Green Directory Reviews
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I Like To Ride My Bamboo Bicycle
Posted by admin on 14 Jun 2010 | Tagged as: Green Directory Reviews, We Love Cycling
Bamboo framed fixed wheel and single speed bikes are now being imported by UK company, RAW Bamboo Bikes, who already sell high end bamboo road and mountain bikes.
The new additions to RAW’s range are made in California by new bike builders Masuelli, and locally grown bamboo (considered a weed in California!) is used to build the frames. The bikes are built as single speed City or Track bikes, with the extra options of a fixed or coaster wheelset. The ‘All Black’ track bike is £1200, with colour custom builds starting from £1500.
These bikes are built to order – including the colour of the fibreglass lugs, coloured seat posts, bars, wheelsets etc, and give the customer the chance to completely custom build their bike. The build up can include a high spec internal geared system, hydraulic brakes, or simple fixed gear.
The bamboo is joined with fibreglass, which gives a clean and natural look, but dyes can be added in any colour to match the parts of the rest of the bike, or to create a multi coloured bike! The customer can even have their name on the frame.
RAW are based in the North of England (Manchester), and the bikes are available to test ride on request. To visit their website click here.
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Discover Herbal Beauty Products With Elizabeth
Posted by admin on 11 Jun 2010 | Tagged as: Green Directory Reviews
A tiny herb patch nestling in a hidden corner of her parent’s garden, her “secret” herb garden. That is Elizabeth’s earliest memory of herbs, that and picking chamomile at the edge of fields on family walks. Many years on and she has the joy of exploring herbs further for their uses in simple remedies, in the home, and in beauty treatments. The last of these has also become her own homegrown business, Amiya Natural Beauty which gives her the opportunity to share this passion through beautiful herbal products, and recipes her customers can make at home.
As more of us turn to natural alternatives for ourselves and our families, we discover just how difficult it can be to understand the products we are buying, the ingredients they contain, and how to make the best choices. It’s something Elizabeth wrote about recently in an article ‘Choosing natural beauty products without the fear factor’ which can be viewed on her website.
There is much debate about what is a “natural” beauty product. The bottom line is that if you go outside and harvest the ingredients, make the product in your kitchen, and use it in a week or so – this is about as natural as it gets! Yet in reality the demands of modern life mean that we need to bring together natural ingredients with modern techniques, in this way we also benefit from many useful advances in cosmetic production.
At Amiya Natural Beauty, they seek to utilise organic, herbal ingredients to the maximum. If you were to poke your head round the door of Amiya’s little “laboratory” in the back garden you would be met by the lovely smells of herbs infusing, esential oils being blended, and herbal waters being measured out. Elizabeth then carefully selects essential ingredients like preservatives, emulsifiers and shampoo detergents that are as gentle as possible. You can find out more about what goes in our products in their ingredients A-Z.
You’ll also find a growing collection of herbal beauty recipes for you to make at home. The beauty industry has become a place of too many secrets and far to much control over customers. That’s not what Amiya’s about! Elizabeth wants her customers to enjoy the natural hair and skin care products she makes, and also be able to rediscover herbal beauty for themselves with simple recipes such as herbal hair rinses, hair oils, face packs and more. They’ve recently started publishing these recipes on their website and more will be added every month – you can get the latest ones (as well as product offers) in their monthly newsletter.
Elizabeth Marsh is the owner of Amiya Natural Beauty and you can view her collection of herbal products here
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Great Green Giveaway At Pure Design
Posted by admin on 28 May 2010 | Tagged as: Green Directory Reviews
Pure Design the eco-ethical online boutique is giving away a free Ryan Frank cork ipouch worth £11.00 with every order of £30 or more. (offer ends midnight Monday 31st May)
This Ipouch is made from sustainably farmed cork and lined with super soft fabric. The cork is naturally shock absorbing and water resistant. The soft fabric lining keeps your Iphone shiny and new! Suitable for Blackberry Curve and other similar sized mobiles.
Dry Cleaning The Eco Way
Posted by admin on 10 May 2010 | Tagged as: Green Directory Reviews
As a supplier of many different sustainably produced and organic textiles, Gecco Interiors were concerned that they were often advising their customers to care for their textiles using ‘Green Dry Cleaning’. They wanted to know the facts behind green dry cleaning. Does it exist in the UK , what does it involve and how is it ‘greener’? 
Traditionally, dry cleaning meant cleaning clothes in liquids other than water and the solvent of choice was perchloroethyene or ‘perc’. This has since been proven to be a nervous system depressant and under US federal standards is listed as a hazardous air pollutant. An alternative method had to be found. Three new methods were favoured – washing with liquid CO2 in high pressured machines, using a silicone based solvent and finally, but much less effectively washing with regular water in computer controlled machines.
