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Fairtrade Fortnight is a yearly event celebrating Fairtrade products, and encourages as many people to make the switch from standard items to fair trade. This year, it runs from 22nd Feb to the 7th March 2010.

Fair trade items have constantly been growing in popularity and range. They aim to give the farmer or producer of the base item a good price, ensuring better working conditions, living environment and support for their family. While many farmers and producers are given a very low income for the goods they produce, any item which is certified as Fairtrade ensures that a good price is paid for the hard work gone into making it. Fairtrade also encourages a more ethical production as environmental standards are monitored, with sustainability of the local environment a priority – fairtrade producers need to adhere to a set of environmental rules regarding the local environment in which the products are grown.

Fairtrade items are mostly known as food and drink, namely the base ingredients such as cocoa, sugar, coffee, tea, rice and pulses, and spices. Nuts and exotic fruit such as banana and pineapple can also be counted. Many supermarkets, coffee chains and well known brands are already switching to Fairtrade ingredients. While the quality of the product is often better, the cost to the consumer is often not increased significantly and people can enjoy their products knowing that they were ethically sourced.

Less well known, fairtrade items can also be household goods. Clothes can be produced from fairtrade cotton, or entire products like handicrafts can be assembled and manufactured in fairtrade. In this situation, the person who is assembling and creating the item is guaranteed a fair wage for what they are producing, and the same environmental standards are applied to the manufacturing process. Fair trade goods can range from handicrafts such as photo frames, toys, and ornaments, and functional items such as footballs and rugby balls, scarves and cutlery.

Make the switch to Fairtrade today to improve the life of producers – and the environment – around the world.

For great ideas of Fair trade gifts to celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight, please click here

For information about a Fairtrade tea and coffee offer from The Consortium, please click here

For more information see The Big Swap website

Fairtrade and the Fairtrade logo are © 2010 Fairtrade Foundation

Here are five easy eco tips to make your office greener:

Easy notepads:
If your office uses a lot of paper, before recycling build a stack of about 50 sheets, then cut into quarters leaving 4 smaller stacks of paper. Attach a bulldog clip to the top, and you have your own eco-friendly notepad, sketch pad or jotter. You won’t need to buy any more and you can re-use the clip afterwards. When finished, recycle the paper as normal!

Reuse padded envelopes:
If you receive a padded envelope through the post, instead of tearing them carefully open the top, being careful not to rip the paper too much.  The envelope can then be reused again. Simply put a label with the new address over the old one, stick a layer of tape over the opening at the top. Once secure you can post it again. This can be done several times!

Ditch the plastic cups:
By that we mean the disposable throw-away cups- the type where you drink a coffee then throw the cup away. This can produce an extortianate amount of waste as hundreds of cups can be thrown out every day.  The simple solution is bring your own cup! If you have a vending machine, most will allow you to put your own cup when the drink is dispensed so the plastic cup won’t appear. You’ll get a bigger hot drink,  and a nicer looking mug.

Switch Off: Energy usage of many companies and households is sky-high, yet so many computers are left on overnight unnessecarily. If they are not used overnight, give them – and the environment – a break by switching them off overnight when you go home. Turn off photocopiers, printers, monitors and lights, and make sure phones and chargers are unplugged to save more energy. Remember lower energy bills also mean more savings. It is said that a computer left on overnight produces the equivelant of enough carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) to fill a double decker bus.

Turn down the heat: Your heating costs will go up by 8% each time you increase the temperature by just one degree. A 2°C increase in office temperature creates enough CO2 in a year to fill a hot air balloon. Turn down the heating, put on some warmer clothes if you feel cool and you’ll see your bills – and environmental impact go down. Never ever have the heating on and windows open at the same time- it is one of the worst wastes of energy possible.

Now we are well into 2010, we’ve made some green new years resolution ideas that we’ll be following. Try these top 5 tips yourself for a very green 2010!

Break ice from your bird baths: Birds need a source of drinking water over the cold months, and when all the water is iced over there aren’t many available places to drink. If you break the ice on your bird bath, or provide a bowl of fresh water in the cold mornings you may see birds coming down and having a drink in your garden!

Plant spring bulbs if you haven’t already: On a mild day, If the ground isn’t hard from frost, you can plant your spring flowering bulbs such as tulips, hyacinth and daffodils. You’ll see an explosion of colour in the spring which is perfect for bees and other beneficial insects. Make sure to do this soon!

Start the exercise regime!: If you’re aiming to look good for the summer, there’s no better time than now to leave the car behind and walk. This will also lower the pollution in your local area, and if you’re walking to school with your kids, encourage others to do so too. If you’re walking with very young children and are worried about their safety, consider using walking rings to ensure they stay safe!

Get outside!: It may be cold, but there’s nothing stopping you going outside, getting some fresh air and having fun without taking the car. Take the camera out and take photos of beautiful frost-covered trees or winter sun blanketing the ground. For outdoor games, try a boomerang or game of football!

Put some clothes on: Rather than turning up the heat to the maximum and letting hot air escape your house, put on extra layers or blankets. You’ll warm up and save yourself a log in heating bills.

