Of course organic cereals mean healthier and safer farms but it’s easy to overlook the fact that farmlands were build over natural habitats, destroying homes for all the wildlife that used to live there. And it’s a sad equation because the balance of human inhabitations against wildlife inhabitation can never be in equilibrium, but by selecting a cereal company that is conscious towards its product’s impact on the habitat of the wildlife we’re increasing the animals chance of survival.

Now so far, it seems Jordan Cereals is the only cereal company that insists the farmers who grow the grain that goes into their products, dedicate land specifically to create homes for wildlife. As they proudly declare on their site, “All the Conservation Grade farmers who grow grain for Jordans use 10% of their land just so that British wildlife, such as barn owls can have a home.” Jordan cereals have been dedicating their efforts to conserving the British Countryside for over 25 years.

So when you make that conscious choice to select cereal such as Jordan’s, you’re pledging help for the wildlife (helps that Jordan’s advert is so adorable).

Now even if you aren’t into the idea of dabbling into clothes making, be it for fun or as a prospectful career move surely you too recognize how important using the right fabric is. I mean have you ever been drawn into shop from the street by what appears to be a magnificent dress on display only to walk out empty handed because the fabric wasn’t right?

As a well informed eco loving consumer, your knowledge about fabric shouldn’t stop at what makes the clothes look or feel right. You should be aware of the green alternatives out there. There are quite a few you know and we’re going to share about some of them here. Mind that this list isn’t exhaustive:

1.    Flax Fiber (Flax Linen)
Made from: Fibers from the stalks of the flax plant – Linum Usitatissimum.
2.    Bamboo Fiber
Made from: The from the pulp of the bamboo grass.
3.    Hemp
Made from : Hemp fibers (primary and secondary bast fibers)
4.    Jute
Made from : The natural fibers obtained from the bark of the jute plant.
5.    Soy Silk
Made from: Soy protein fibre (SPF) which is obtained as a byproduct of the manufacturing of soybean cake/tofu.
6.    Milk Silk
Made from:  Milk casein fiber (milk protein)
7.    Ramie
Made from: The fibers of China Grass
8.    Modal
Made from: The fibers of the beech wood trees.
9.    Organic Cotton
Made from: The cotton plant that is grown without the use of pesticides and insecticides under a more sustainable condition.
10.    Tencel
Made from: Innovative cellulose fibers

All of these fibers spun out into yarn and then weaved into fabrics have different textures and uses but one quality they share in common is how they are all good for the environment and safe for you.

1.    Clean your nails.
Did you ever notice that toothpaste cleans your fingernails? When you’ve got rather yellowed nails, give them a brush like you would your teeth and watch it clear up.

2.    Wall filler
How much to you hate it when you put a nail into your beautiful white wall only to find that wasn’t the right spot? Well just fill it up with toothpaste and paint it over and it will be good as new.

3.    Fog be-gone
When you need to wear goggles, you’ll learn how irritating it is for it to fog up. I’m a water fan so I can only safely speak for how irritating and dangerous it is to be underwater with a fogged up goggle. I assume you experience the same with ski goggles….Anyway for the water fans, I know the sure to work, quickly effective solution is to apply your saliva to the goggle but if that irks you out, then spread toothpaste and wipe it off. I’ll stick to spit because minty goggles can be irritating to the eyes.

4.    Clean the piano keys
Those old pianos likely are made from ivory (not animal friendly I’ll have to note) and they do turn yellow after a while. Well just like your own nails, wipe them down with a coat of toothpaste and you are good to go.

5.    Clean the bathtub
Found rings forming around your tub? No worries, the abrasive texture of the toothpaste will clean it out.

6.    Remove scratches of surfaces
So far, I know it’s been used on glassware, CDs, watch faces and leather shoes (most likely patent leather) and has been successful. But with I would stress, do a test patch before applying all over. And never leave it on for too long.

7.    Cleaning the iron
Well this would refer to only the older irons – not the non-stick ones more of us use today. I remember the old days well before the arrival of non-stick, temperature control irons – dear me did we ever have to be careful not to burn our clothes. Well for those heavy irons, even if you don’t burn anything with it, there tends to be a build up on the surface after a while. Scrub it off with toothpaste!

8.    Cleaning watermark off wooden furniture
You’ve got kids or perhaps has guests? Then chances are you’ve got watermark staining your nice wooden table top. Take a soft damp cloth and wipe it away with toothpaste. Again don’t leave it in.

See how handy toothpaste can be?

