At the end of last year 60 experts all met for a discussion workshop at the Institute for Organic Agriculture in Frick, Switzerland.  The first workshop of its kind set out to tackle the issue of how traders, label organisations, certification bodies and authorities are dealing with fraud in the organic sector.

 Here are some of the key measures that were agreed from the 2 day workshop were as follow;

• Publish a certified operators list including their products
• Better exchange of information on incidents and rapid response to notifications of concerns
• Inspections to become more rigorous
• Inform certificates how they can be made fraud resistant
• More detailed code of practice for certifiers on fraud in organic products

The State Council, China’s Cabinet, has ruled that on 1 June 2008 shops will be banned from handing out free bags, citing the environmental damage that they cause. China currently uses 3 billion plastic bags each day. Source the Times 

Last month the Co-operative UK organised its annual conference aimed at discussing the notion that ‘Ethical shopping is at the crossroads – out of the niche and into the mainstream’, it attracted in the region of 200 delegates.  Amongst which Patrick Holden, director of the Soil Association, executive director of the Fairtrade Foundation, Harriet Lamb, Professor Tim Lang and editor of Ethical Consumer, Rob Harrison and Minister for International Development, Gareth Thomas all raised interesting debate for discussion.

Findings from this event clearly highlighted that ethical consumerism is clearly moving into the mainstream trend, with most of the population understanding the benefits of organic and Fairtrade.  There was however a mixture of opinion as to what is the next stage.  Tim Lang, Patrick Holden, Harriet Lamb and the Co-op’s Paul Monaghan all emphasized that the next stage for real change is government action.  However there was opinion that structural reasons is why the government doesn’t want to regulate when it comes to ethical consumerism.  It was made clear that we cannot wait for the Government to shape up while ethical shopping becomes more mainstream as big businesses will inevitably try to take over.

Others feel that it is imperative that the consumer continues to shop ethically and boycott unethical company’s as this is the only way to gain control over how the products we consume are produced.

Speaking for the Government, Gareth Thomas who said there is not much the government can do other than urge all businesses to be ethical and trade as much with Africa as possible.

Whether it’s cultural changes or Government action that’s needed to make ethical shopping more powerful in terms of saving our planet and the people on it, it is definitely an interesting time for companies who are taking responsibility for the way in which they run their businesses socially and environmentally.

Ken Livingstone’s latest initiative to help businesses wipe off 3 million tonnes of their carbon emissions by 2010 has been named The Green500 mentoring plan and is part of the long term target of cutting carbon emissions in the city of London by 60% by 2025.

Launch members of The Green500 include Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Ikea, Chelsea Football Club, EDF Energy, The John Lewis Partnership, Eversheds, Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital, Transport for London and Sky.  The scheme provides you with a ‘carbon mentor’ who drawn from a number of sustainable experts including AEA Technology, Future Considerations, Mouchel and the National Energy Foundation.  These ‘carbon mentors’ work specifically with the company to help cut their emissions and offer the most up to date advice and support.

The first phase of the Green500 scheme is to work with organisations with the greatest carbon saving potential. Therefore it is targeting large businesses and public sector organisations in London.  It aims to set a global standard of environmental excellence which will set members apart as bastions of global organisational citizenship.  To find out more log onto www.green500.co.uk/cms/

The ethical business market is estimated to be worth £32 Billion industry

Source Triodos Bank (2006)

A simple but genius idea to encourage people to shop more organically and to buy Fairtrade, along with cutting the use of plastic bags by reusing a hemp shopper.

Essentially, Bags of Change work as an affiliate scheme, you buy a shopper online in the choice of three different colours red, blue or green for £14.85.  The bag then acts as a loyalty card so whenever you use your bag  when shopping in independent ethical shops across the UK, you are entitled to discounts on a range of organic and Fairtrade products.  To find your nearest participating store log onto www.bagsofchange.co.uk and a full listing will be provided.

In a bid to encourage the government to make the changes we need to cut carbon emissions in 2008, UK charity Friends of the Earth, have put together a list of resolutions that will help save us money and in turn save the planet.

Resolution Save Cash & Energy 

Just a few small changes at home can save around £200 a year on energy bills, here are a few ideas to get you started…

• switch to energy saving light bulbs
• fit insulation
• lower your thermostat by one degree centigrade
• use a renewable energy supplier
• turn off lights and appliances when not using them  

Log onto Energy Saving Trust website for more things you can do on an everyday basis to cut carbon emissions.

Resolution Help change the Law

The world’s first ‘Climate Change’ bill will become UK law by the end of the year, with Friends of the Earth campaigning for this bill through the Big Ask Campaign.

The Big Ask has been an instrumental campaign, calling for the bill to be amended to ensure UK carbon emissions are reduced by 3 % each year and that aviation and shipping to be included.  To have your say and write to your MP log onto www.thebigask.com

Join your local Friends of the Earth group and help campaign to improve the environment, there are 200 active groups of volunteers across the UK, to find you nearest group log onto www.community.foe.co.uk

Don’t have enough time to volunteer but would like to help in some way - by donating to the Friends of the Earth charity you can support campaigns and help make them happen.  You can either become a regular donator or make a one-off gift at www.foe.co.uk/join/donate

Resolution Get Fit & Cut Pollution

Change the way you travel, for short journeys ditch the car and cycle or walk, this not only saves you transport costs, environmental pollution but also improves you health with added exercise.  For more information log onto the following sites www.loveyourbike.org, www.walkingworks.co.uk, www.walkit.com 

Road travel amounts for about 1/5 of carbon emissions, so for long journeys try to use public transport.

Resolution Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Before you throw it out, think could someone else use it? Log onto www.freecycle.org  

Resolution Think before you Eat

• shop locally
•  buy fruit and vegetables in season
•  buy organic and locally produce where possible
•  don’t rely on supermarkets and avoid over-packaged ready meals 

Three cities in Germany; Berlin, Cologne and Hanover have all introduced a legislation barring most-polluting cars from districts that are marked as environmental zones.  Drivers will require to fix special stickers to their cars showing that they fulfill new exhaust emission standards and any cars that exceed these will be banned from the zones.  The cities hope that the new initiative will reduce air pollution in the built up populated areas of the city.Drivers who ignore the ban will be given one initial warning followed by a fine if they fail to comply.   

The Organic Exchange’s recent annual conference held in Monterey, celebrated a reported increase in the growth of certified organic land being farmed for fiber production.  Here are the top 5 brands and retailers who have the largest organic cotton programs in the last three years 2007 1. Wal-mart/Sam’s Club  2. Nike  3.Woolworth’s South Africa  4.Coop Switzerland  5.C&A 2006 1. Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club  2.Nike  3.Coop Switzerland  4.Patagonia  5.Otto Group 2005 1. Nike  2.Coop Switzerland  3.Patagonia  4.Otto Group  5.Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club