Big Green Festival

If you are around in Manchester this weekend, head down to the Big Green Festival in Chorlton on Saturday (4th April).

The festival is celebrating all that is sustainable and local. Check out everything from the big swap (get some new goodies after a feel-good clear out) to green seminars and information about eco generators...

Let us know how you got on.

It's the little things in life...

I have found that trying to put eco thinking into my life isnt about massive changes, but lots of little ones. The great thing being that each little change takes little effort, but added together make a massive difference.

And it is easy for anyone to take these little changes on board.

The ink ran out on our printer this morning so got me thinking about how we can save ink. We already use our mis-printed paper as scrap to print drafts and notes on. But that doesnt save ink.

The guys at SPRANQ in the Netherlands spent many a late night and cup of coffee coming up with ecofont, a font which uses 20% less ink than our standard fonts.

When enlarged you can see the way they have created it, with little holes in the letters. But when reduced to our usual writing size it looks no different from fonts such as Arial.

It is an open source font and you can download it here - make little steps towards your green office.

So I am making the little change of setting up my writer template to use eco font, and hopefully it will give us a couple of extra days before we need to change the cartridge next time... and saving pennies for that extra pack of biccies for our afternoon tea...

On the green carpet for the World premiere of Age of Stupid

Make sure you are hanging out in Leicester Square on Sunday to catch a glimpse of all the celebs making their way down the green carpet at the World Premiere of Age of Stupid.

The Age of Stupid is going to be one of the most talked about films of 2009. It stars Pete Postlethwaite and is from the makers of ‘McLibel’ and the Oscar-winning ‘One Day In September’.In the film, Postlethwaite stars as a man living alone the devastated world of 2055, looking at ‘old’ footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?

The world premiere is set to be as green as its message. A special solar powered cinema will be constructed in Leicester Square, and will be attended by numerous celebrities including Gillian Anderson, Natalie Imbruglia, Supergrass, Jonathan Edwards, Dwain Chambers, Ken Livingston, Damon Albarn, Alastair Campbell, KT Tunstall and Ed Milliband.

View the trailer here

The film goes on general release in the UK on 20th March.

If like me you always check out the extras on the DVD, go to the Guardian website for the 'Making-of' short for the film.

Why not let us know what you think of the film by leaving a comment below.

Spice up your life

Do you long to do something different with your life? Whether you're feeling unfulfilled in your job, are facing redundancy or you're simply stuck in a rut and feel it's time to make a change, head down to One Life Live at London Olympia this weekend and get the inspiration, advice and practical support you need to make it happen.

Whether you long to retrain for a new career, want to take a career break to travel or volunteer overseas, live sustainably, dream about becoming your own boss or simply feel in need of a achieving a better work/life balance - you'll find the answers at One Life Live.

With insiring seminars and speakers, it really is a great show. It opens tomorrow, March 13th, and runs till Sunday. Simply quote FS1 to book two tickets for £22 – normally priced £14 in advance and £16 on the door.

Are eco-homes ugly?

No! I hear you cry...

Join the controversial debate at EcoBuild this week at Earls Court...
Germaine Greer, Bill Dunster, TonyJuniper and David Orr will be debating the aesthetics of low carbon design for new homes and communities tomorrow in the main arena at Ecobuild from 17.00 - 18.00.

Ecobuild is always worth a visit and is also free but you should register at http://www.ecobuild.co.uk/

Ecobuild is the world’s biggest event dedicated to sustainable design, construction and the built environment, so if you are renovating, doing an eco self-build or just interested then get yourself along for the best showcase of sustainable construction products anywhere, plus dozens of inspiring attractions and more than 100 free conference and seminar sessions.

But hurry, the show finishes on Thursday!

Win tickets to the Eco Chic Wedding & Home Show plus a pampering session

With just under a week to go until the first ever Eco Chic Wedding & Home Show this Sunday 8 March the organisers have 25 pairs of free tickets to give away plus 3 free pamper treatments to be enjoyed on the day. Even if you don't win you can get 2 for 1 tickets by quoting ECWHS-EW09 when you book online or by phone.

To win the tickets visit the ethical weddings blog

Eco and ethical considerations are growing amongst couples getting married, but finding trusted suppliers of services and products for the big day is relatively difficult. I know when I got married in 2006 I spent a vast amount of time researching on the web and trying to make informed decisions - as if the planning wasn't stressful enough already! But it was important to us that our wedding, and setting up our new home, was as ethical and environmentally sound as possible.

We had our wedding list with EcoCentric, as well as with a few other eco companies. when we have guest round they love our dinner set and cant believe it's recycled glass!

The Eco Chic Wedding & Home Show takes place this Sunday (8 March) from 11am - 4pm at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. This exclusive wedding and home event offers ideas for couples for green & ethical weddings and living. It will be the perfect opportunity to see, touch, taste and try before you buy all the essentials for your Big Day - check out dresses, occasionwear, accessories, photography, flowers, gifts, honeymoon destinations, venues, cakes and much much more.

Lighten up!

You may have seen in the news over the last few weeks that the standard lightbulb as we knew it is no longer being stocked in stores in the UK. Some people are in uproar that they are having to change to low-energy bulbs - as if they dont want to save money on their energy bills...