Discarding the latter due to poor results, they looked firstly at CO2. Normally present in gas form, CO2 transforms into a liquid under high-pressure. In specially designed machines clothes are washed at 900 llbs per square inch of pressure in liquid carbon dioxide and a surfectant (specialist detergent). After the clothes have been washed and rinsed, the CO2 is collected and reused. Several US textile companies have already started using this system commercially, but it is not common in the UK.
The stronger candidate for widespread ‘green dry cleaning’ comes from a group of ex-dry cleaners who have developed a system called Green Earth Cleaning. This system uses liquid silicone (a liquid version of sand) which is a naturally occurring material and is already used as the base material for many shampoos and soaps on the market today. Textiles cleaned using liquid silicone do not lose their colour, do not shrink and come back feeling softer than before because the silicone is inert and doesn’t react with the fibres of the fabric in an aggressive way. It can even be recommended for the most delicate of fabrics. The best thing about this method of cleaning is that there are no nasty residues. When the silicone breaks down it forms three natural ingredients – water, carbon dioxide and sand. Liquid Silicone appears to be the method of choice for UK Dry Cleaners and it is already available on the High Street! Ask your local dry cleaner about Green Earth Cleaning when you next pay a visit.
To view the Gecco Interiors collection please visit their website.
Organic Homeware Collection Launched
Posted by admin on 04 May 2010 | Tagged as: Green Directory Reviews
Ochre & Ocre, the online boutique who sell luxurious homewares and gifts, are delighted to announce the launch of their new range of Organic Cotton prints for the kitchen and dining room.
The new designs have been created by British textile designer Lindsey Joyce. Drawing on her love of travel and photography, as well as the works of 1950s designers, Lucienne Day and Mary White. The first design, Isabella is a graphic leaf pattern in Campden Blue. Madelaine is a more traditional polka dot in Sage Green.
The range is ideal for today’s modern lifestyle; with wipeable oilcloth table cloths, and childrens aprons, as well as 100% Organic Cotton runners, napkins, adult aprons, ovengloves, gauntlets, tea cosy’s and carrier bag store.
The Organic Cotton print fabric will also be available to buy by the metre later in the year. The patterns are a great way to inject some colour and design into any kitchen and with pricesstarting from only £6 RRP for a teatowel, the range is great value as well as eco friendly. Save 15% off the whole range by quoting the code GFN. Valid until the end of May.
To view the new organic range visit the Ochre & Ocre website
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Dry Your Clothes The Eco Way
Posted by admin on 21 Apr 2010 | Tagged as: Green Directory Reviews
How often have you come home from work, shopping or just been indoors, to find that the washing you had lovingly hung on the washing line was wetter than before you left it?
Everyone must have experienced it at least once if they take the wise view and hang their washing outside if possible. Now,because of the invention of the Rotaire Dryline this is a thing of the past. The Dryline allows you to dry your washing on a rotary airer come rain or shine.
This cleverly designed rain cover attaches to your airer to form an umbrella and has side skirts to prevent wind driven rain affecting your laundry. It folds up and down with your airer and even has a special storage cover supplied free. It is made of durable woven Polyethylene and has a 12 month guarantee. Once fitted you can forget all about the washing while enjoying the positive benefits of energy-free drying, the fresh quality of air dried clothes, saving work, being Green and saving money (it will pay for itself in 6 months against a tumble drier).
Everyone knows that the best way of drying laundry is outside, but our weather means your airer is only usable 20% of the time. Why not make it almost 100% by visiting the Rotaire website.
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Organic Bedding Range Launched For Children
Posted by admin on 10 Mar 2010 | Tagged as: Green Directory Reviews
Fou Furnishings is not yet two but already the innovative certified-organic and fair trade bed linen company is making its mark.
A Natural and Organic Awards 2009 finalist for best organic textile product, online quality bed linen specialist, Fou Furnishings, has just launched its first children’s collection with a limited edition design range. The designs were winners of Fou Furnishings’ Design-a-duvet competition during 2009 Organic Fortnight.
Fou Furnishings designer and director, Stephanie McIntosh, says: “We wanted the next generation to think green. The winning designs in our Design-a-duvet competition celebrate nature with flowers and butterflies, and fishes swimming in the sea.” ‘Flowers are wonderful’, with appliquéd and embroidered flowers and butterflies, is designed by a primary school pupil from Glasgow, Scotland. ‘Love to learn’ is designed by a mother in Middlesex, England, with animals and numbers, also appliquéd and embroidered.
One of India’s longest-established organic companies have produced the limited edition bedding. The Fou Furnishings baby and children range is certified Fairtrade ensuring fair wages and an ethical and transparent supply chain. The limited design duvet covers launches Fou Furnishings’ new organic bedding collection for babies and children.
Why organic?
Fou Furnishings director, Stephanie McIntosh, explains: “We spend around eight hours in bed; organic bedding is wonderfully soft for sensitive skins because of its long fibres and is completely toxic-free. Organic production is sustainable, traceable and safe for farm workers. I want exceptional quality – the best yarns come from cotton grown and processed the organic way.”
