Saturday morning greens

I was on top of my green game this morning. I asked for my Gloria Jeans latte in a mug, rather than the plastic-coated takeaway cup. Just by sitting for a few minutes to drink from a mug, I saved a cup and lid from landfill! Not only did I remember my reusable bags, I also brought along my Onya weigh reusable fruit & vegetable bags. Is something wrong in my life that I can take such pleasure from placing mandarins into a sack made from nylon mesh? I'm sure anyone who saw the lady at the mandarins with the silly grin must have thought I was lost in the emotions of something much more exciting. I asked the baker to put the bread rolls straight into my own reusable bag and I said 'no' to a receipt.

I was in deep green form, skipping back to my car ... hmm, car ... that popped my bubble of green reverie. Oh well, there is always room for improvement next Saturday.

We'd love to hear your ideas on how to green-up a grocery trip...

keeping it local with "slow shopping"

You have probably heard of "slow food", which is all about eating food that is healthy for people, is good for the people who grow it and good for the planet.

According to Slow Food Australia it is a movement to “counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions, people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world”.

It made me think that what we offer is "slow shopping". We delight in helping our customers to slow down and think about where a product comes from, what it is made from, how it is made and especially, who made it.

We support products made close to home so we can reduce our carbon footprint and foster a vibrant local community. One of our favourite local artisans is Kylie Johnson who makes her gorgeous ceramic quote tags, ornaments and earrings within a few kilometres of our store. It takes Kylie a long time to carefully hand make her ceramics and they embody simplicity.

Travel advice from friends

Here's some lovely travel advice from a good friend of Biome:

"What a beautiful blog you've got going. Thanks for sharing your journey. It makes me think of all those well-known traveling quotations like
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" &
"One's destination is never a place but, rather, a new way of looking at things".

Interesting, isn't it, the parallels between becoming more sustainable and traveling? Not only do we have to become greener step-by-step, but there is no ultimate destination for us to reach - it's more about how we look at things." - Kelly-Ann, Bliss Ecowear.

Kelly-Ann launched Bliss Ecowear last year at 15 Latrobe Terrace, Paddington. Bliss is a haven of socially and environmentally responsible fashion for women, men and children. Find clothes made from organic linens, bamboo and soy, vegan shoes and bags and hand made jewellery.

nature is not a place to visit. it is home.
- gary snyder

Nothing but plants in this soap

Watching TV can be quite stressful as I can't help but watch the claims from mass commercial brands. Tonight, an advertisement for a "real soap" with 1/4 moisturising cream. Actually, real soap has 100% moisturisers - just pure plant oils, like these gorgeous soaps from Est. Conventional soaps need to "put back" the moisturiser because they take it out in the first place. Many soap makers strip out the moisturising glycerine because it is more valuable to sell it to the cosmetics industry. With many commercial brands, the moisturisers are also actually from petrol, not plants.

These lovingly hand moulded Est soaps are made from olive oil. Est mix herbs, grains and oils in huge stainless steel bowls in their lovely old shop kitchen. Even better, they are free from palm oil (widely used in soap making because it's cheap), so they are not contributing to the deforestation of orangutan habitat. They last forever too -- my Nanna says we'll go broke selling them because people don't need to come back for months! natural beauty

Misleading claims hurt true greenies

The company that manufactures “Natural Instinct” has been found guilty of deliberately failing to list all ingredients such as Sodium Laureth Sulphate, listing some chemicals by incorrect names, and claiming that some products are "made from 100% pure oils and certified organic herbs" when in fact, only a very minor proportion of the product uses these. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has told it to publish corrective notices. Thank you to the Cleanlife blog for their story with all the details.

When I see a "natural" brand that is so low cost, it puzzles me how they can make the products so cheaply - either they contain a lot of fillers/bulking agents (like water and salt) or the ingredients are perhaps not as they say.

Not that a natural brand has to be expensive. There are some beautiful, reasonably priced natural beauty brands that use high quality ingredients to nourish your skin - like Bod and Sanctum.

Before I trust a company or its products, I like to know who are the people behind it, their story and their inspiration. With N.I., I was always concerned that I could not find any information about who they were. We all need to be sceptical consumers, try to garner as much information as we can to make an informed choice and, ultimately, rely on our own (dare I say) instinct.

Remarkable Rocks, Kangaroo Island

Remarkable Rocks in Flinders Chase National Park, Kangaroo Island, South Australia

A recent family holiday on Kangaroo Island was the perfect recharge - beach, wildlife, spectacular natural wonders, fascinating history and local food. This remarkable cluster of massive boulders has been sculpted by the elements. They perch miraculously on a granite dome right at the end of a peninsula.

Handbag make-over for an eco-cadet

This is an article I wrote for Peppermint Magazine's launch issue in August 2008.

One tote-sized revolution at a time is enough I say. Faced with the enormity of our planet’s eco-troubles, it would be easy to hide behind the Generals. However, the thrill of victory is contagious, so I have resolved to make a series of small advances. Starting with a green makeover for the handbag that carries me through each battle…oops, day.

Tissues. Every parent needs a wad of these for wiping away green trails from small noses (green is good, but not that type). But where are all the recycled choices? We can make recycled paper for wiping other anatomical parts, so why not tissues? I will have to track down some reusable organic cotton hankies instead.

Lipstick. Thankfully my favourite lippie (Sante Shiny Bronze) is already natural and petrochemical-free. Apparently a woman swallows about 2kg of lipstick in her lifetime, so I was an early convert to making sure that it was tasty jojoba oil and plant waxes.

Reusable bags. I freely admit to a type N.R.M.R.B. personality (never remember my reusable bags). Those oversized celebrity handbags look as though they have about six green bags stuffed into them, but my econo-tote calls for a more compact solution. To the rescue, a good friend designed a nifty Stuffit shopping bag that scrunches up so small I can adopt several for my handbag.

BYO fork. We seem to eat so many meals in the car or on the go (incredibly, Australians do eat more meals outside the home than in) and that can mean a lot of waste. I wince when I throw out a once used utensil or container because there are so few recycling bins in public places. Reviving my Girl Guide motto, I’ll Be Prepared in future with a reusable bamboo plastic fork. Why didn’t I think of that 30 forks ago?

Reusable coffee mug. This eco-message has made it through and I love my slimline SIGG thermos that fits neatly in my bag. An even sweeter reward, some coffee shops give a discount when you B.Y.O. cup.

Wallet. Could it be that in my quest to avoid animal hide, my handbag has been infiltrated by the dastardly PVC? That most toxic of all plastics with the recycle symbol #3? I can’t see a symbol on it so I will have to abstain. Hemp it will need to be, or, one made locally from recycled fabric.

Receipts. Among the miscellaneous paraphernalia, 28 receipts. Possibly enough to make a box of recycled paper tissues. If we could all remember to ask for ‘no receipt please’, surely we could save a rainforest or three.

Car keys. Hmm? I can’t get rid of those unless I get rid of the petrol guzzler they ignite. For that skirmish, this cadet will have to return another day…

With thanks to dear friends for the inspirations in this article.