If you want to grab yourself some they can be found at the following stores:

o   Online at www.littletakas.com

o   Baby Kingdom stores in NSW and online nationally at www.babykingdom.com.au

o   Progressive Supa IGA stores in Western Australia.

o   Farmer Jacks Foodworks stores in Western Australia.

o   Drakes Supermarkets in South Australia and Queensland

o   Foodland supermarkets in South Australia

o   IGA supermarkets Nationally

o   Romeos chain of IGA and foodland stores

o   SA commercial group

Wood can be considered a fairly green construction material. However, there can also be significant environmental and social impacts associated with logging. With the help of Greenpeace’s ‘Good Wood’ guide it is easier to see the wood for the trees so to speak. Whilst it advocates using wood sourced from certified schemes such as the Forestry Stewardship Council, there is a load more advice in relation to which wood is good, the five best and worst imported timbers in Australia and questions to ask before buying timber products. An essential read for any eco-conscious renovator.

The Good Wood guide has implemented a green, amber and red coding scheme. According to the Good Wood guide, the best timber to buy is:

Green-Good Wood

• From FSC-certified forests

• Verified Pacific ecotimber and community forest operations

• Verified recycled, reused and urban salvage

Amber-Second choice

Includes sources that are in transition to Good Wood or from non-controversial or neutral source. Question the supplier, if they can prove the wood comes from one of the following sources it is OK to buy. Amber wood status is:

• Verified from a forest or plantation in transition to FSC certification (e.g via stepwise schemes such as Tropical Forest Trust (TFT) or SmartStep)

• Certified by standards other than FSC. CSA standards are okay but MTCC, PEFC, AFS and ISO are not.

• Verified legal by the credible third-party Smart Wood VLC (verification of legal compliance).

• Verified community small-scale sawn timber or Community Timber

• Plantation wood (not preservative treated) verified as not coming from an area where the forest was cleared to make the plantation after 1994, including rubberwood, eucalyps, cypresses and acacia

• Non-verified recycled, reused and urban salvage

• Bamboo, coconut wood and recovered orchard trees like mango wood.

Red-Bad Wood

Timber species to be avoided.

Generally timber from Papua New Guinea or Indonesia is not Good Wood as it is logged destructively and/or illegally. 70% of Indonesian timber and up to 90% of PNG timber is illegally logged. Timber products imported from China are likely to be made from these timbers as well.

It’s a jungle out there in terms of working out what you should and shouldn’t avoid. There is a lot more advice and frequently asked questions available on Greenpeace’s Goodwood website.

To help try to make the choice easier, the Australian Marine Conservation Society (ACMS) has developed Australia’s Sustainble Seafood Guide – which can be searched readily online.

I’m glad to see that BBQ favourites calamari, octopus, scallop (farmed), Australian salmon (wild) are considered to be a ‘better choice’. Species such as wild barramundi are considered a ‘think twice’ choice as there are uncertainties over the size of the stock and there are stock depletions in many areas. Bugs, including Balmain, Moreton bay and various deepwater bugs are also considered a ‘think twice’ choice. As most are trawl caught there are environmental impacts associated with bycatch and potential habitat damage. There are also uncertainties about the stock status which is considered fully fished in NSW. The deepwater bugs are also relatively long lived which increases their vulnerability to fishing.

It also recommends that you think twice about sticking a prawn on the barbie (along with crayfish, dory, flathead and lobster). As banana and tiger prawns are farmed in ponds and tanks there is the potential for significant impacts from these farms on local water quality. What makes the impact greater is the fact that the prawns are fed fishmeal sourced from wild fisheries. A better choice are haul caught school and bay prawns in NSW.

Considered a definite ’steer clear’ are species such as wild hoki, cods and gropers, imported farmed prawns*, orange roughy*, atlantic farmed salmon*, wild scallop, hake, wild snapper, swordfish* and of course shark* and tuna* (skipjack is a better choice).

For those who want to add a bit of meat to the barbie there is now much more choice when it comes to free range. Better to buy direct from the butcher to reduce the amount of plastic packaging.

