GreenFinder Blog

Taking indoor plants one step further, this bathmat or mini carpet made from three types of moss is the new interior accessory from Swiss designer La Chanh Nguyen. The moss is grown in non perishable foam – so won’t mind a bit of water – in fact it will help keep it alive!

The bathmat needs minimal care and can survive in humid, damp conditions – perfect for sinking your feet into as you step out of a relaxing bath or shower!

Check out La Chanh Nguyen other work here.

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More My Alter-Eco Stories

Green Household Accessories

Eco Design & Interiors

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We’re pleased to announce that we have now added a Green Holiday’s category to GreenFinder just in time for the summer season.  Bluestone is Wales is first on the list and has top notch green credentials with their holistic spa and sports centre heated by biomass boilers  and solar panels providing hot water in all their accomodation. Located on the breathtakingly beautiful Pembrokeshire coast Bluestone is a fabulous place to enjoy an eco inspired break with walks, cycles and sightseeing a plenty.

Pembrokeshire Coastline

Another great green getaway  is  Cornish Tipi Holidays. Set amongst the stunning scenery on the Cornish coast, visitors can enjoy sea kayaking, fishing on the lake (pictured below) or simply relaxing in the beautiful surrounds of the countryside.  Staying in one of their North American Tipi’s is an unforgettable experience and truly an idyllic way to spend a summer holiday.

Tregildran's Quarry

We’ve decided to promote eco-holidays in the U.K  because it’s obviously much greener than flying off on a package holiday abroad. There are so many fantastic places here in the U.K that are ripe for discovery and are quite simply the bees knees-why go elsewhere?

Related Links

Green Holiday Listings

Bluestone Wales

Deepdale Farm

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For those of you that use natural cleaning products around the house you’ll be pleased to find that many old fashioned ways to clean and polish everyday items around the house are also eco friendly and need no harsh chemicals at all. So from polishing jewellery to cleaning your oven try these for size…..

1.Jewellery
For silver jewellery rub the item with half a lemon and rinse before drying. For gold jewellery use a ball of soft bread to give the jewellery a quick polish.

2.Shower Curtains
Soak your shower curtain in a strong solution of salt water, hang them up to dry and then rub with bicarbonate of soda to remove mildew.

3.Thermos Flasks
To remove stubborn stains add three tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda, fill the rest of the flask with warm water and replace the lid, then simply shake up and down. To remove any left over smells add a spoonful of uncooked rice with boiling water and give it another good shake then rinse.

4.Lino
Unsightly black marks on lino floor tiles can be removed by rubbing them with an eraser.

5.Cutlery
If your cutlery or utensils are beginning to rust use a cork which has been dipped in olive oil to remove the stains.

6.Paintbrushes
Dried out paintbrushes can be revived by putting them into hot vinegar.

7.Ovens
Once an oven has been cleaned finish the process by making a paste of bicarbonate of soda and water. Rub this around the oven so that when you come to clean it next time around it should make the job a great deal easier.

8.Computer keyboards & laptops
A microfibre cloth is a great way to keep your computer clean and cotton wool buds (slightly damp) can be used to clean around the keys on the keyboard too.

Related Links

Earth Friendly Cleaning Products

Spring Cleaning Reuse & Recycle Tips

10 Tips To Green Your Kitchen

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Pure Design, the online eco boutique has just been relaunched with loads of new designers, fabulous new products and even more features. To celebrate they’re offering 20% off all orders placed in May.

Pure Design only sell products that are ethically and ecologically sourced so you can certainly feel good about shopping with them.  Whether you’re searching for that must-have Spring accessory, something for your home or to treat a friend, you’ll find something to fit every budget at Pure Design.

Along with their sparkling new site they’re proud to introduce you to some exciting new design friends and their fabulous collections.  Visit the site and check out Katie Chaplin’s Kimono brooches, each one is hand-made from vintage Japanese kimono silk – a genuine one of a kind. Or how about the stylish EaKo accessories, bags and belts made from reclaimed fire hose.  And if you want a ‘jaw-dropping’ statement piece for any room then check out Studiomold’s Spaghetti Princess Chandelier.

