Low Impact

This cushion cover is partly made from fabric reclaimed from old shirts

One of a number of things my wife has made recently with her new sewing machine is the cushion covers shown in the picture. They look fantastic and have given new life to old cushions that had, till that point, been consigned to a shelf in the cupboard.

From an environmental impact point of view, they have the added benefit of being partially made of recycled material… Continue reading

They're cute, but have an appetite for home-grown vegetables!

Since moving into our new house, one of the first orders of the day has been to establish a vegetable garden. The environmental benefits are pretty clear – I know exactly what pesticides have been used (none!), exactly what artificial fertilisers have been used (none!) and how much fuel was needed to transport them from the soil to my kitchen (none!).

Add to that the fact that after a week at work, getting out into the garden feels positively therapeutic and its a win-win story all round!

Unfortunately, it turns out that I’m not the only one with a taste for organically grown… Continue reading

Dispensers like this can reduce the amount of waste from hotels

We recently came back from a short holiday away. The holiday was short, but the distance was long – around 1200 kilometres each way! We drove the Prius, and as you can see from the sidebar tracking my progress against my New Years Resolutions, its made quite a dent in my “allowance” of 10,000km!

We travelled in stages, stopping off for a night along the way. In one of the hotels we stayed at, I noticed the dispensers… Continue reading