Whatever you plan to do in 2010, make a few steps to become more aware of the environment and lead a happier, healthier life.

If you haven’t already started thinking about what you’re going to buy for your family and friends this Christmas it’s time to start. So to make things a bit easier we thought we throw some ideas together for you.

At Pea Green Things we’ve got a good choice of eco-friendly Christmas gifts to choose from. Here are a few examples to give you some inspiration.

Gift ideas for children

Wood is semi-renewable resource. Providing we don’t use all the wood and save no seeds, we can renew the resource indefinately. If you buy wooden products make sure the wood is taken from a sustainable source.

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  Balance Bikes £54.99

  Free Delivery

  Our Balance Bikes are great for teaching your young ones essential balancing skills that will be a necessity for their development. They’re also great fun! Young children can safely learn to ride and start having fun straight away, without difficulty.

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  First Drum Kit £26.28

  It’s pretty small and it doesn’t make that much noise. So you can put it on your desk at work and become a drum master in no time at all. Yes a drum master. But really the First drum kit is a great gift for young children. It homes hand eye co-ordination, brings out rhythmic skills and it’s really fun.

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  Catamaran £14.67

  Build your own catamaran! A great 21 piece kit containing all items needed to build a racing catamaran, suitable for display or active service in ocean racing (at the nearest duck pond anyway).

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  Sail Windmill Was £78.29, now £70.46

  Sale

  Free Delivery

  Learn about traditional technology and have great fun too when you build this stunning sail windmill. Beautifully constructed it uses the same principles as those once used in the Mediterranean to pump water to the fields many moons ago.

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  Multi-construction Set £17.61

  This set is a great introduction to construction techniques and association of shapes for all the family to get involved. Pieces include colour bolts, screws, hammer, screwdriver and spanner.

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Gift ideas for men

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  Rhino Made From Oil Drum £23.48

  It used to be an oil drum. Now it’s a Rhino. It’s been hand painted and now it’s a high quality, attractive ornament that will get people talking. It also makes a really quircky Christmas present.

  We also have a wild boar made of old flipflops, a zebra made from old oil drums and more in the recycled ornamaments section.

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  Ethletic Rugby Ball £13.90

  Full size Pro Rugby ball that has been hand sewn in FSC certified rubber with outside grain. Manufactured in Pakistan by Fairtrade workers. Fairtrade and FSC labeled. Size 5.

  Fairtrade football also available.

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  Fairly Traded Leather Wallet £12.95

  What’s unusual about this product? The price. It’s a high quality fairly traded leather wallet with one amazingly small price tag, which makes this a great gift for a brother, father or son.

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  Recycled Tin Bi-plane £15.65

  A lot of work has gone into making this amazing piece of art. You can just about make out the logos on the old cans of drink used to make it. The propeller and wheels turn, and it has a hook for hanging up. For £15.65 this is an amzing gift at an incredible price for anyone who likes planes or recycled items of wonder.

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Gift ideas for women

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  Cashmelon Blanket/Shawl £9.78

  Whether you are looking for natural, eco-friendly gifts or just want to keep the cold chill out of the air, this is incredibly soft and warm. Made from a mix of different goat breeds wool from the soft underbelly hair (cashmelon is cashmeres close cousin).

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  Cream Coffee Chocolate Scarf £12.64

  This fabulous, soft fringed scarf can be worn as day or evening wear or slung round your shoulders as a decorative shawl. It is jacquard woven with a self-pattern of paisley motifs scattered across three bands of subtle colour ranging from cream through cappuccino to bitter chocolate.

  Also available in orange, while stocks last.

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  Snail Shape Iron Candle Holder £9.19

  Made from recycled waste iron this beautiful candle holder will make an ideal gift for anyone – even yourself! Coated with a shiney lacquer the snail glistens in the light adding to the design.

  Also available: Leaf Design Candle Holder

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  Magazine Paper Pots £14.67

  As featured on .

  These are made from recycled magazine paper. They were recently featured on Marie Claire in their top ten eco-friendly Christmas gift ideas. The production of the Paper Pots helps disadvantaged families in Vietnam.

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Of course we would like your garden waste to be composted as much as possible, but if you are one of many who are lighting a bonfire on fireworks night we recommend you follow these simple steps so stay safe and minimise your impact on the environment.

• If you are lighting a bonfire, firstly check to see that no animals have made a home inside the pile of bonfire materials such as hedgehogs.
• Try to use as much dry wood and paper and as little wet leaves and green plants as possible. Wet materials cause the fire to burn less efficiently and produce smoke. Heavy smoke produced by damp bonfires will pollute the air and can be a hazard to health and the environment. Always be careful the fire does not go out of control.
• Never burn materials such as plastic, paint, rubber, aerosols or other similar household rubbish. Toxic fumes can be released posing a serious health hazard and can also poison the ground afterwards.
• The following days, plough the resulting bonfire ash into the ground to help increase the quality of your garden soil.
• Don’t leave a fire unattended and never site it close to hedges, sheds, trees or buildings.

Remember, always follow the fireworks code, and stay safe. Pets and animals can become very scared by loud bangs. Give any of your pets a place to hide indoors to minimise noise and don’t use loud fireworks.