Our Eco Shop

Our Eco Shop’s pop-up Christmas boutique opened in Westbourne Grove this week.  A collaboration of UK designer-makers and small green companies have come together for the second year running to create the shop.  From now until Christmas Eve, they will be selling a selection of fair trade, ethical and organic products from the boutique.

BCSF was at the launch party last night to check things out.  Alongside old favourites like Little Green Radicals and Izzy Lane, we discovered some exciting new ethical brands such as Harlands, an organic home furnishings company that makes chemical-free upholstered sofas, chairs and headboards.

It was good to see that even in the current financial climate, the shop was packed.  And people weren’t just there for the delicious organic wine and nibbles - there were plenty of transactions taking place too!  There’s a lot packed into the two-level shop.  You can pick up everything from baby clothes, jewellery, stationery, beauty products to an electric cycle.  It might be just the thing if you’re out looking for unique presents - many of the items on sale are one-off creations, and nothing in the shop is mass-produced.

Our Eco Shop is located at 303 Westbourne Grove, W11.  Nearest tubes are Notting Hill Gate and Ladbroke Grove.

Opening times 10:00-18:00 (Mon-Sat), 12:00-17:00 (Sun), from November 10th until December 24th.

The latest on emissions

The UN released figures yesterday that showed greenhouse gas emissions of 40 industrialised nations rose by 2.3% between 2000 and 2006. There was a slight dip between 2005 and 2006 (0.1%), but this was too small to suggest a downward trend.

Compared to 1990 levels, emissions actually fell by about 5%. However, this pre-2000 decrease has been attributed to the economic decline of transition countries in Eastern and Central Europe during the 1990s.

The report did not include figures from India and China. Along with the US, these three nations have not yet taken action under the Kyoto Protocol.

Among industrialised nations, 16, including the UK, are on track to meet their Kyoto Protocol obligations.

With the Kyoto Protocol expiring in 2012, the Copenhagen climate change conference in 2009 is shaping up to be key to future emissions targets.

Photo by Flickr user freefotouk. Published under a Creative Commons license.

The world’s first Ethical Fashion Awards

BCSF spent last Thursday night at Shoreditch Town Hall surrounded by celebrities, cocktails and clothes at the RE:Fashion Awards, the world’s first ethical fashion awards. Founded by Anti-Apathy, the Ethical Fashion Forum and Futerra Sustainability Communications, RE:Fashion’s mission is to “transform social and environmental standards in the fashion industry within a decade.”

Eleven awards in three different categories: Designer, Making a Difference and Innovation, were presented by a slew of VIPs including Sam Roddick, Guardian journalist Lucy Siegle and Whistles CEO Jane Sheperdson.

From Somewhere, the upcycling label that uses luxury designer offcuts to create one of a kind pieces (watch out for our forthcoming feature on them) was one of the big winners of the night, picking up two awards. Co-founder Orsola De Castro was overcome with emotion as they beat out formidable competition from People Tree and Junky Styling to win the night’s biggest award, RE:Designer of the Year.

Online eco-boutique Adili scooped the RE: Retailer award, and Marie-Claire won the judges vote for the RE: Consumer Awareness Award, in recognition of their June 2008 ‘Eco-chic’ issue. Cristina Cisilino, of Made UK, the Fairtrade jewellery brand that works with marginalised Kenyan communities, accepted the RE: Africa award for the best practice in manufacturing in Africa, and expressed hope that more companies would start looking to the continent as a viable manufacturing base.

A highlight of the evening was the Iconic Catwalk event - designers like Vivienne Westwood and Preen used fabrics sourced from Africa through a UN ethical fashion initiative called ‘Africa Inspires’. Modelled by the offspring of rock royalty – Pixie Geldof, Daisy Lowe and Leah Wood - Preen’s kikoy (a Kenyan sarong) dress stood out in particular as a relevant example of high-end ethical fashion.

Telegraph Fashion Editor Hilary Alexander (who judged the awards with panelists including designer Katharine Hamnett and Anna Orsini of the British Fashion Council) ended the evening on a note of optimism stating that with these Awards, “we are on the way to making ‘eco’ eternal.”

Will events like this push ethical fashion into the mainstream? A recurring comment we heard throughout the night was that the clothes were beautiful, but probably very expensive. People we spoke to at the Awards, who were by and large the converted, didn’t necessarily aspire to own any of the fashion on show, just to admire it from afar. Ethical fashion, just like ethical food, does tend to cost more, especially when compared to some of the disposable fashion on the high street. But as the number of ethical fashion brands out there increase, so does the range of price points.

The Largest Gathering of People Wearing Underpants

Yesterday, the Guinness World Record for the Largest Gathering of People Wearing Underpants was broken, and BCSF was there to witness it.  Pants to Poverty, the campaigning movement/underwear retailer, used the promise of free pants, bacon butties and shots of whisky to entice 116 brave souls to bare (almost) all at chilly St Pancras International.  They claimed the record to the rallying cry of “We love pants, we hate poverty!”

The event attracted a fair amount of media (including an unusually high proportion of Japanese TV stations) and public attention.  The message seemed to get round to most morning commuters that these seemingly insane people in their underwear were actually there for a good cause. Read More »

Deck the Halls

Many people probably feel it isn’t Christmas without some decorations.  If you’re thinking about digging your home decorations out of storage, it’s worth taking a moment to tot up the cost of your Christmas cheer.

Without wanting to come across as a scrooge, conventional Christmas lights are just too expensive in terms of running costs and energy consumption.

If you (or your kids) have your hearts set on festive illuminations, consider buying LED lights.  According to the Energy Saving Trust, LEDs consume 90% less electricity than conventional bulbs.  They last longer and are more durable (no filaments) too.  Although the initial outlay might be greater, LEDs make sense as a long-term investment. Read More »