The Organic and Fair Trade Blog

Every week a simple citizen's gesture to save our Planet.

Heating, how can we do to not overheat

Did you know that?

Nationwide over a year, each extra degree leads to a rejection of nearly one million tons of CO2. 7, 5% of our needs of energy are used for heating.

1 kWh for heating = 200 g of CO2 (gas) = 280 g of CO2 (fuel) = 900 g CO2 (electric)

We, readers of "thefairtradeblog.com" what can we do?

1. Every day a small action:

• Stop heating while you open your window for fresh air
  
• Wear a sweater and heavy socks at home in winter
  
• DO NOT DRY HISYOUR CLOTHES ON THE RADIATOR
  

2. Isolation: (overnight, you can recover up to one-third of the heat)

• Check the isolation of walls and roofs (you can save up to 7% of consumption)
  
• Place thick curtains at the windows (but be careful not to cover the radiators because this could cause up to 40% loss of heat)
  
• Close your shutters
  

3. maintenance:

• Bleed your radiators before winter (and save from 8 to 12 % !)
  
• Ensure that vents are clean and clear
  

4. Investment:

• Install thermostats to monitor the temperature ambient of the parts
  
• Install thermostatic valves (to reduce your consumption by 20 %)
  
• Install a heat progammer
• Install double-glazed windows (in order to avoid a loss of 13 % of the heat) and ask gaskets (economy up to 5% on the invoice)
  
• Install a geothermal heat pump or heat with wood
  
• Install solar panels for hot water
  
• Contact a professional, to assess your losses heating and act on %%

What will we gain?

1. From an environmental point of view, a real drop in our CO2 emission.

2. From a budgetary point of view: you will be endly pleased to receive your bills

Moving from 20 ° to 19 ° during the day and 16 ° to 17 ° at night, can reduce your bill by 25%, i.e.1000 Kg of CO2 per dwelling.

19 ° C by day is all that we need, and by night I sleep in a room heated to 16 ° or 17 °!

See you next week for a new citizen's gesture

estethica AT LONDON FASHION WEEK

10th – 13th FEBRUARY 2008

The Exhibition at London Fashion Week will be hosting the fourth season of estethica, the platform devoted to promoting the best in eco-sustainable fashion, in association with Monsoon and Accessorize.

Estethica has firmly established its reputation for raising awareness and promoting the concept of ethically-minded fashion within the industry and the public, showcasing both long-established ‘green’ brands alongside emerging designers who are concerned with sustainability. The initiative has served to demonstrate that ethical fashion in London today is as creative and cutting edge as the mainstream, removing the stigma that eco is dull.

As consumer demand grows more sensitive to ecological design, estethica celebrates designers who chose to work with either recycled materials, organic and sustainable fibres, or who adhere to being fair trade, by producing their work in a safe and social environment. estethica is unique in that it offers a network of like-minded labels to come together during London Fashion Week.

Co-curated by Orsola de Castro, founder of green label From Somewhere, Filippo Ricci and The British Fashion Council, Orsola said: “Support for the sustainable fashion movement has been incredible worldwide, but in the UK we have exceeded all expectations, with unprecedented moves towards a more ethical fashion industry. estethica is central to this shift.” The Ecologist will again publish the estethica guide to February 2008’s exhibitors, which will be distributed at The Exhibition. The supplement will exclusively feature a beautiful fashion photo story styled by Kira Joliffe with Jasmine Guinness modeling clothing and accessories by estethica’s eco designers. Matilda Lee, The Ecologist’s Green Pages Editor, said of the designers ethos: “they should be commended for holding fast to their principles of putting sustainability on the agenda and for valuing long term vision over short term gain – in short: for designing with the planet in mind.”

Estethica is located in The Exhibition at LFW in the grounds of the Natural History Museum, London SW7.a

http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=1039

Tell me are you going to the exhibition ? Why are you insterested in fair fashion ? What are you looking fo by purchasing fair clothes ?

SOUP OF LEEKS AND POTATOES

Preparation: 10 min
Cooking time: 30 min



Ingrédients (4 persons):

-- 2 leeks bio
-- 2 potatoes bio
-- 1 / 4 l milk bio
-- Bio cream
-- Salt, pepper
-- Chopped basil of the garden
-- 50 g butter bio


The recipe step by step:
1. Fry the leeks (well washed and sliced) in the piece of butter, then add the potatoes.
2. Stir and add the milk. Add salt and pepper.
3. Cook for 1 / 2 hour.
4. Mix the soup.
5. Add the fresh cream and the chopped basil.