To view the entire Pure Design Collections visit their website here.

Related Links

Ethical Gifts

Eco Friendly Interiors

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As the furore about Heathrow’s third runway continues Greenpeace are hoping that people will get behind their Airplot campaign. The environmental pressure group have bought a piece of land slap bang in the middle of the proposed runway site and need 100,000 people to each sign up for a plot of land and become beneficial owners.

Becoming a beneficial owner costs nothing but a few minutes of your time, simply sign up online on the Greenpeace website now.

Richard Briers from the Good Life has also joined the campaign and become a beneficial owner of an airplot.  He said “This new runway is just such a daft idea. It’s obvious to everyone who digs a garden that the climate is already changing, and things are set to get even worse, so why make Heathrow the biggest single emitter of CO2 in the country?”

For more details about the campaign please visit the Greenpeace website.

Related Links

Environmental Campaigns

Green Pressure Groups

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We did feature some green gardening tips last year but as we love gardening here at GreenFinder H.Q and know that many of you do too we thought we’d share a few new resources that have come our way.

1.Support Local Plant Sales
Check out these diary dates to find local plant sales

2.Swap & Share
To swap seeds visit seedy people and to share cuttings, seedlings and advice join the gardening exchange.

3.Reclaim Pots
Never buy a plastic plant pot again and instead get creative with your containers instead. Chipped tea pots, wellies, old kettles and wooden crates can be used to grow plants and vegetables in. Although ensure there are holes in the bottom for drainage.

For more green gardening links visit our website.

Related Links

Organic Pest Control Tips

Household Re-use

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The BareFootTrail is GreenWood Forest Park’s exciting new activity for 2009 and a first for Wales. So take off your shoes and get set to rekindle your childhood spirit as you walk barefoot over a variety of terrains including leaves, pebbles, bark, sand, slate, water and even toe-squelching mud!

The specially devised 300 metre long BareFootTrail offers fun for all the family and the chance for you to go back in time walking barefoot like your ancestors. Not only will you experience the feel of natural surfaces on your bare feet, but you will also benefit from feeling totally rejuvenated afterwards.

Emanating from the German word, Barfuss, Barefoot treatment was developed by Sebastian Kneipp, a 19th Century Bavarian Priest. Kneipp was one of the founders of the Naturopathic medicine movement and he believed that applying a different range of natural stimuli to your feet would have therapeutic benefits.

Stephen Bristow, managing director at GreenWood Forest Park says; “You often see children running around with no shoes on and yet as adults we probably only ever walk barefoot around the house or once our feet touch the beach on holiday. Yet our feet were engineered to walk over uneven terrain and many people in the world today still walk barefoot. So it’s now time for you to enjoy the BareFootTrail, which is set to be as popular as our other exciting activities and brings together the elements of fun and adventure.”

Homeopathic Doctor and former North Wales GP, Dr Paul Nickson, put the BareFootTrail to test before it’s official opening and commented; “This was a totally new experience which through the sense of touch importantly reconnects you with our environment. It was a lot of fun and I found it very invigorating.”

The BareFootTrail joins all the other rides and activities at this very special family adventure Park which harness the visitors’ energy to provide adventure with a difference! With true eco-friendly rides, visitors can enjoy the Green Dragon, the world’s first people powered roller coaster, the Great Green Run which at 70m is Wales’ longest slide, the Jungle Boat Adventure where visitors haul their own Jungle Boat with ropes and paddles along the woodland water course. Visitors can also build a den, walk on stilts, shoot a Welsh Longbow like Robin Hood or scramble about on TreeTop Towers, which is an exciting array of timber structures with many different levels of platforms and ladders, slides, netted walkways and tubes for older children and adults!

Visit the Greenwood Forest website for more information or contact the 24 hour answer phone on 01248 670076 for opening dates and times.

Related Links

Environmental Centres

Eco Activities & Events

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