tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46873375036389169742024-09-08T02:33:26.760+01:00Greener living, wellbeing and consumer ethicsMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18052378871345904013noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687337503638916974.post-8045173862564948262013-02-24T15:00:00.001+00:002013-02-24T15:25:13.850+00:00

 And the specials today are... (credit: mpmedia) If you listen to the news in the UK, you can't have helped hearing about the "horse burger" scandal. The story is that horse meat was found in frozen beef burgers on sale at a major UK supermarket. There has been a major reaction from the press, but I think the details bear a closer look. In many parts of Europe, particularly in Italy and

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10555216962168841223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687337503638916974.post-3432283226726423672013-02-03T18:37:00.002+00:002013-02-03T18:37:41.163+00:00

It's that time of year when the bills from Christmas start arriving, and people tighten their belts to save money. When companies are looking to cut the price of their goods so that you can buy them more cheaply (while they still make a profit), there are a couple of tricks they can use. One way is to send the manufacturing process to a different country where manufacturing costs are lower

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18052378871345904013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687337503638916974.post-44908559818082876472012-12-19T21:44:00.001+00:002012-12-19T21:44:45.496+00:00

As the festive season approaches, many people are buying presents, planning food, and arranging parties. But is there a way to enjoy the celebrations while minimising the impact on the environment? I think there is. Here are some suggestions. Don't overbuy presents Let's face it, we've all done it. And we've had someone do it to us, maybe without realising. It results in that familiar guilty

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10555216962168841223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687337503638916974.post-31260817165204670172012-10-22T18:16:00.001+01:002012-10-22T18:16:05.584+01:00

I heard recently that scientists in the Antarctic have discovered masses of microscopic plastic fibres underwater. Could this be the biggest environmental polution problem yet? One of the main causes, apparently, is synthetic fibres from clothes coming loose in the wash, and being rinsed down the drain. The fibres then make their way into the sea, and for some reason (which I'm still unclear

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10555216962168841223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687337503638916974.post-27699769184588850872012-09-21T13:07:00.001+01:002012-09-21T13:07:07.770+01:00

After over 6 months of posting weekly articles, I've decided to slow down a bit. Posting weekly seems to be too frequent for some folks, and I have to admit, it also takes up a lot of my time. There will still be new articles appearing here, but less frequently than at present. I expect it will be every month or so, but if you have any strong views, leave me a comment at the end of this article.

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10555216962168841223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687337503638916974.post-37233829855689799592012-09-17T18:33:00.001+01:002012-09-17T18:33:45.494+01:00

As someone who doesn't eat much meat (although I'm not a vegetarian), I'm intrigued by some of the issues posed by the farming and meat industries. Things like: if most chicken products are made with chicken breast, what happens to the rest of the meat? The answer came to me on a recent television programme about cheap food and animal welfare. Some of the chicken thighs and legs make it onto our

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10555216962168841223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687337503638916974.post-21818373802249197382012-09-10T09:45:00.001+01:002012-09-10T09:46:09.531+01:00

One thing that interests me is when new social trends catch on. Now, I'm not talking about Facebook or designer fashion brands here. It's something far more down to earth than that, and it affects how we all behave around other people. Die-hard environmental campaigners have, for a long time, pushed the message that we should think of the world we are creating for future generations. Subsequently

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10555216962168841223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687337503638916974.post-30285189316528450162012-09-01T19:55:00.000+01:002012-09-01T19:55:06.335+01:00

One of the problems with rechargeable batteries is that they never seem to last as long as the advertising claims. But are they still worth buying?I use rechargeable batteries in a few different gadgets. The manufacturers usually say that their batteries can be recharged hundreds or even thousands of times. But I've found that I usually have to discard them after much less use than that. The

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18052378871345904013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687337503638916974.post-23254188629321793252012-08-24T20:50:00.000+01:002012-08-24T20:50:39.197+01:00

