Climate Change has been making headline news lately - with government reports etc. If you are trying to pursuade friends, colleauges or yourself that we have to act now then check out this great video on You Tube. It is thought to have been made by a science teacher from America - he gets down to the issues in a practical way and leaves you in no doubt that we dont have any choice but to act now - a good clip to pass on to any sceptics you know!

Fairtrade

Check out the latest Fair Comment from the Fairtrade Foundation - it has all the latest on what is happening now in Fairtrade - Fair Comment.

The Co-operative Group have been busy recently......

The Co-operative Bank have launched a new Think Card – a new credit card that rewards users when making ethical purchases from the Co-op's designated ethical partners.

They are planting trees in the Brazilian Rainforest on behalf of every Think Card user, in partnership with Think Cool – click here for more details.

The Co-operative Fairtrade Ale

Following the success of theFairtrade Honey Ale, The Co-op have teamed up once again with Freeminer's, one of the UK's oldest maltings, to bring you The Co-operative Fairtrade Organic Ale.

This beer is hand made using the best available organic malt and barley enhanced with Fairtrade Demerara sugar from the Kasinthula Co-operative in Malawi. A smooth and rounded character with a liquid message in the bottle - indulge while helping others to a better life.

The Co-op’s Fairtrade wine range has scooped an amazing four out of eight awards at the Fairtrade Wine Committee’s annual wine tasting event.

The results of the awards were announced on Thursday, 1st November at a Fairtrade Wine Tasting at Vinopolis in London, which was held in conjunction with the awards. Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation handed out the certificates to the winning producers during the trade tasting. “I am delighted to be presenting these awards to the winning producer groups,” she said. “These awards acknowledge the quality of Fairtrade wines and will hopefully encourage more wine-lovers to try them. It is only logical that producers give their best wines to their best customers – and with the Fairtrade premiums they often invest in improving the quality of their wines.

John Vidal of The Guardian reported recently on the Isle and Wight

They have plans to become the worlds largest Eco Island – click here to the full article

Love Food Hate Waste

a new campaign to help stop us Brits binning wasted food. Click here to find out more.

News from Ethics Girls

We have been busy here and we are just delighted at the great feed back that is being emailed in. I was interviewed in the summer by Simon Fanshawe who has written a great article “Sexing the Climate” for Green Futures magazine. Ethics Girls was designed specifically for women (although we won't be banning men!) and this article un picks some of the issues around gender and climate change. Click here to read the article.

The Fife Diet

As the founder of Ethics Girls I don't think it would be fair to come down from my occasional soap box and then shoot off to Macdonalds for a quick quarter pounder! So to make life a little more challenging I am embarking on a new local food project – the Fife Diet. If you're immediate thought is of fried mars bars and lots of Buckfast ( a Devonshire fortified wine that is very popular here in Fife) well then you are mistaken. The Fife Diet has been started by Mike Small and the idea is to eat food that is grown in Fife. The project has received lots of interest in the press – its another thumbs up for those interested in local produce. I will be giving you up dates as the project progresses and I will be starting at new year so that I have the support of the New Year Resolution to keep me committed. We should get a great supply of recipes for seasonal food which we can share with you as we go along.

I am delighted that this project has been picked up very widely by the media - including The Scotsman and The Guardian. Visit The Fife Diet website which is a great resource for anyone interested in trying to buy more local.