Snooty Catz - ethical living for people and pets

Snooty Catz ethical living for people and pets was founded in 2016 in the steel city of Sheffield; they are a small independent business with a passion for living ethically for both themselves and their pets. They work hard to offset their carbon footprint and they also plant one tree for every order placed.

Snooty Catz believe living a more ethical and sustainable lifestyle shouldn’t be expensive and they endeavour to offer fabulous products at great prices. They are passionate about the environment and this reflects in their ever-growing range of cruelty-free, plastic-free, natural, vegan, made in Britain and fair trade products.

For 10% off use code GreenProviders10

Visit https://snootycatz.co.uk

Snooty Catz - Green & Ethical

Snooty Catz ethical living for people and pets was founded in 2016 in the steel city of Sheffield; they are a small independent business with a passion for living ethically for both themselves and their pets. They work hard to offset their carbon footprint and they also plant one tree for every order placed.

Snooty Catz believe living a more ethical and sustainable lifestyle shouldn’t be expensive and they endeavour to offer fabulous products at great prices. They are passionate about the environment and this reflects in their ever-growing range of cruelty-free, plastic-free, natural, vegan, made in Britain and fair trade products.

For 10% off use code GreenProviders10

Visit https://snootycatz.co.uk

Jungle Culture

Jungle Culture’s philosophy is to inspire people to see the beauty and purpose in nature. They create earth-friendly and functional goods sourced directly from independent artisans and makers from all over the world. They believe in fair and honest manufacturing and care deeply about building relationships with the local communities that we work alongside.

Jungle Culture provide their products at wholesale rates to purchase worldwide and on top of this they also offer opportunities to custom brand their products for businesses, events and weddings. If you think your business could benefit from partnering with Jungle Culture, get in touch today using their email zerowaste@jungleculture.eco and one of their friendly team will get back to you with some options. https://jungleculture.eco/

Chalk and Skinner Ltd, 49 Windmill Avenue, Dereham, Norfolk, NR20 3BE

Contact: zerowaste@jungleculture.eco

Dinosaurs, Mother Nature and Human Destiny

Dr Gary Robertshaw

Various theories exist about the event that ended the dinosaurs' dominance of the Earth. Whatever the cause, it was certainly cataclysmic. Dinosaurs had been around for some 135 million years – by comparison humans are believed to have lived on Earth for only 2 million years. In cosmic terms, humans have existed for the blink of an eye. Shorter still is the industrial era and technological developments that have allowed humans to dominate every facet of the Earth and control its very destiny.

We revel in our brilliance and ingenuity in mastering Mother Nature but as the Nobel laureate Richard Feynman once famously said, "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled." Ultimately Mother Nature will prevail - she always has and she always will. The big difference, of course, is that unlike the dinosaurs' fate, humans may ultimately inflict their own demise. And we can see it coming.

These are not doomsayer predictions but rather inevitable consequences of our own actions unless we change course. For example, our very economic system is predicated on the ever increasing consumption of unlimited resources, which is fundamentally flawed given that Earth's capacity is obviously finite. Yet governments of all persuasions pursue unmitigated economic growth as a panacea for domestic bliss and, where democracy exists, for improving their chances of re-election by appeasing the masses.

At the same time, governments have been largely inactive in terms of mediating unsustainable growth in the global human population due to fears of a religious backlash and accusations of 'big brother' interference in personal lives. It is estimated by the Guttmacher Institute, for example, that 222 million women worldwide have an unmet need for modern contraception due to limited cultural acceptance, the level of female empowerment, affordability or problems with distribution.

A rocketing human population demanding Western lifestyles and consuming ever more resources to fuel economic growth clearly cannot be sustained in the long-term. Whilst technology improvements, energy efficiency, improved methods of food production and the discovery and extraction of fossil fuels from untapped areas such as the Arctic and the use of fracking will buy time they are not the solution (remember the jubilation at North Sea oil in the 1970s).