I've just watched the news on T.V., where people were being interviewed about price increases for electricity and gas. There seemed to be a lot of blame apportioned to the energy companies, but I'm not sure that's the whole story.We could endlessly debate the merits of profit-making private energy suppliers versus the old system of public-sector gas and electricity boards. But we'd still be

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18052378871345904013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687337503638916974.post-85824050359240947892012-08-20T22:25:00.001+01:002012-08-20T22:25:24.894+01:00

No need to call Sherlock Holmes! It's just that this weekend's intended blog post didn't make it onto the site. I had written most of an article, but got stuck while checking my facts. I'm a bit old fashioned that way - I don't like to publish something without being reasonably sure of what I'm saying. Five minutes of fact checking before publishing is far better than spending lots of time having

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10555216962168841223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687337503638916974.post-70062136380299415862012-08-10T20:37:00.000+01:002012-08-10T20:37:10.422+01:00

On a recent visit to Belgium, I noticed something was missing from the outskirts of the towns and cities I visited: large supermarkets. I began to wonder if I'd just not noticed them. After all, if they didn't exist, where did people buy their food?I eventually saw some smaller supermarkets in the suburbs, but they were a long way from the massive American-style retail parks common to the UK.All

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18052378871345904013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687337503638916974.post-39667461202244428512012-08-04T03:38:00.000+01:002012-08-04T03:38:34.323+01:00

I have to admit, I don't actually like bananas. But I've just bought a book called "How bad are bananas? (the carbon footprint of everything)". And it contains far more than just musings on bendy-shaped yellow fruit. Bananas galore! Image: Martin Wiesheu The author, Mike Berners-Lee, meausres carbon footprints for a living. While it's not an exact science, he does at least explain how he

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18052378871345904013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687337503638916974.post-83360436120027976272012-07-28T20:10:00.001+01:002012-07-28T20:58:10.494+01:00

We regularly get clothing collection bags pushed through our door. But I've calculated that about 90% of them aren't really charity bags, even if they have a charity logo on them. Collection bags - can you tell the difference? * (Image: Howard Lake) Many of the collection schemes are run by commercial companies. They make a profit on the donated clothes, either by shredding and recycling

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10555216962168841223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687337503638916974.post-79585670568381670092012-07-20T22:53:00.001+01:002012-07-20T23:15:44.517+01:00

Was your laptop built for this?Image: Alex E. Proimos This week, a certain well-known maker of computers and phones has come under criticism for launching a product that is not as environmentally friendly as it could be. According to reports, their new laptop has a battery that isn't removable or replaceable. This might not sound like a big deal, but it does have surprising implications. The

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10555216962168841223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687337503638916974.post-63299870940592734442012-07-14T13:38:00.001+01:002012-07-14T13:38:59.116+01:00

I'm writing this on the train home from work. Normally I don't commute on the train, as it's slow for me and expensive. But it does give me an excuse to cycle to the station and back, and get some exercise in the process! So I try to use the train once a week. I'd love to get public transport every day, but it's just too much hassle and expense. So I compromise. Three days a week, I drive a

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10555216962168841223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687337503638916974.post-9580432479788562502012-07-07T18:18:00.001+01:002012-07-07T19:54:57.631+01:00

A lot of people believe that yoga is a great way to keep fit and relieve stress. But there is a popular myth that it's not very active. To use the words of actor James Nesbitt, appearing in a TV commercial several years ago, yoga is "a bunch of ladies going 'ommm' - how hard can it be?" A yoga class. This pose is called Warrior 1, or Virabradrasana 1. Photo: lululemon athletica In the TV ad

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10555216962168841223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687337503638916974.post-11721378177999900012012-06-30T00:22:00.001+01:002012-06-30T00:22:10.167+01:00

In the toilets at work, we have both electric hand driers and paper towels. I'm always surprised by the amount of people that use the paper towels, as I've never seen them as good for the environment. On the other hand, some people can't believe I use the hand drier, and ask if I'm aware how dirty they can be. I looked into this, and they do have a point. Hand driers usually have filters that