* these fish also appear on Greenpeace’s seafood redlist

The nappy range was developed by EcoQuest a clean technology business based in Perth Western Australia. Speaking at the launch in Sydney, Sylvia Tulloch, chairman of EcoQuest Limited said: “As is always the case when commercialising breakthrough clean, green technologies, it was a tough road to get to where we are today. But it’s a road worth taking”.

“The Little Takas nappy range is an Australian first and a success story that can and will enable us to better manage our environmental responsibilities,” Mrs Tulloch added.

Swimming great Elka Whalan (nee Graham) is an embassador for Little Takas and has been using them since birth on her daughter Nevada. Check out her blog on www.littletakas.com to see how she is getting on.

The team at Little Takas has been very generous and offered up a range of sizes for Green Beings readers to test. We will be sending out the testing panel callout email soon, so if you want to be involved be quick I have a feeling this will be a popular one !!

Its a subject close to my heart – chocolate. Over the years I have become a chocolate devotee. Dinner isn’t complete if it isn’t rounded off with a couple of squares of the dark stuff. But there can be a dark side to chocolate, excuse the pun.

I’ve made it my mission to investigate the impacts of chocolate, and while eating chocolate might take a toll on the waistline, there are a number of choices you can make to ensure your conscience isn’t weighed down.

More on the darks side of chocolate:

• According to Stopthetraffic.org over a third of the world’s cocoa comes from Cote D’Ivoire, West Africa, where cocoa production uses child and forced labour. Buy Fairtrade to avoid this.

• Many brands of chocolate contain palm oil. This may be labelled ‘vegetable oil’ but its the same thing. Clearing of rainforest for palm oil production in Indonesia threatens the survival of species such as the orangutan. Look at the ingredients or buy products you know have no palm oil.

• Many of the pesticides used in cocoa production has been banned in Australia. To avoid, go organic.

• About 70% of the world’s cocoa is grown in West Africa, with the majority being grown on small family plots. A fall in price of raw cocoa, despite an increase in chocolate sales over recent years, has forced small farmers to cut labour costs. To ensure farmers receive a fair price buy Fairtrade.

There are several brands which get the tick in terms of being environmentally and socially sustainable. We’ve researched the best sustainable choco and where to buy them. Although I am on a personal mission to test these chocolates I foundhttp://www.thechocolatereview.net/ helpful for getting the low down on taste.

Scarborough Fair was launched by New Zealand based company Lighthouse Ventures in 2004. 100% Fairtrade cocoa is imported from Peru and sugar from growers in Paraguay. The chocolates are made in New Zealand. They have just released a new range of 70% cocoa chocolates. They also have a range of Fairtrade tea, coffee and easter eggs.

Cadbury – Cadbury Dairy Milk went FairTrade in 2010 so the big brands realise how important it is to share the chocolate love. Fairtrade cocoa farmers in Ghana will benefit from the security of having a fair minimum price for their produce and additional investment for social, environmental and economic development in their communities, including new wells, schools and mobile medical facilities. The international partner certification body FLO-Cert, will independently monitor and audit the supply chain to ensure it meets internationally agreed Fairtrade standards.

Green and Blacks are a subsidiary of Cadburys. Originally organic chocolate makers, they have pledged to switch the entire range of food and drinks to Fairtrade by the end of 2011. The funding received by farmers through the Fairtrade premium will be spent on initiatives to improve quality, yields and education which will in turn increase the income for the farmers and help ensure the sustainability of the Dominican Republic cocoa industy. Green and Black’s has purchased Trinitario cocoa beans from cooperatives in the Dominican Republic for the past 10 years.

Alter Eco produces chocolate, sugar, rice and quinoa.All the products are cultivated using sustainable farming methods, use natural fertilisers and are Fairtrade.

Chocolatier Australia is a Melbourne based family owned company specialising in truffles, pralines and chocolate novelties. Some of their range is Fairtrade. For more information visit their website.

Endangered Species Chocolate. Based in the US this company buys cocoa from family-owned properties grown in the shade of rich diverse forests to help support sustainable forest farmland and the species within. The wrappers features endangered species to help raise awareness of disappearing plant and animal species. 10% of their net profits are donated to help support species, habitat and humanity.

Oxfam have a large range of Fairtrade chocolate that can be bought online or in their stores.

