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Two years ago, shopaholic and supermarket addict Kate Lock set herself a series of ‘eco-challenges’, from kicking her Tesco habit to composting her kitchen waste.

And her new book, “Confessions Of An Eco-Shopper” combines the practical with the inspirational. It’s packed with great tips, Kate’s honest and humourous account of her triumphs and failures is not only a green guide to the weekly shop but an attempt to balance sustainable living with domestic harmony.

On Sunday 7th September at 2pm, you get a chance to find out more about being a greener consumer.

Kate Lock and Clare Josa, founder of Veg Box Recipes, are co-hosting a free, live call on the topic.

It’s going to be a fascinating chance to find out all about Kate’s experiences in “green living, for the rest of us” and to catch up with the latest and bestest from Clare’s visit to this year’s Organic Food Festival in Bristol.

Given all the talk about the credit crunch, Kate has pulled together her top tips for saving money on whatever you’re buying, whilst doing your bit for the planet and its inhabitants.

She’ll be tackling, head on, the mis-belief that eco-shopping has to be more expensive!

Clare will be taking you on a whistle-stop tour of the best bits from the Soil Association’s Organic Food Festival that I’m off to on Saturday. She’ll be doing interviews with loads of the businesses there, so can bring you, hot off the press, the latest eco shopping news.

And remember: it’s a live call, so you get to ask your burning questions, too!

So whether you’d like to:

• call in live
• listen live online in the webcast
• or make sure you get the link to download and listen after the event

register now to reserve your place.

And you’ll also be entered into a draw to win a copy of Kate’s Book!

We look forward to seeing you there.
Thanks,
Clare

When I was paying at the checkout the lady on the till asked “How many bags have you recycled?” At first I thought this was polite chit-chat and wasn’t sure that I’d heard her correctly. Then she pointed to my bags and said again “How many bags have you recycled?” So I answered “3″ - which I had. Then she said “Well, you get points for not using carrier bags you see. It’s a new reward scheme” and handed me 3 mini fold-out leaflets, which turned out to be vouchers for days out to various UK attractions and theme parks. “Also, you’ve got some money off fuel on your receipt which you need to use within 7 days”.

I can see the positive side to this, really I can. And you could say that shopping at the supermarket isn’t the greenest option, I know that (I talked about this a little in my ‘Is is safe to go back to the supermarket?’ post). However, wouldn’t a really great way to reward recycling be to help customers do another green thing? So, instead of money off fuel, give money off train tickets. Instead of vouchers for theme parks give vouchers for organic treats.

Personally I don’t think that people recycle in order to get some kind of reward. Additionally there is probably some economic reason that Sainsbury’s have chosen the particular scheme that they have but to me it just feels like one step forward, two steps back. Is it just me?

Oh, by the way, the vouchers are printed on FSC paper. I thought it only fair to mention that.

Nevertheless, now that I’m grown up with a proper bank account rather than a piggy bank those values are still important and this is why the Big Green Purse instantly appealed to me.

The aim of this book is to highlight to women the power of their spending and how they can use it in a way that is positive for the environment and for their health.

Although most of the facts and figures relate to American laws and culture the points in this book will still ring true in other countries as it tackles the issues of every day life.

The beginning of the book starts with some inspiring stories of how consumers have already effected change in the manufacture of products such as cars, nail polish and tea. Diane then asks her readers to pledge to shift $1,000 of their annual spending to green products. That’s roughly £500 right now for us in the UK and I think entirely ‘do-able’ especially when you think of all of the areas of spending covered in your life and this book:

• Cosmetics and personal care products
• Cars
• Food and drink
• Cleaning products
• Gardening
• Kid’s stuff
• Electricals
• Home decoration and furnishings

There is a strong theme on personal health as well as environmental health and as this book is aimed at women this includes issues around pregnancy and babies too. Although shocking I think it was necessary to include some of the findings on how the chemicals we’re exposed to can pass on to our unborn children. Even more shocking is the fact that we’re allowed to be exposed to these chemicals but this is very motivating too. It encourages you to read on and find out what we can do about it.