Good appetite!

Every week a simple citizen's gesture to save our Planet.

Our consumption of tap or bottle water, how to make the right choice?

Did you know that?

Our body is made up of 70% of the liquid which is us essential. 97.5% of the water on earth are formed of salt water and only 0.3% of the ground water is fresh water which can be used by humans.

A tap drop = 35000 litres of water lost per year.

In 100 years, 50% of the world's wetlands have disappeared. French people buy 6 billion bottles of water a year, although it is 200 times more expensive than the water, which flows through the tap.

mineral water ≠ water in bottle

All the water, which are sold in bottles are not mineralized. But tap water is more or less naturally mineralized depending on the region.

We, readers of "thefairtradeblog.com" what can we do?

To filter th water is a good way to get rid of small imperfections of the tap water, two ways exist:
• The filter carafes
• The filters on tap.

What will we gain?

1. From an environmental point of view:

• to get rid of transportation, which is often absurd, but also of Manufacturing, reprocessing (140000 tonnes of plastic bottles end up as waste every year in France).
  

2. From a savings point of view:

• Tap water costs from 200 to 300 times cheaper than bottled water. Even by using a filter, tap water will only cost 2 or 3 cents a litre.
  

See you next week for a new gesture citizen :-)

In 1940, the religious Mennonites movement has set up a trade in food which was produced in poor regions and redistributed by its network. This group among others forerunners among has launched the Fair Trade movement.

Since when, around the world exchanges between the South and the North are carried out with a common goal to respect a fair charter. This charter is based on " fair talks, transparency and respect". It aims to reach greater equity in global trade and to contribute to a sustainable development by offering better trading conditions and to protect the rights of producers and workers. In the 90s, the creation of various labels as the Internatational Fairtrade Certification Mark "FLO-Cert" ensures the traceability of the products and is a way for the consumers to be sure that there is development projects fro the producers.

Fair trade is based on the following principles:

1. To garantee a fair wages to the producers and to the most disadvantaged artisans, in order they can fulfil their basic needs: health, education, housing, social welfare
   
2. To protect the respect to the fundamental rights of individuals (denial of the exploitation of children, slavery ...)
   
3. To establish lasting relationships between economic partners
   
4. To promote Environmental Preservation and to offer to consumers products of good quality.
   

By buying fair, the consumer is helping to support projects of developpement sometimes and even sometimes self-development in developping countries and thereby consumers are getting a sense of responsability in their consumption. The question is, nearly 70 years after the launch of fair trade, for you, who probably already consume fair trade products, what do you think about fair trade or what do wait for when you buy fair? What drive us to pay a little bit more for a fair product, who we are already the first to complain about the loss of purchasing power? Pity, desire of novelty, fun, mutual help, a desire to feel useful and responsible?

Every week a simple citizen's gesture to save our Planet.

To recycle a disposable battery each month

Did you know that?

It is reckoned that about 20. 000 tonnes of batteries are sold each year, that in France every minute 114 batteries are thrown away and only one on 3 ends up in a recycling center. 550 millions of disposable batteries are sold each year in France. Namely the equivalent to a disposable battery for each adult per month. After use, the batteries are thrown into the trash, or worse in the nature, enclosures spoil out of oxidation and let escape heavy metals which mix themselves with waste water, poisoning the soil and water table. Once in the ground or in the water these toxic compounds, very persistent over time, get directly into the food chain, exposing animals and humans to a slow but sure intoxication.

We, readers of "leblogequitable.com" what can we do?

. TO RECYCLE our batteries in dumping them in:
=> ALL waste collection center, in containers to that end
=> ALL town hall
=> ALL supermarkets (cardboard boxes are available in most of them)
Usually, among craftsmen and tradesmen volunteers(photographers, watchmakers, jewelers, tobacconists ...) having an appropriate collection box.

What will we gain?