Cocola uses Organic Fairtrade cocoa and is made with unrefined, evaporated cane juice from AlterTrade in the Phillipines. Made in Switzerland the cocoa used in Cocola is produced in Bolivia and the Dominican Republic. Its available in health food and Fairtrade stores as well as Coles supermarket.

You can buy Green and Blacks at Coles, Bi-Lo, Woolworths, Safeway, Oxfam and David Jones. Oxfam also sells Alter Eco, Endangered Species, Oxfam brand, whilst Target and starbucks sells Chocolatier. Scarborough Fair is sold at Woolworths/Safeway.

]]> http://greenbeings.com.au/greenroom/index.php/2010/07/23/choosing-your-chocolate/feed/ 0 http://greenbeings.com.au/greenroom/index.php/2010/07/15/want-free-time-and-money-this-october-buy-nothing-new/ http://greenbeings.com.au/greenroom/index.php/2010/07/15/want-free-time-and-money-this-october-buy-nothing-new/#comments Thu, 15 Jul 2010 01:00:48 +0000 admin http://greenbeings.com.au/greenroom/?p=641 Old is the New New this October, with Salvos Stores’ first ever Buy Nothing New Month. Get on board for more money in your pockets, time on your hands and a lighter carbon footprint. Instead of a short‐term, throwaway attitude to ‘stuff’, Salvos Stores Buy Nothing New Month extends the life cycle of goods, maximises the embedded cost and resources in the stuff we buy and gives an introduction to the re‐cycled, free‐ cycled, upcycled , secondhand, ‘swishing’ and sustainable alternatives that are better for you, your wallet and the planet]]> Old is the New New this October, with Salvos Stores’ first ever Buy Nothing New Month. Get on board for more money in your pockets, time on your hands and a lighter carbon footprint.

Instead of a short‐term, throwaway attitude to ‘stuff’, Salvos Stores Buy Nothing New Month extends the life cycle of goods, maximises the embedded cost and resources in the stuff we buy and gives an introduction to the re‐cycled, free‐ cycled, upcycled , secondhand, ‘swishing’ and sustainable alternatives that are better for you, your wallet and the planet.

Salvos Stores Sustainability Manager, Donald Munro says, “Buy Nothing New is about seeing the value in existing stuff and reflects a growing movement of people switching off from shopping and tuning into life.”

But Buying Nothing New doesn’t mean going without. Make a Buy Nothing New pledge and you can beg, buy, barter and swap for whatever you need, as long as it is pre‐loved, but with the exceptions of necessities (including food, drink, medications and hygiene products) you can’t buy anything new.

Salvos Stores Buy Nothing New Month also shows going green doesn’t have to be expensive, but that by adapting our attitudes and approach, can be a money saving path to socially responsible consumption.

According to Affluenza author and Buy Nothing New Month supporter Clive Hamilton, “Consumption today often involves buying things we don’t need, with money we don’t have, to impress people we don’t like! Buy Nothing New Month is about spending our time and money more thoughtfully.”

In October, selected Salvos Stores featuring plasma screens sponsored by Radio Rentals/Rentlo will show the viral phenomenon ‘The Story of Stuff’, an animation on the lifecycle and impact of the goods we buy.

Shane Wakelin, Clive Hamilton (Affluenza, Requiem for A Species) Sarah Wilson (Sunday Life columnist & LifeStyle YOU presenter), Chrissie Swan, Gorgi Coghlan (The Circle), James Tobin (Cleo Batchelor of the Year, Ch 7 Sunrise), Monique Wright(Ch7 Sunrise), Damian Walshe Howling and Caroline Craig (Underbelly) are on board. Are you?

This October, think about where stuff comes from, where it’s going, its embedded costs and what are the alternatives. Get into Salvos Stores, markets, swap parties and online second‐hand selling sites to experience the joys of a life less wasteful. Plus there’s a prize for the most creative Buy Nothing New pledge. Logon to www.nothingnew.com.au when the site goes live on September 1^st for entry details.

Glossary

Top Tips to Buying Nothing New

Buyers Checklist

Before handing over your hard earned cash, ask yourself:

• Is the product really necessary?

• What is its lifecycle and embodied energy?

• What are the alternatives?

• Where did it come from? How did it get here?

• What is its environmental and social impact?