The Big Green Purse shows us how we can shop smarter, how to look out for greenwash, how to understand jargon and acronyms and what the multitude of badges and labels really mean. Throughout the book Diane provides suggestions on good brands to look out for but doesn’t shy away from telling us which companies might need a nudge in the green direction too.

I personally like the checklists which give you the opportunity to think about your own day to day activies and spending such as “How much do you drive?” and “How much [cleaner] do you use?”. This is a great way to get that particular chapter’s subject matter into context for you right at the start.

Diane realistically recognises that greener options such as organic can be more expensive which means sometimes this isn’t a option but her first principle is always to buy less and consume less and I think we would all agree with that. She provides money saving tips and ideas too.

This is a lengthy and detailed book and its clear that Diane has researched it thoroughly but she breaks it down in a digestible way using prompts and symbols which means it could read just as well from cover to cover or as a reference.

What I’d like to see next is a similar book for men. Although Diane’s target audience is women because they “spend $.85 of every dollar in the marketplace” men are still the big earners and its important for everyone to understand the valuable lessons here.

Check out the website at www.biggreenpurse.com

I was lucky enough to be a guest of General Motors at the Los Angeles Car show a couple weeks ago.  Myself and other green bloggers (Hank Green of EcoGeek.org, Justin McHale of Planet Green/Treehugger.com and Nick Aster of Triple Pundit.com and the magazine Mother Jones), along with a number of auto-bloggers, were given the opportunity to preview most of GM’s vehicles before the show opened to the public.  This gave us a chance to get up close and personal with the cars and the team of engineers.

While walking around with all the guys and doing some comparative shopping, one of the guys actually said it must be hard writing about cars for women?  I giggled (like a girl) only because I felt the question was a little awkard.  Was he implying women could car less about cars because we are….well women!

I told him no, actually it’s not, in case he hadn’t heard women buy cars too!  It was also pretty exciting to see two of GM’s engineers who were working on the hybrid technology and the battery for the Chevy Volt where women!!

The car show proved General Motors is the leader in automotive technology.  In fact I had heard from a luxury car maker that many are waiting to see what GM comes up with as far as alternative fuels ESPECIALLY concerning the Chevy Volt (an all electric car).  GM is putting the most money into research and development.  Say what you want about coporate giants like GM, but we have to recognize that the building industry and transportation are the two largest contributors to global warming so we need to be happy when they join the environmental agenda.  Besides the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid didn’t win Green Car Journal’s Green Car of the Year 2008 for no reason!

(In case you’re wondering who judged the competition it was a very distinguished panel.)

I’m not surprised they won considering they had the most cars nominated out of any car maker.

As much as we would like to see less cars on the roads, lets face it that’s not going to happen anytime soon.  So all we can do is make sure the vehicles we are buying are the most fuel efficient if not fuel free (the Volt will be!), because at the risk of sounding too girly there are so many other things I could be spending my gas money on….like shoes!

Shopping on-line for groceries was something that I had heard of but never tried so when www.wellnessgrocer.com came looking for volunteers at the GGG staff I happily offered myself up. I was curious to see if all the convenience that this promised would pan out and wondered if the shipping expense and materials would balance out the drive to and from the store.

As I perused the digital aisles, I remembered the years that I lived in a small and remote town with no access to organic foods and healthy snacks. Back then, I would drive for two hours to stock up on groceries for a month at a time - It would have dramatically changed my life to have on-line access to the foods I wanted to feed my family then. See this article - ‘Attention! Onlince grocery shopping is back’.

I am spoiled now. It isn’t just the abundance of organic vegetables and fruits that grow in the Willamette Valley and are available at open stands most days of the week but also the community of Natural Food stores that have made Eugene the place it is. For me, now food shopping is how I see my neighbors and slow down my day to think of sustenance.

There are conveniences and nice features of on-line shopping that I could see myself easily getting used to though- When you become a registered shopper, the site keeps track of your preferences. A nice way not to impulse shop and actually buy just what you need. Also there are great specials on the site if you are willing to stock up a bit.