On the flip side, many of those involved in the environmental movement have been too quick to predict disaster. When it hasn’t happened there has been ridicule and consequential loss of faith in the predictions. Coupled with powerful corporate influences on public understanding, this has resulted in apathy and a large proportion of the population simply not believing the science. Changes are occurring but more gradual than some of the more perilous predictions. Others within the environmental movement have taken an almost fundamentalist line, which has played directly into the hands of the corporations and media who portray them as tree-hugging, sandal wearing hippies out of touch with reality.

The problems facing our planet in the coming years are considerable, but they are not insurmountable. Better education and empowerment of women are keys to bringing down high birth rates. This has been proven to be effective in developing countries and examples such as Malala Yousafzai provide real inspiration. The shift away from dirty fossil fuels to renewable energy sources is continuing and will accelerate as the cost-effectiveness of newer green technologies improves. Scotland, for example, is predicted to be entirely renewable electricity-powered by 2020. Consumer demand and campaigning for sustainable and fair trade products is forcing many suppliers to adopt more ethical practices. Demand for eco-friendly, fair trade products has surged according to the market research company Nielsen, and this trend is likely to continue.

We tread a fine line but ultimately we are masters of our own destiny.

Big increase in demand for eco-friendly products - what's behind it?

Eco friendly shopping

Fair Trade movement re-states commitment to green practices

In recent weeks, two key statements by the international fair trade movement have re-stated their commitment to environmentally friendly practices in the production of fair trade goods.

Principles of Fair Trade

One of the core tenets of the fair trade movement is the sustainability of the production process.

Indeed one of the World Fair Trade Organisation’s (WFTO) 10 Principles of Fair Trade is “Respect for the environment”, which states:

• Organizations which produce Fair Trade products maximize the use of raw materials from sustainably managed sources in their ranges, buying locally when possible.

• They use production technologies that seek to reduce energy consumption and where possible use renewable energy technologies that minimize greenhouse gas emissions.

• They seek to minimize the impact of their waste stream on the environment.

• Fair Trade agricultural commodity producers minimize their environmental impacts, by using organic or low pesticide use production methods wherever possible.

• Buyers and importers of Fair Trade products give priority to buying products made from raw materials that originate from sustainably managed sources, and have the least overall impact on the environment.

• All organizations use recycled or easily biodegradable materials for packing to the extent possible, and goods are dispatched by sea wherever possible.”


Global Fair Trade Week & Fair Trade Beyond 2015

This commitment to eco-friendly practices was re-confirmed at WFTO’s Global Fair Trade Week in Brazil in May 2013. The conference statement declared that the international fair trade movement would continue to fight against “the causes of climate change” and for “respect for the environment”.

In addition, the Fair Trade Beyond 2015 campaign (which is calling on the UN to replace the 2015 Millennium Development Goals with a new global development framework) wants to “encourage environmentally-sustainable farming and production practices” as one of the key elements of its development framework.


Fair Trade equals eco-friendly

So fair trade is not only about making a commitment to balancing the current unequal global trade rules and practices, but to creating an ‘equitable and sustainable world’ based on environmental as well as social and economic development.

This environmentally sustainable approach to business is carried out by fair trade retailers across the world, as the goods they sell are usually made by small artisan producer groups creating high quality handmade goods in an eco-friendly manner.


How Accessory Fair helps the environment

For example, here at Accessory Fair, our commitment to reducing our impact on the environment is a core element of our business philosophy which can be seen in many ways. For example:

• The vast majority of our fair trade products are made using natural materials and eco-friendly dyes.

• One of our jewellery suppliers works exclusively with the Women for Conservation project in Columbia, which seeks to help marginalized women who live near nature reserves to make ethical jewellery using sustainable materials.

• Our winter woolies supplier recently funded a river erosion rescue project in the village where many of their workers live in Nepal.

• Within our own business we use the bio-degradable Eco Poly Jacket to send out orders, and only ever use 100% recycled paper. In this way we, along with every other fair trade retailer, are doing our bit to minimise our impact on the environment, and contribute to the global fair trade movement campaigns to encourage environmental sustainability.

Colin Timperley
Accessory Fair