The just launched baby and children bedding collection uses high-quality 330 thread count organic cotton which means its smooth softness lasts and lasts.
To view the collecton please visit their website.
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Eco-Friendly Beds Designed By Nature, Handmade With Care
Posted by admin on 04 Mar 2010 | Tagged as: Green Directory Reviews
Feelgood Eco Beds who supply beautiful, handmade and environmentally friendly beds are offering 20% off selected lines this month to celebrate the relaunch of their new website.
The launch also includes a new range of children’s beds which are made from sustainable wood and come with a lifetime guarantee.
To see the Feelgood Eco Beds collection please visit their website
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Eco-Friendly Banners
Posted by admin on 02 Mar 2010 | Tagged as: Green Directory Reviews, If it's green we'll find it...
Eco Bunting are now making Eco- Friendly banners for all those special occasions!
Made using water-based inks in a closed loop system where waste is recycled. Banners for birthdays, anniversaries and new babies with more to come. For use indoors or outside these 1.5m banners can be used over and over again for all your family occasions.
Visit the website for more details
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Organic Bedding:What Are The Benefits?
Posted by admin on 25 Feb 2010 | Tagged as: Green Directory Reviews
If you have gone organic in parts of your life, but never thought about organic bedding, read on as to why it makes sense. As a recent reviewer commented, “Why would you want to sleep in something that has been poorly made by underpaid staff and steeped in chemicals?” Conventional cotton producers consume $2.6 billion worth of pesticides; more than 25% of the world’s pesticides on 2.5% of farmed land. It’s not just about chemicals and Fairtrade. Why would you not want to sleep in soft, silky, comfortable organic cotton bedding that has been made from beautiful quality Egyptian organic cotton, by fairly paid producers? Also guaranteed to have used no allergy inducing chemicals.
What is organic bedding?
Certified 100% organic cotton bedding starts with natural cotton fibres which have been grown without the use of chemicals, synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Only cotton from verified, organically cultivated, sustainable sources can be used, a process which takes a farmer three years to attain. The natural fibre must then be treated and finished using only natural and biodegradable means such as non-toxic bleaching or eco-dyes to arrive at the finished article versus conventional cotton which can be treated with a series of chemicals from the field to the finished product. Certification gives assurance at every stage of the cotton’s journey from field to the finished product on quality, absence of toxic chemicals and the payment and working conditions of producers. In the UK, the leading certification body is the UK Soil Association which adheres to the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). Certifications by bodies such as the UK Soil Association or Oeko-Tex not only offer the consumer assurance on the organic integrity and quality of the bed linen but also guarantee no irritating nasties.
Why choose organic bedding?
Choosing organic cotton isn’t just a change in bed linen, but a change in attitude and one which is about value, not just in ethics, but also lasting comfort and value for money. Not to mention the apparent relief it gives to allergy sufferers and reducing carcinogenic chemicals.
The wider benefits of certified organic cotton are much quoted: decreased chemical exposure due to the absence of pesticides, chemical fertilisers or toxins which affect growers’ health and income, allergy sufferers and the environment. As well as being considerate to the environment and the people involved in growing and processing the cotton, certified organic cotton bedding collections also offer the consumer original design and natural, lasting quality for different budgets and for classic or contemporary interiors. Given we spend around eight hours in bed, choosing organic, chemical-free bedding offers the comfort of a great night’s sleep and is often the bed linen of choice for those with sensitive skins; with the added benefit that the product you are buying is from fair and sustainable cotton sources.
Why choose Fou Furnishings ®?
Fou Furnishings is (GOTS) certified by the UK Soil Association, the UK’s leading certification body and environmental charity. All their organic cotton bedding has been made with great care – from the original design, choice of long staple cotton fibres which are inherently strong, to the finished product.The company deals only in high thread counts which need to be woven from long staple fibres such as Egyptian organic cotton which is renowned for its quality. Bed linen fabrics which are woven with long staple fibres inherently contain the natural strength, softness and durable quality of the fibre which will withstand frequent laundering, outlasting those fabrics made from inferior or shorter staple cottons. All of their linens are certified by either the UK Soil Association or Oeko-Tex and have been specified and independently tested by Fou Furnishings for performance against the company’s own and external standards e.g. colourfastness, shrinkage, pilling and allergy inducing dye stuffs.
Fou Furnishings’ linens are available in three qualities in very high thread counts of 330 to 475 and luxurious finishes which means their linens are gorgeously soft and comfortable against your skin and will withstand frequent laundering and still look great. Choose from organic essentials sateen, crisp percale or lustrous Italian sateen for different budgets and classic or contemporary bedrooms. A recent reviewer’s experience of sleeping in Fou Furnishings’ elsa bed linen was described “as though I was sleeping on a cloud, or at least in a really swish boutique hotel. The product washes really well too.”
For readers who want to sample organic bedding, the company would be delighted to send out swatches of their linens. Simply visit their website and click on ‘request sample’ or call T: 0141 644 5211 for friendly service and information.
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