products and services ranging from cars to computers, from fashion to food and from travel to advice services.

Their extensive range of FREE and interactive expert speakers panels will enlighten, engage and inspire you. They invite you to come and talk face to face with people who know the answers to your questions and can give you simple solutions.

Attractions include

• FREE world class speakers panels with over 40 expert speakers
• 100+ amazing exhibitors showcasing 1000’s of sexy green products and services
• The Green Machines Expo
• Clothes swapping party
• Morsbags
• The Green Screen Cinema
• Footprint Friends Eco family action
• Green Marketplace
• Chillout lounge
• UK AWARE is not your typical exhibition. 

Click here to receive your offer code and page link.

Recently Barbie has been accused of it, Shell and BP deny claims that they do it but it seems like all and sundry are jumping on the green bandwagon to sell their products.

“Green washing,” is the combination of the words green and whitewashing. This term was created by environmentalist Jay Westerveld who coined the phrase when examining the ‘so called’ environmental towel policy at hotels around the world. Today, it is becoming ingrained into modern language as global warming remains top of the planet’s agenda. The term describes efforts, mostly in business, to create the impression that a company is implementing practices meant to improve the environment when it is not really doing so.

Bemoreeco.com is constantly being sent products to review from green companies so we always do a green wash check to see if a product can live up to it’s so called environmental credentials:

• How many air miles has it done?
• Where, how and what has it been made of?
• Is it packaged in an environmentally friendly way?  (I can’t name all the times when we have been sent items in bubble wrap or copious amounts of unnecessary packaging!)

 
Back in December 2007, environmental marketing firm TerraChoice released a study called “The Six Sins of Green washing” which found that more than 99% of 1,018 common consumer products randomly surveyed were guilty of green washing. Out of a total of 1,753 environmental claims made, with some products having more than one, only one was found not guilty of making a false or misleading green marketing claim.

A good example of a company doing it right is Ribena, with all their bottles made from recycled plastic and the juice itself being produced under ethical conditions in the UK. Marketing Manager for Ribena, Rachel Harris states, “We are committed to making the supply chain for Ribena as environmentally friendly as possible, from the way we grow our blackcurrants to the packaging in which the products are wrapped.” Ribena’s cap- and label are not recyclable but they are honest about this and state this is something they are looking at.

Here at Bemoreeco.com we feel that packaging for products should contain recycling information so people can make informed choices when it comes to purchasing. Check out this great example of clear and concise recycling information on this OWL wireless electricity monitor. 

In part two of this article, we question whether some energy services are as green as they state they are!

We now understand enough about sustainable homes to know that they’re not just important for the conservation of the planet, but that they can be nicer places to live and will save us money in the short and long term.

A year ago, eco-towns were at the forefront of the government’s plans to build more new homes and reduce carbon emissions. 12 months later with the economy slowing down and with the credit crunch biting hard, the housing market is in real trouble! The focus is shifting to the greening of existing properties.

5 minutes with Elaine Dutton, Director of Pure Design 

Tell us about your business? 

Pure Design is an online eco gallery that promotes and sells the work of talented UK designers. We seek out new designer eco accessories, brining work out of the gallery or artists studio and to your door. 

What makes the company a great place to work? 

At the moment we are very new and so I am the company! But I do work very closely with the artists and designers we represent, and meeting them and hearing about their work is truly inspiring. 

Who do you most admire in the green industry? 

I suppose my ultimate shining star is Anita Roddick.  She achieved so much, and challenged preconceived conceptions about how a business could be successful and green and ethical. On a more day to day basis, I would have to say it is the artists, designers and other green entrepreneurs I meet – there is a great sense of being part of something that can make a real difference. It’s really motivating.

What is the most rewarding part of your job? 

The moment when I tell a new customer or colleague about a product or artist and they say ‘that’s amazing’. It’s great sharing my enthusiasm for what these talented artists and designers are doing with others. I suppose it’s a little bit of a missionary exercise, converting people to the ‘green’ side…

If you could change one thing in the green retail industry what would it be?  

For it to be mainstream and not niche – I think eventually we will get there, but one step at a time.

What advice would you give to someone starting out in the industry today? 

Make use of all the fantastic networks and business support organizations out there. Business Link, Striding Out, London Rebuilding, KX Creative – there’s loads and they are all there to help you. 


Second thing is you must listen to advice – it’s easy to be headstrong and follow your dream but sometimes you need someone to bounce ideas off and have a reality check from.

What is your vision for an ‘eco Britain’? 

Wonderfully designed interiors and everyone wearing beautiful eco fashion! And happy people. 

What is your number one Eco Christmas Idea? 

Snuggle up with your family by a log burning stove and under an organic throw (!), toast chestnuts, and turn the central heating down by a degree. 

What is the most important piece of information you have ever been told? 

Success in business is 99% perspiration, 1% inspiration. 

If you were prime minister for the day, what one thing would you do? 

I’d probably end up donating vast sums to aids orphan charities in Africa. Although my business is an eco one and I do my best to be green – I think my heart would rule my head and this is a cause I feel very strongly about.  

Please could you also tell me your top gifts for Xmas? 

• Nina 18ct Gold (ethically and ecologically mined – will be on site next week), £1,364.00.

• 
Karin Helena Turner Designs Eco Gift Wrap, £8.50 for 5 sheets
Bamboo
• Baby Bodysuit & PJ Gift Set, £65 (free shipping)
• 
Firehose Washbag, £50
 Firehose Card Holder, £30 
Firehose Tote, £180
• Diskette Bracelet, £45

• The Howgill 100% Wool Throw, £150

• Treat! Esther B , Vintage lace and silk evening bag, £525