However…I’ll have to admit that today’s post was in a way inspired by recent events (ashes to ashes, dust to dust…) but with a slight twist you could say…as we’re going to be looking at an interesting gift idea!

Now I don’t know about you but I like my gifts to stand for something. I like them to be special not because I want it to stand out in a crowd, no. I want it to be special because it represents my thoughts and wishes for the recipient.

So what is this special unique gift you ask? Well the next chance I get, some people are going to get “eco-worms” in a box!
I can tell you’re already giving me that look of absolute disgust, but bear with me for a bit more before you throw the idea out the window. Trust me; the worms will be a welcome.

If you look past their wriggly exterior, you’ll see that worms have an uncanny ability to turn waste into living bacteria that posses the power to transform poor quality soil into a rich, living growing medium for plants and crops! Which really makes them the perfect gift for someone who is a keen supporter of keeping an eco friendly home and loves tending to the garden.

A gift of eco-worms will be a welcomed surprise as you learn about how much fun and contributing, having a worm farm in your garden can be to the environment. A worm farm will help you turn vegetable and fruit scraps into great potting soil or soil amendment through worm castings and worm tea – both odorless and priceless for your plants. Of course don’t be mistaken to think that they are made from mushed up worms – they are made by worms, not from them.

My friend was a great many things but above all he was a dutiful son, a wonderful brother, a loving husband and a magnificent friend. Surely the memory of a man so great cannot become extinguished with the last breath he draws? I think regardless of which faith you keep; when we are faced with death…we cannot help but wonder what is next.

Now I do appreciate that the presence of death, is hardly a time to think about eco sustainability and let us face facts…death or how we lay the body to rest after is anything but eco-friendly – think of the embalming fluids (formaldehyde), the expensive caskets, the carbon dioxide that your loved one becomes when cremated.

But it’s something that has to be done. Laying our loved ones to rest in an honourable and complete manner is necessary for closure. I recommend that you read this article by Gloria Campos which is entitled “8 Environmentally Friendly Burial Alternatives.. or 8 Options to the Boring Old Coffin”. It’s absolutely brilliant and quite inspiring.

She gives you insight into a world of eco-burial as you probably never imagine existed.

However, there is one eco-sustainable burial that isn’t on her list and that’s the POETREE.

POETREE is the brilliant brainchild of one Margaux Ruyant, a young French Inventor with the DSK International School of Design Pune, India. She designed a funeral urn that progressed with the emotional stages of grief and mourning.

The ashes of the departed is placed in the urn and a boxwood tree (an evergreen shrub) in planted in a biodegradable pot and placed onto the ashes within the urn. As the tree begins to grow, the pot will biodegrade, the soil within will mixed into the ashes and the roots of the tree will begin to grow into the mixture. This will take sometime and by the time it happens, it will be synonymous with the stage of letting go.

The POETREE is now ready to be planted into the garden where after a while, the cork based urn will disintegrate into the earth leaving only the tree and the ceramic ring top which will serve as a living memory of a great life now departed.

The true beauty of the POETREE is not so much it’s green effect but rather how it is designed to walk the stages of grief with you.

So what’s new on the market?  I suppose it’s got to be Andrew Schneider’s Solar Bikini. And it’s probably going to sell based on the catch of the product being a ‘stylish swimsuit piece that does more than just cover your body – it also keeps your electrical devices charged!’
Sounds like every guys dream to be honest. – A hot looking bikini (almost a medieval armor-meets-21st century feel) on his girlfriend/wife who also doubles as walking battery charger. Although as a woman I’m not all too convinced about wearing photo voltaic plates so close to my bare skin. But its’ inventor says it’s totally safe…provided you keep it dry when you want to plug a gadget into it (USB port are sewn into the bikini).
Now he’s not saying this bikini is all show and not actually usable because you can go into the water with it. I just wonder if it will heat up the water around you… That would be an issue now wouldn’t it?

For now, there isn’t a male version of the photovoltaic swimwear, but don’t you worry because Andrew Schneider is already working on it and it’s going to be called the iDrink solar swimwear.  Which I think its excellent news for us girls – (we can get our guys a pair of those when they get us a pair of the solar bikini).

So the real question here is, we’ve got here an invention that’s a mix of fashion, sports and a love for electrical gadgets all brought together as one by the sun, but would you use it? Especially since I gather from the materials used it won’t be very cheap.