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10555216962168841223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687337503638916974.post-86714439617039779752012-06-23T22:50:00.000+01:002012-06-23T22:54:57.540+01:00

I've just finished watching a documentary film called In Transition. It's about communities that are trying to become less dependent on oil, and products made from it. I thought it was worth mentioning, because unlike many films of this genre, it manages to do this without any hysteria or evangelism. Sure, some of the people interviewed are die-hard environmentalists. But most of the people are

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18052378871345904013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687337503638916974.post-25650702040242214142012-06-16T23:36:00.001+01:002012-06-23T22:51:40.168+01:00

You've seen the discounts, the sales, and the shops fighting to be the cheapest. Or is it just clever marketing? Let's find out in the latest "Marketing Uncovered" episode! Here are my top phrases in the shopping category, together with their alternative meanings. "We guarantee our prices are unbeatable" This doesn't mean that the prices are the cheapest. You'll often find a host of terms and

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10555216962168841223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687337503638916974.post-27256639771880884602012-06-08T21:42:00.000+01:002012-06-08T21:42:00.654+01:00

Image credit: Ralf Roletschek In the latest instalment of Marketing Uncovered articles, I decided to explore some of the ethics around food labelling and advertising claims.Here, as always, is a run down of my pet hate marketing phrases, together with what I think they really mean.No added sugarThis just means that the product hasn't been sweetened with sugar. But if it's a sweet product, and

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18052378871345904013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687337503638916974.post-35186224953658619272012-06-01T23:10:00.000+01:002012-06-01T23:18:30.992+01:00

Fresh vegetables at a street market Image: Biswarup Ganguly Everyone knows about the health benefits of fruits and vegetables. But did you know that choosing the wrong ones could have an impact on your wallet, your wellbeing, and the environment? The phrase "Endless Summer" was coined some years ago, to explain how it's always summer in some part of the world. This makes it possible to have

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18052378871345904013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687337503638916974.post-41901240783057845022012-05-26T00:01:00.000+01:002012-05-26T00:01:04.993+01:00

It's Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK. Mental Health issues are often the "elephant in the room" - we all know people who have been affected, but we might not realise because it's a taboo subject. But it needn't be. Let's break this down using some facts and figures from the UK Department of Health: 1 in 4 people will have a mental health issue at some point in their lives. That means

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18052378871345904013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687337503638916974.post-43903314221455218802012-05-18T23:05:00.000+01:002012-05-18T23:05:32.922+01:00

I hated gardening when I was a youngster. My parents lived in a house with a large garden, and grew their own fruit and vegetables. I was given my own corner for planting, but I hated weeding and hated waiting for things to grow.Not much has changed. The wife and I have our own house and garden, but still the old bugbear about weeds and waiting. But we're more aware of the benefits of growing

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18052378871345904013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687337503638916974.post-87525878280241035282012-05-11T23:13:00.000+01:002012-05-11T23:13:38.980+01:00

Image: NS Newsflash As they say, "No news is good news". And I've found that one of the ways to keep a positive outlook is to ignore many of the stories in popular media. I still read newspapers occasionally, but I'm careful which paper I buy. I don't like to start the day on a negative note if I can help it. A surprising number of friends have adopted the same attitude, saying that many news

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18052378871345904013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687337503638916974.post-52602170489896989992012-05-03T22:20:00.000+01:002012-05-03T22:20:37.077+01:00

Hand-made re-soleable socks,without anti-bacterial agents(not my legs. or my socks.)credit: krysaia It's that time again. I've had to throw away a bunch of socks with holes in them. Part of me wonders what happened to darning, which seems something of a lost art. But back to the main topic...New socks are hard to find in the shops. I'm talking about plain, ordinary socks.If you've bought any

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18052378871345904013noreply@blogger.com0