Oliver has a good point: "I've just changed all my bulbs to CFLs [compact fluorescent lamps] and saved around four-fifths on my electricity bill. It really is quite staggering that so many people are still using Edison's light bulb which was invented in 1879. It's 130 years later and people are still using the same technology – that just doesn't happen in other areas of our home and lives." Can you imagine still keeping a horse and trap when all your freinds are driving the Prius?

When designers were trying to persuade people to the benifits of the low-energy bulbs they came up with stylish and innovative shades that are specifically designed for use with these bulbs. Here are a few examples:

Felt
Made from 100% wool, felt is naturally fire retardent, so an ideal material for lighting design. It is moulded into shape when wet and bound together. It can be moulded into some interesting shaps, and can be cut into as it doesn't fray. The delight shade is a great example of this. However, intense heat can mean the shade loses its shape and can get scorched, so is designed to be used with the low-energy lightbulbs that give off a minimal amout of heat. Most of the energy of the edison bulb goes into heat it gives off - not hugely efficient...

Recycled plastic
Polyproplene is a great material, can be made from 100% recycled plastic and also be recycled at the end of its life - a closed loop system. It is also bendy so can be shaped into great forms for unusual shades. Again, intense heat can affect the shape and performance of the plastic so needs to be used with low energy bulbs.

Paper

Previously a faux-pas because of the fire risk, you can get gorgeous printed shades in recycled paper and card that work perfectly with the low-energy bulbs.

The bulbs themselves have come on in leaps and bounds since they were first developed and now come in stylish shapes to complement your lighting design as well as being available in warmer shades rather than the previous cool white. Try them and see...

And I haven't even touched on the possibiliies of LED lighting...more on that soon...

Health in a stylish glass

What were your new year resolutions? Do you even make any?

After the Christmas period of eating and drinking rich and delicious food (Thanks, Mother-in-law!) it is a common time to think about getting into shape. And the best way we know to get beautiful skin and feel energised is to drink lots of water.

Boris Johnson is obviously on our side as he is pushing the London on Tap campaign promoting tap water in London by creating a stylish drinking carafe for restaurants and venues throughout the capital to use when we order tap water. Not only does it taste great, but tap water is also cheaper and has a carbon footprint 300 times smaller that bottle water.

Did you know:

- London’s tap water is rated top in the UK, making it one of the best in the world? It consistently rates highly in taste tests, beating more expensive, bottled alternatives.

- London water is 500 times cheaper than bottled water, and is kinder to the environment, emitting 300 times less CO2 to process than bottled alternatives.

- Tap water is not only good for you, it’s good for London and kinder to the planet.

So here are your action points:

1. Be proud of your tap water, Londoners! Order tap water when eating out, instead of bottled. Do the taste test - and save yourself some pennies!

2. Let us know if you would like us to offer the London on Tap carafe on ecocentric.co.uk by leaving a comment below.

RE:fashion award winners announced at glitzy celeb filled occasion

Last night saw the ultimate event in ethical fashion with the RE:fashion awards held at Shoreditch town hall (just round the corner from our HQ, where Elton had his 60th) where all the hot ethical designers mixed with celebs such as Daisy Lowe, Pixie Geldof and Leah Wood.

Established designers Vivienne Westwood, Zandra Rhodes & Katharine Hamnett showed their support for the awards with their outfits, created exclusively for the event, being modelled on the RE:design catwalk.

RE: Fashion Designer of the Year was awarded to From Somewhere, (right) beating off fierce competition from Safia Minney of People Tree, and Oliver's favourites Junky Styling.

Izzy Lane, who rears her own sheep for her very British collections (shown below), walked away with New RE:Designer of the Year Award.

Other awards and winners included:
Fashion retailer Adili - RE: Retailer of the Year
Pioneering jewellery label Made - RE: Africa award
From Somewhere - RE:Use Award

It was the first event of its kind, though trends would suggest there will be more to come, following the Estethica area at London fashion week for the past 5 seasons which has been growing in size and quality every time.

For the full report check out glam Sarah from Greenmystyle who was right in there with the action.

Design classic up for an award

We are very excited that Ovetto, our recycled recycling bin, is one of this year's contendors in this year's Cooper Hewitt Design Awards.

The competition gives people the chance to vote for their favourite example of good design.

We think Ovetto is not only a good design product. It's green, recycled, educational fun and practical.

At the same height as a 4 year old, it is the ideal little friend for a child with colourful doors and slots that beg to be pushed, pulled and played with.

So if you think the Ovetto is the best thing since Eero Saarinen (think Tulip chair) or Verner Panton, then go ahead and vote

It'll be a tight contest - check out who Ovetto is up against!

We'll let you know what happens when the results come out next Friday...

Our two-pence worth

The world of eco chic seems to be growing fast, as more designers and companies are adopting eco-friendly practices, and not just in the name of green washing.

A few of us from EcoCentric will be keeping you up to date with what's new and what's catching our eye in the eco world, from high design products to ideas you can try for yourself to enhance your eco chic home.

Obviously we can't tell you everything as we need some time to run the company, but we will get you the best bits to keep you positive and inspired.

Anything you think we've missed? let us know! Something you want us to offer on the website - ditto!

We hope you enjoy it...