• Who benefits from the purchase? What will it do for me?

• What is in it? Who made it?

Top Tips for Salvos Stores Shopping

• Best buys are gifts, clothes, homewares, kitchenware, books, toys and furniture.

• Don’t shop Mondays. Stock gets wiped out over the weekend. Those in the know go Tuesday or Thursday

• Watch your gift budget dive!Buy homewares like vases and frames, and store them for when you need a last minute gift.

• Keep an open mind. Imagine the item out of the store and in a different setting.

• Get over ‘second hand phobia’. Restaurants and hotels serve you from secondhand cutlery and secondhand sheets!

• ‘Up the hip ante’ of dresses by cutting short and sewing on mismatched patches and buttons.

• Look out for jeans; you’ll get great brands, dirt cheap. Cut them into shorts or remake into skirts. It’s easy, cheap and they’re already worn in for you!

• A quick test if jeans fit: Wrap the waist around your neck and the ends should touch. If you can’t fit the length of your fist to your elbow inside the waistband, the jeans are too small.

• Every store differs if you don’t find what you need, try another. And new stock comes in everyday.

• Ignore sizes. Second‐hand clothes may have shrunk, or designers may have changed their sizings so your frame of reference could be off. Try before you buy.

]]> http://greenbeings.com.au/greenroom/index.php/2010/07/15/want-free-time-and-money-this-october-buy-nothing-new/feed/ 2 http://greenbeings.com.au/greenroom/index.php/2010/07/09/the-future-of-green-cosmetics/ http://greenbeings.com.au/greenroom/index.php/2010/07/09/the-future-of-green-cosmetics/#comments Fri, 09 Jul 2010 04:54:11 +0000 admin http://greenbeings.com.au/greenroom/?p=629 The number of products a woman uses on her face in a day can run into double figures when you add them up. Starting with cleansing, toning, moisturising, you then move onto makeup and perfume which can contain a mixture of anything up to 400 chemicals. The new generation of cosmetics and the use of nano particles, means that women carry more chemicals than ever before and it is difficult to decipher what exactly you are putting on your face. Companies may claim that their products are natural but what does this mean? New standards have been introduced to help to spot the real green options from the wannabes. ]]> We are now exposed to more chemicals every day than our parents and grandparents, so its little wonder that more attention has been focused on eco-friendly and natural skincare and cosmetics as a step in trying to reduce our chemical exposure.

The number of products a woman uses on her face in a day can run into double figures when you add them up. Starting with cleansing, toning, moisturising, you then move onto makeup which may include foundation, eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, powder, blush, lipstick and more. Not to mention perfume which can contain a mixture of anything up to 400 chemicals. The new generation of cosmetics and the use of nano particles, means that women carry more chemicals than ever before and it is often difficult to decipher what exactly you are putting on your face. Companies may claim that their products are natural but what does this mean? New standards have been introduced to help to spot the real green options from the wannabes.

So in order to help you to identify more natural cosmetics standards such as COSMOS-standard and NaTrue have been introduced.

As part of the bid to reduce chemical use and environmental impacts the concept of ‘green chemistry’ has been developed. This considers the whole lifecycle of a product, starting at the raw materials which ideally comes from renewable resources and is grown without pesticides and herbicides. In the processing of those raw materials sustainable resources should be used. Once prepared, the transportation and packaging of those products should be minimal and efficient.

In-use the product should leave a minimal effect on the environment. That means it does not pollute waterways when rinsed off and packaging should be recyclable or biodegradable. Ideally the product should be effective so that less overall product is used.

Luckily for us the area of green chemistry is receiving more attention, which means that we are likely to see greater variety in the natural cosmetics available, including home-grown companies. Watch this space.

A T-shirt with a tonne of carbon locked up in it? That must be a pretty big T-shirt right? Not exactly. This new range of T-shirts has been created by Treecreds. Their objective is to save forests from being logged and encourages investment in avoided deforestation offset projects. The T-shirts each contain one tonne of carbon-dioxide equivalent emissions. That is, for every T-shirt purchased, Treecreds retires one carbon credit.

Treecreds assists organisations in calculating, reducing, marketing and offsetting their emissions. Treecreds wants to raise their profile through these T-shirt. In addition to T-shirts, badges have also been created. The badges contain an embedded offset component of 0.2 tonne of carbon.

