News stories from Ethical Consumer 107 (July / August 2007)

Ethical Fashion Report

Our most requested report, on clothes shops and ethical fashion brands, is now available online to subscribers to ethiscore - our online shopping guide.

The report includes clothing campaigners Labour Behind The Label's scoring of high street clothing shops plus a directory of ‘alternative’ clothing companies rated by Ethical Consumer's unique an ethical scoring system. The alternative clothing directory is constantly updated with new ethical, eco and fairtrade brands. To rate clothing companies claiming to be ‘ethical’ we ask each for the for the same information – on their environmental policy, their sourcing and supply chain policy – and find out about the fabrics they use.

Carbon Label Launched

The Carbon Trust is launching a green equivalent to the Fairtrade label – a carbon label which details the carbon footprint of a product and a commitment by its producer to reduce it.

Several major brands, including Walkers crisps, Boots Organics shampoo and Innocent smoothies, will test the use of the logo. Over time it is expected that many more will join, raising the prospect that products might be marketed on the basis that they have the lowest carbon footprint in their marketplace.

However, food policy expert professor Tim Lang has urged caution because there is still considerable uncertainty about the best way to calculate carbon ratings for individual food products.

Good Egg Awards

Sainsbury’s, McDonald’s and Starbucks are among companies opting for free range eggs and being praised for doing so by leading farm animal welfare organisation Compassion in World Farming. They estimate that this will save 2 million hens from living in horrendous conditions every year.

The recent Good Egg Awards rewarded European companies who are making significant progress on the welfare of egg laying hens. Companies had to be either cage-free already or they must have committed to phasing out caged eggs in their egg supply by 2012 – in advance of the EU ban on battery cages.

The UK winners were: J D Wetherspoon, McDonald’s, Marks & Spencer, Pret A Manger, Sainsbury’s, Starbucks, The Eden Project, Whole Foods Market, Waitrose, Ugo Foods Group Ltd, House of Commons and the staff catering of Google, Microsoft UK and Sky.

Since the awards, Morrisons has committed to being 100% cage-free in all own-brand shell eggs by 2010. But Sainsbury’s is the only UK retailer to make a big deal out of giving hens tree cover with its Woodland Eggs. CIWF advocates that the best free-range systems for laying hens provide tree cover. This is because hens originate from jungle fowl and still, to this day, fear aerial predators. Tree cover and vegetation encourages them to range outside without feeling afraid.

Of all the supermarkets, Marks & Spencers stands out. Right back in September 1997, Marks & Spencer was the first UK food retailer to sell only 100% free-range shell eggs and by 2002, all Marks & Spencer eggs, whether fresh in-shell or used as an ingredient in foods, were free-range.
The demand for higher animal welfare eggs is on the increase – 30 per cent of eggs consumed in the UK are now cage-free compared to just 10 per cent in the mid 1990s.

For more information visit the Good Egg Awards website or contact Compassion in World Farming

How to Live a Low Carbon Life

Covering all aspects of modern life - transport, home, food and holiday travel, ‘How to live a low carbon life’ is a new guide which provides authoritative answers to tricky questions such as:

• Should I buy an electric car or buy a diesel and drive less?
• Is organic food good for the climate?
• Which kitchen appliances consume the most energy?
• Does it make sense to install solar panels?
• What is the best way to cut home heating bills?

With its easy-to-use tables, companion website (featuring up-to-the-minute supplier and product information and downloadable spreadsheets) and clear plans for maximum carbon and cost reduction, this one-stop reference guide for individuals shows you how to reduce your emissions by 75% and save money.

Order online for a 10% discount on the £14.99 cover price

Harry Potter goes Green

The final Harry Potter instalment, due out on 21st July, will be printed on a mixture of post consumer recycled and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified pulp. Bloomsbury is looking to use 100% recycled fibre where possible for other books. Greenpeace is campaigning to get the book industry to stop sourcing paper from ancient forest regions and move towards using 100% ancient forest friendly paper.

A recent HarperCollins survey showed that 42 per cent of people said they’d pay up to £1 more for green books, and 84 per cent said they’d choose a book printed on recycled paper over one that wasn’t. HarperCollins said that in future its entire Fourth Estate imprint will be printed on 100 per cent recycled paper. Earlier, Penguin announced that its Popular Classics line will also be completely recycled by the autumn.

The SuperScooter

An electric motorbike, which is claimed to be the first to perform just like a petrol model, has recently been launched. The Vectrix also has a very low emissions profile, especially if you are using a green energy tariff. The manufacturers claim that the Vectrix Super-Scooter has by far the lowest carbon footprint rating of any similarly-performing vehicle.

A two hour charge time from a household plug or charging point costs circa 30p and delivers 60 miles of travel. Equivalent in power and size to a 400cc maxi-scooter, it has a top speed of 60mph and features regenerative braking which recycles energy back into the battery as you slow down. The Vectrix is exempt from road tax and the London Congestion Charge.

The downside is that they cost about £7,000 but apparently this works out cheaper than an equivalent petrol model in the long term. For dealers, check out the www.vectrix.com website.

For cheaper models of electric scooter see ScootElectric's range. Their top speed and range between chargings is about half of the Vectrix's but their cost is less than half (£1,500-£3,000). Check out the models at www.scootelectric.co.uk. Both Vectrix and ScootElectric (and other brands of electric scooter) are available from the www.electricbikesales.co.uk website.

I Count Map

I Count, the campaign of Stop Climate Chaos, have launched an interactive map on website. You can see who’s near you, sticking their neck out, putting on jumpers, changing leccy supplier, hassling their MP. Round the corner, on your street, in your town. Sign up now. Soon you’ll be able to do stuff like contact people through the map so keep checking back for developments.

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