Emotional exhaustion and physical exhaustion are two very different ailments. While you can cure physical exhaustion with enough sleep and proper re-nutrition, emotional exhaustion isn’t something you can sleep off. A lot of people don’t realize how hard it is to nurture – you have to give endure the highs and lows of the emotional tide each time you care for your child, each time you try to be a loving wife, each time you work at balancing your family, etc. After a while, you get tired and you start to feel empty and that can easily lead to depression.
If you go see a doctor, you’ll probably be prescribed relaxants and all sorts of medications but those will just leave you groggy in the morning with even less energy to take on the day. So what’s the cure? Well it begins with the first step – and that is to be comfortable telling yourself “Sometimes, its okay to be selfish and put your own needs first”.

The common misconception is that we all need to take luxurious getaways to recharge. But I don’t agree. Being selfish and putting you first do not warrant getting into unnecessary debt.  Instead all you probably need is a weekend/week away from the hustle and bustle of your routine life by doing the following:

1.    Book yourself into a nice hotel outside of town where you have little chance of bumping into someone who knows you – right now it’s all about you getting away so no need for a reminder of what’s waiting back home. Don’t talk or think about what’s back home – you’ll just bog yourself down again. My recommendation is always the seaside because there’s something tranquil about how the tide washes onto the shores and the sea air that lulls you into a dreamy sleep.
2.    Tune in with nature – sounds cliché but it works. You might think retail therapy cures but when the bills roll in you’ll be under more stress. Nature has a way of refilling the soul and that’s what you need to restore yourself. Just lie in the sun or sit at stare into the ocean, you’ll feel refreshed.
3.    Be anyone but you – try something new. Do something a little different just to break free from the mould. Sleep in till 10am if you normally get up by 5am! Anything to break the mould.
4.    Indulge in marine scents. Everyone has their own favourite pick me up scents, but I assure you that when you are feeling tired, you need to turn to organic marine products. There’s just something about the ocean that washes away emotional baggage.
5.    Lighten the diet.  When we’re feeling down, it seems almost automatic that we reach for quick charge foods – coffee, sweets, bread… But you don’t realize all those sweet and processed foods are only making you more sluggish. Take things light, have fresh zesty meals to lift the energy level.

So skip the pills and take these 5 simple and very welcoming steps to recharge yourself.

It’s been discovered that the fruit’s peels are efficient oil absorbents that can aid in the recovery of spilled oil at coastal areas. But before you go headed or at least you expect to see people go headed down to the coast carry bags of durian peel to soak up an oil spill disaster, bear in mind they’re working with durian peel grounded into powder. I’m sure the peel in its original form works, but it just doesn’t seem very pragmatic to be using sections of peels.

I believe the use of durian powder as a solution to the cleaning up of oil spills is still in its infancy standing only on a research paper but at least you know we’re headed somewhere! The durian and oil discovery was made by Dr S. Kathiresan of AIMST University (Biotechnology Department) and he will be presenting his research paper entitled “Fatty Acid Modified Durian Peel As An Efficient Biosorbent For Removal of Spilled Oil on Aqueous Media” at the 14th Asian Chemical Congress 2011 in this September in Bangkok.

At present I know that human hair is being used to clean up oil spills so having another bio-degradable option in the durian will certain come as a welcomed good news because typically it is synthetic fibres, in particular polypropylene and polyurethane, are used in oil spill clean-up. They do not come cheap – almost US$100 per kg.

So here’s hoping to durian powder cleaning up oil spills becoming a reality and better yet oil spills never happening again.

But we damsels of the sustainable like our totes green now don’t we? Well indeed we do and her are just some of the more popular green materials being used to cater to our green needs.
1.   Post consumer plastic bags
You know how the useable lifespan of plastic bags is pretty limited? Well these totes give them a much longer lifespan and a greener outlook. Visit plasticbagrecycling.org to find out how/where you can go to recycle you post consumer plastics (PCR) and True ReUSAble Bags to find out where you can purchase such a cool bag.

2.    Recycled cotton
Great it’s not synthetic fibers but it’s also not just cotton – it’s recycled cotton. We’ve been through this quite a few times now but I’ll say it again – cotton is one of the world’s most environment polluting crops. Using recycled cotton may even beat organic cotton in terms of sustainability.  You can get your hands on beautiful recycled cotton totes at EcoBags.

3.    Repurposed t-shirts
This is a bag that you can make for your own. Save the environment and your wallet all at the same time. And the best part is you don’t have to be gifted in the sewing department to succeed in putting one together.  It really just involves using a sleeveless t-shirt or cutting the sleeves of one with sleeves, cutting the neckline wider and sewing the bottom flat across from the inside, so when you turn it right side out you have your handy bag! Well just in case my instructions made no sense, Erin Huffstetler’s would take care of that.

Happy toting!