Animated Eco Mug

If you want a mug of tea and some idea what the world will look like when the polar ice caps melt (great start to your day!), try this Eco mug from the Unemployed Philosophers Guild.

It shows a map of the world which changes as the heat from your drink causes parts of the image to disappear. It isn’t a recycled product and it doesn’t save energy, but it might help you be more aware about what all your carbon emissions are doing to the planet.

Recycled Glass with Style

A few years ago there were a couple of examples of companies using old glass bottles and recycling them into new products. Today there is a vast choice available and at www.allthingsgreen.net, they are featuring some of the best.

They include tumblers from recycled Coke bottles, high ball glasses from recycled Budweiser bottles and jugs made from recycled Jack Daniels bottles. You will also find shot glasses, vases and carafes.

The prices are reasonable, all can be ordered online and you not only have a quirky glass product but keep thousands of bottles out of landfill.

For more information visit: www.allthingsgreen.net

Pretend Paper Cup

People like those paper cups you buy coffee in. The problem is we throw away millions of them each day.

Here is a chance to reduce waste and still look like you are casually drinking your beverage from a coffee shop paper cup!

It is made from Porcelain and has a silicon lid to keep your drink warm and prevent spilling. The advantage here is that you can use the “I am not a paper cup..” indefinitely and help reduce landfill.

Sadly, they only appear to be available in the US at the moment but, when you know that American citizens throw away 410,000 paper cups every 15 mins – anything, which will help reduce that, has got to be a good idea.

More details from www.dcigift.com

Biodegradable Tableware

No doubt many of you will be entertaining in the coming weeks and get into the party spirit. One of the drawbacks is all that washing up afterwards. You don’t want to use disposable tableware because it’s just – well – DISPOSABLE! But you still want to invite lots of people and reduce your stress level.

Enter biodegradable tableware – plates, ‘cutlery’, straws and drinks beakers all of which can be recycled on your compost heap. Some of the ‘cutlery’ is made of wood, which biodegrades like any other part of a tree, other products are made of corn start (which looks and acts like plastic but is biodegradable!).

Now, we don’t suggest you use them for every meal but for those festive parties they might just ease your Eco conscience.

We have found a whole collection of these products on a site called ‘Silly Jokes”, which is odd because it is mainly full of jolly party products and not the place you might expect to find eco products. So, you can shop for eco friendly partyware and buy a whoopee cushion at the same time – we live in a strange world.

Have a look at http://www.sillyjokes.co.uk/cgi-bin/affiliates/clickthru.cgi?id=AndyPepper&page=http://www.sillyjokes.co.uk/party/tableware/biodegradable/index.html for their biodegradable products.

Veggie Cutlery

Another simple and easy to use site which sells cutlery and tableware made from natural starch and fibres.

These are made from plastarch material (PSM) and are heat resistant up to 105 c. They also appear to be very robust.


What is brilliant about them is that they are made from annually renewable resources and are 100% biodegradable. Have a look round Vegwar’s site for plates, napkins, bowls and a host of other biodegradable products. They also have a very useful directory of eco and green suppliers and sites. Well worth a visit.

http://www.vegware.co.uk/

Glass recycling with style

For most of us, glass recycling means an embarassing trip to the bottle bank.

Hide your shame and approach it from a different angle. The people at EcoCentric are offering these stunning recycled glasses and jug designed by Tord Boontje and Emma Woofenden.

Can you think of a nicer way of drinking twice from the same bottle?

The Green Box Shop

The Green Box Shop is all about giving you a healthier and greener option. About getting effective and affordable, natural household products to your door.

We sell toiletries, child, baby and pregnancy items, dental, feminine hygiene and cleaning products, with cosmetics and men's ranges soon to follow.

You can buy individual items from us or alternatively, a household, toiletries or baby care start up kit. All the products we sell are used and chosen by us at The Green Box Shop on the basis of purity, effectiveness and cost. We even offer a refill service for certain items to help reduce the amount of plastic going into landfill.

To make it all as easy and convenient as possible, orders can be placed on line. http://www.thegreenboxshop.co.uk/

Carry your Juice Box

It seems we drink a lot of juice. Healthy and good for you but we then throw all the packaging away – tonnes of the stuff.

A women’s cooperative in the Philippines is doing something about it and making a range of bags, purses and accessories from recycled juice packs - non-biodegradable foil and plastic packaging that would otherwise go into landfill sites and incinerators.

The Cooperative began as an environmental project with the aim of 'cleaning and greening' the local neighbourhood. It has since become increasingly successful and now employs over 200 women and distributes its innovative products world-wide.

They have a huge range and orders are processed in London for UK delivery.

More details at www.doybags.com