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Let's clean up fashion 2007
Leading British fashion stores face a dressing down in a new report
that claims they have snubbed efforts to lift the workers who make their
clothes out of poverty.
Of 34 retailers surveyed, the report names and shames 12 which have
cold-shouldered the only detailed study on the case for garment employees
to receive a living wage. The culprits listed are Bhs, Diesel, House
of Fraser, MK One, Matalan, Moss Bros, Mothercare, Peacocks/Bon Marche,
River Island, Rohan Designs and Ted Baker.
The report comes from the anti-poverty charity War on Want and the anti-sweatshop
coalition Labour Behind the Label. War on Want and Labour Behind the
Label warn shoppers that the 12 retailers "deserve the most severe
criticism and consumer scepticism." They say the culprits "make
no reasonable information available on the living wage or other labour
rights issues" and "continue not to respond to our enquiries
about their policies and practice."
Buy a Strike Bike!
Since completion of our bicycles report in this issue, we have
discovered that workers are occupying the factory of a German bicycle
company Bike Systems, in response to the threat of factory closure.
The workers have decided to resume bicycle production under their own
management. To achieve this they need 1,800 binding orders of their
'Strike Bikes' which cost approximately 50 euros a piece. The factory
will accept orders from the UK by email, fahrradwerk@gmx.de, but there
is an extra cost for carriage and a discount for bulk orders of 15 or
more. For further information visit www.strike-bike.de
The ampere strikes back
Consumer electronics are taking over the world, says a new report from
the Energy
Saving Trust. By 2020, entertainment, computers and gadgets will
account for an extraordinary 45 per cent of electricity used in the
home and will need the equivalent of 14 average sized power stations
just to power them.
This sector includes set top boxes, DVDs, games consoles, MP3 players,
computers, digital radios and mobile phones, many of which consume energy
in a permanent state of stand-by. These high tech devices often use
lots of energy when active and can turn traditional low energy pastimes
into higher energy ones. For instance a digital radio uses more energy
than a traditional one. The report looks in detail at the energy consumption
of various products from TVs to computers, mobile phones and games consoles.
The report looks in detail at the energy consumption of various products
from TVs to computers, mobile phones and games consoles.
Download a PDF of the report
Sheep poo paper
Yes really. And a range of Reindeer poo paper will be available for
Christmas. The paper is made by a small craft mill in Wales called Creative
Paper Wales. They also make other types of paper, all from recycled
sources. Products include greetings cards, Christmas cards, wedding
stationery, bookmarks, old maps of Wales and poo pourri! Call 07870
418745 or visit www.creativepaperwales.co.uk
Nagging to save the world
Do you want to be greener but never have time to getting round to it?
The Nag website is
the place for you. It makes it easy for people to do one thing a month
to make their lifestyles more sustainable.
People who join The Nag receive one email a month playfully 'nagging'
them to visit the website where they are taken step by step through
a different low-effort, high impact action around a lifestyle theme
such as food, energy or fashion. Short bursts of key information about
each theme are provided, with links to some of the best learning sources
for those who want to know more.
Users are given the choice of doing each month's nag - be it switching
to green energy or getting an ethical bank account - or simply skipping
it until the next month's nag arrives.
The Nag's unique software tracks what people are doing, measures the
calculable impacts, and visualises it on the UK map. It allows you to
check out the impact lots of little actions are making.
The first Nag in June was getting people to switch to green energy.
The first five people to switch to Good Energy with The Nag got their
energy from solar panels on the roof of St Aldheims Church in Edmonton.
The next 220, from the wind-turbine at Mackie's ice-cream factory in
Scotland. They kept going until sources ran out requiring new sources
to be built. It's 'additionality' in practice: each new customer makes
a difference and together create a more sustainable UK.
The
Nag creators Anti-Apathy have created an Ethical Consumer group on the
website for us that you can join. You can then track Ethical Consumer
readers' activities and find out the impact they are having collectively,
for example in CO2 emissions.
Climate change - a surfer's perspective
A new report issued by environmental pressure group, Surfers Against
Sewage (SAS), is warning surfers that their sport is under threat from
the changing climate. The report written by SAS examines the possible
impacts a changing climate could have on one of the UK’s fastest growing
sports.
Over 600,000 people are now surfing in the UK. Surfers in the UK rely
on a combination of clean, safe water, consistent swells and favourable
tidal conditions to get the most out of British waves.
SAS have spent the last year researching the potential impacts of a
changing climate and are now concerned that surfers in the UK could
suffer from:
i) A reduction in water quality as sewer systems are overwhelmed during
storm events, increasing the health risks to surfers and other recreational
water users.
ii) Changes in surf conditions as sea level rise leads to less surf
at some lowtide reefs, and increased beach erosion at some sites.
iii) Possible changes in the amount of surf reaching some areas, or
at certain times of the year.
iv) Much reduced water temperature as the Gulf Stream may shut down.
SAS are also urging surfers themselves to take action in reducing their
own carbon footprints. In particular they’re encouraging them to car
share more, take more surf trips in the UK and less long haul flights,
and to switch to renewable energy suppliers. Download
a pdf of the report or contact SAS on 01872 555950 for more details.