A bit of background. Treecreds was founded in 2008 and works predominantly in the facilitation of sustainable events ranging from music festivals and performances to corporate meetings. Treecreds also assists with the marketing of sustainable business practices. It does this through a range of innovative measures including carbon neutral tickets and events and the creation of eco-art installations.

Treecreds avoided deforestation offsets are different to forestry offsets which are derived from treeplanting. Avoided deforestation provides an alternative income to clearing and logging and preserves forests that would be destroyed without this mechanism. Avoided deforestation supports living ecosystems, habitat and communities as well as the embodied carbon of the trees. Credits are currently sourced from the ‘Minding the Carbon Store’ project. This project saved 12,000 hectares of forest and woodland in Queensland from clearing for the next 120 years. Treecreds also supports other project groups in Tasmania, Indonesia and Cambodia and more offsets will be available later in 2010.

For more information on Treecreds, or to get yourself a T-shirt or badge visit http://www.treecreds.com/.

]]> http://greenbeings.com.au/greenroom/index.php/2010/07/02/carbon-offset-t-shirts/feed/ 0 http://greenbeings.com.au/greenroom/index.php/2010/06/25/unico-testing-panel-results/ http://greenbeings.com.au/greenroom/index.php/2010/06/25/unico-testing-panel-results/#comments Fri, 25 Jun 2010 01:12:48 +0000 admin http://greenbeings.com.au/greenroom/?p=615 The Green Beings Unico product trial results have now been posted. After several weeks of shampooing, conditioning and scrutinising our hair, we have given our verdict on this natural range. The panel members enjoyed using an Australian salon grade product, but did the products perform? Interesting results. To read our verdict check out our product review page.]]>

The Green Beings Unico product trial results have now been posted. After several weeks of shampooing, conditioning and scrutinising our hair, we have given our verdict on this natural range. The panel members enjoyed using an Australian salon grade product, but did the products perform? Interesting results. To read our verdict check out our product review page.

Their ‘minimised comprehensive range’ means that the products are potent so that they can be used sparingly and are suitable for many skin types and conditions. That way you don’t need to buy different sets of products for yourself, your partner and your kids.

The range of products is extensive and includes daily skincare, Evohe essence, body-hair care, treatments, eco tools and accessories (think recycled steel and bamboo) as well as the Evohe colours range or mineral makeup. What’s more they will soon be offering a spa range.

We have a bit of mutual love going on here, we love their products and business philosophy, and we want to share the love around. So we’ve got half a dozen Evohe trial packs to put out to our testing panel as we are keen to find out what you think.

Inside each pack you’ve got:

• Cleanse
• Mist
• Moisture 24/7
• Omega 369
• Silica mask
• Exfoliate
• Body mist
• Repair intensive
• Omega body
• Body polish
• And finally a trial size sample of their mineral make up.

So if you fancy a bit of sustainable luxury, email us back when you see our product panel call out email.

Ten years ago, Lindy McLeod was living abroad and while visiting France, admired the women of Paris rushing home in the evenings and on weekends with their fresh produce – fruit, breads, meats and cheeses – brimming in their seriously chic shopping baskets. She bought some for herself which rapidly became an indispensable part of her life because, as well as looking great, they proved to be extremely hardwearing and the handles were very strong and did not break.

After returning to Australia and realising how many plastic bags we use as a nation (at its peak over 7 billion annually!), Lindy began investigating the possibility of bringing a classic French-style shopping basket to Australia.

These baskets are genuine French-style market baskets imported from Morocco. Each one is handmade using traditional methods and techniques and so is unique. The baskets are made of strips of woven palm leaves from a species of date palm. These strips are then sewn together and the basket built up in “rounds” into the traditional triangle shape, variations of which can be found in countries all around the Mediterranean. The more rounds the bigger the basket! The handles are of genuine Moroccan leather and firmly fixed to the baskets so they never pull off. Handles are either short so the baskets can be carried in the hand or on the elbow, or longer to go over the shoulder.

Great for shopping, picnics, beach bags, gift hampers, use them for weekends away or they also make great presents.

For more information visit The Market Basket Co.