I am glad to know that places like www.wellnessgrocer.com exist. They provide both great info for people learning about natural foods and access to organics to many places in the US that wouldn’t normally have them. This experience also made me realize how lucky we are when we have beautiful places to shop, to meet up with friends and to feel part of a community. Access to healthy organic food is not to be taken for granted.
See this Columns Campus News article about grocery shopping.

Probably not that surprisingly Sainsburys, Marks and Spencer and Waitrose scored the highest with their ‘Ethical Company Index’ scores and Iceland, Tesco and Asda lagged behind. I was surprised to hear however that there is a huge difference between those high and low scoring supermarkets.

The Ethical Company Organisation also tell us that Sainsburys is the only supermarket to agree to a full Ethical Accreditation to be carried out by a 3rd party.

Last year I vowed to kick the supermarket habit and only buy our groceries and household goods from the farm shop, independent shops, the market and the organic veg box scheme. Quite honestly though this turned out not to be as easy or as sensible as I first thought. You see, there is a Sainsburys supermarket just 2 or 3 minutes walking distance from my house and so if I run out of organic / local milk or bread for example to avoid going to Sainsburys I would have to get a bus into town or drive to the farm shop or wait until the following Thursday for the veg box scheme! There is a milk delivery service but this seems very sporadic.

In this case walking to the supermarket to buy Rachel’s or Yeo Valley organic milk (not necessarily Sainsbury’s own) surely has to be the most efficient and environmentally friendly way, doesn’t it?

I feel that these initial findings from the Ethical Company Organisation are very encouraging and if we selectively use supermarkets to demonstrate that we want local and organic products from them then they obviously listen. We could be cynical and say its a marketing ploy and their heart isn’t really in it but in some ways I don’t think it matters as long as the end result is the same.

The Ethical Company Organisation’s full supermarket research findings will be available in the 6th edition of The Good Shopping Guide in October so maybe we should reserve judgement until then?

What a fabulous place, it’s not massive but packs in a lot of great products - and a cafe.  Unfortunately I didn’t have time to try the food, which was a shame as the food at my conference wasn’t very good.  I was very good, and restricted myself to buying a Seasalt top and a candle, but was very tempted by the Gossypium undies and the Lavera perfume (I never knew they did perfume).  I’m pretty sure that my boyfriend will love their organic Glas-gu t-shirt as well.

I could have bought loads more stuff: stationery, bags, presents for all my pregnant friends, a washing machine, paint, all sorts.  I’ll definitely be making lots of return visits whenever I’m in Glasgow, and hope to try some of the yummy-looking food next time.

So for those of you who wish to banish those plastic cartons from your life and have 5 minutes to spare get the yellow pages out now. You will be supporting a local company, local farmers and reducing waste at the same time. Not to mention the social benefits of having the milkman/lady in your community-but that’s another story….

Kate

GreenFinder

I am literaly jumping up and down here - I found a reference to purchase a green car on Clean Green Cars

So if you’re thinking about a new purchase - take a look at this guide first… wonderful

I have noticed that in myself. When I have been bored or unsatisfied in my life I have had an increased tendency to shop or buy little goodies to perk myself up. In contrast, when I’ve been happy and fulfilled, I have had little to no cravings for unnecessary materialistic items.

I bring this up because to create a better world where we are using resources sustainably, we are going to need to curb unnecessary consumption as well. Beyond buying organic or fair trade or local, consuming responsibly also means choosing to buy nothing when it is not necessary.

Given that people in the developed and wealthier countries tend to be less happy than some others (according to the World Values Survey), fixing the environment and the strain we are putting on it seems to go hand in hand with helping people find more fulfillment and happiness in their every day lives.

Does this make sense to anyone else out there or am I getting too esoteric? I would love to hear your thoughts about this. Have you noticed that you consume unnecessarily when you are unhappy or bored? How can we create more fulfillment or happiness in people’s lives so that they will consume less?