Fair Enough

I found a wonderful place to shop today. I went down to Chapter Arts Centre with the Mumatron to take part in the launch day of Fairtrade Fortnight. We weren't lucky enough to catch most of the vendors/displayers as things, er, shall we say, didn't take off as soon as we would have liked.

While waiting for the show to start, we went for some gorgeous vegan mushroom soup and organic farmhouse bread in the cafe there and enjoyed the space. It's rare to see such a mix of Mums with babies, families with kids, city suit wearers, studens, vagrants, hippies and poseurs all cohabiting so comfortably in such delightful surroundings.

The centre gift shop is an absolute pleasure. Beautifully hand crafted wares of all descriptions, gorgeous books printed locally and by Welsh authors. My very favorite article was something I really should have, I have the right to have but simply can't purchase this year was a cotton tote style shopping back that had stolen it's design and font from the "Keep Calm and Carry On" posters of the 1940's but instead, it said "Quick! Buy More $hit or we'll all fecking die"! You see what I mean?! I simply must have it, but can't buy it! I'll add it to my wish list!

So after a lovely lunch and wander around the centre, we walked down to the greengrocer in Canton and called into a shop I've been meaning to stop into for ages called Fair Dos.

Everything they sell is Fairtrade friendly and, I must be honest, I could have spent a fortune in there. Beautiful fabrics, knits, recycled papers, and food stuffs. I picked up a gift for a friend who has recently given birth to a baby girl. I'm afraid I just haven't had time to make her something and I really don't know what sort of thing she likes for the little one, so I picked up a handmade, recycled, fairly traded photo album embellished with a gorgeous newborn baby logo and origami pram. It's well pretty, very useful and something to keep forever so I'm quite pleased with that.

I also found a shop with a branch close to my home that stocks all the environmentally friendly products and I had no idea it was there. It's on the high street, employs local people, stocks anything I could wish for in the organic/green produce, so I ordered my double pack of salt toothpaste, and off I went, happy as Larry!

Exciting News Afoot

Had an email today from a BIG national magazine. It is proposed that an article be discussed for the July issue as the June one has already been put together. That would be great if it came off. Not done anything with a magazine yet.

So I'd better start writing something decent.

I put in an order from an eco-product site the other day so I'm eagerly awaiting it's arrival. I ordered biodegradable poo bags (we use A LOT having 3 gorgeous hounds so I thought it was about time I did my bit on the plastic front), borax and a big box of bicarbonate of soda, so I never need to fall for the marketing propaganda of flash/cillit bang/jif for my house and caravan cleaning needs, and some environmentally friendly disinfectant for the same reason as the poo bags. Only I could get excited about that.

I paid less than £4 for the boxes of borax and bicarb, which, by my reckoning, will clean everything in the house (except glass - for that I have white vinegar) for at least 6 months. That can't be bad. And I doubt you can buy a product that's as good as borax in the supermarket.

I did indulge on one product I bought, sort of. Due to a period of severe messing about with the colour of my hair last year, I have to fairly regularly put a colour on to even it out. I've really gone past the time that I should've done it, but I was deciding what to do. What I decided seems appropriate an a few levels, which, to me, proves that resisting the lure of the shiny packaging and celebrity endorsement can be beneficial all round.

I bought a henna colour. It's organic, fairly traded and completely natural. I have used them before many years ago so I know they work. It genuinely works with the colour you already have, it actually conditions and protects your hair, and now comes ready mixed instead of having to mix it yourself like you used to. I think it'll last longer than the chemical rubbish too.

So being mindful of the environment and consumerism does not have to mean being less glamorous!