.A raw materials' saving
The Treatment of 100 tonnes of batteries permits the salvage of 39 tons of ferro manganese (alloy intended for smelting works), 20 tonnes of zinc, 2 tonnes of slag and 150 kg of mercury ... The ferro manganese salvaged from old batteries' shell are used for example in the plumbing, tracks of railroads. The gray powder loaded in zinc is re-employed for gutters or to make anti-rust paintwork.
. To save OUR EARTH
Saving our water table, our grounds, our rivers, our countryside and therefore our families and our children….


So, 1 gesture per month to save humanity, who says better?

See you next week for a new citizen's gesture

''For 2 persons
In less than an hour (preparation + cooking)
Budget: € 5 per person''

Ingredients :

2 duck breasts
8 lychees
4 cherry tomatoes
Some spriges of Thai aniseed basil
3 Tablespoons Thai or chinese Clear soy sauce
2 Tablespoons Oyster sauce
1 / 2 Teaspoon Red Curry Paste
1 Tablespoons Fish sauce
6 Tablespoons of the thickest part of the Coconut milk
2 Tablespoons of the most liquid part of the Coconut milk
few drops of peanut oil
2 pinches of sugar


The Step by Step Recipe

1. Skim slightly 2 duck breasts, remove the thick skin, incise slightly the flesh, coat them with the clear soy sauce and 2 tablespoons Oyster sauce. Pepper and coat the breast in this marinade before to keep it filmed 30 min cool.
   
2. In a saucepan, bring to the boil 6 Tablespoons of Coconut milk collected in the thickest part of the coconut milk, during the time it breaks down and become oily. Incorporate with a whisk 1 / 2 Teespoons of the red curry paste and heat gently 2 min.
   
3. Incorporate gradually 2 tablespoons of Coconut milk taken from the most liquid part of the coconut milk, add 1 tablespoon of Fish sauce with 2 pinches of sugar.
   
4. In a pan, heat few drops of peanut oil and cook the marinated duck breast, cook the two breast skin sides each during 5 minutes until the flesh become pink.
   
5. Slice the breast about 1 / 2 cm thick, reconstituted the duck breast on a serving dish. Roll 8 peeled and pitted lychees in the still hot curry sauce, soak up the sauce from breast, end your preparation with a few washed and drained spriges Thai aniseed basil, lychees, cherry tomatoes.

If you read this lines, it is probably because it is the first time that you get on my blog. And if you found this blog, it probably means that you are interested in fair trade.

You certainly know why to buy fair trade products is a benefit for small producers and artisans. Small family farms are the largest producers of first necessity goods, crafts, textils but they do not have access to global markets and are forced to practice ever lower prices, sometimes even at a loss. Fair trade gives these small farmers a source of income fair and stable, by getting them in touch with international buyers and by paying them the wages that suits to their product, by including paying a portion of the goods purchased before they are manufactured for allow producers to buy raw materials.

How does the fair blog work?

This blog runs like a daily newspaper opened to every one which I will be the leader. Every week, I post "articles" (newspaper articles, video, recipes, advice, information, observation, interview…) which relate to Fair Trade and all that goes together with Bio and sustainable development.

This blog must be alive, this is why it remains open to anyone who would be willing to post a comment about a publication. I look forward your remarks, your experiences and your knowledges in order to enrich our conversations. Just as fair trade, this blog has for wealth only people, as it was said by a pioneer of a certain trade conception, Jean Bodin.

May I submit a topic for every one?

Any times you can propose topics to discuss that I invite you to send me (by clicking on "Contact") so that I will be able to post it; with the only restriction that the topic reflects the main theme that meams Fair Trade , Bio and Sustainable Development. Your subjects, because they are intended to encourage every one to take part to the reflection, are welcome: They provide an opportunity to exchange and to discover.

Comment: how it works

To post a comment, click on the link below the article. Then you can whrite your comment. Of course do not forget to sign it! To add color, bold, italics, or any other form of police in your messages, I invite you to select letters, words, sentences that you want to change and click on the icon of your choice.

I'm the moderator !

For the proper running of blog here are some rules of utilisation which have to be respected:

1. Do not introduce "spam": do not introduce abusive advertising when you send a comment.

2. Comments should be related to Fair Trade and/or Bio and/or Sustainable Development: this blog was created as you know in order to discuss about subject that gather us together. Thus, a comment too far away from the main topic can be deleted without pervious notice. Similarly, all racist, homophobic or pornographic words will be immediatly deleted.

Enjoy yourself by fair surfing!

Lisa