Produce Box Delivery Review: Naturally Organic

In a bid to make eating local, seasonal produce as easy as possible, I've decided to try out some of the produce box delivery services available in Auckland. This week's box is from Naturally Organic, an organic food store based in Albany. As well as a number of produce box options, you can order lots of other organic products from their website.

I ordered the two person mixed box of organic fruit and vegetables for $30, plus an extra 500 grams of onions for $2.50 (also shown in the box in the photo). There was a delivery fee of $6.98. This put it on the pricier side of the produce boxes I'm trying out. The box contained plenty of fruit, and all of the produce looked fresh and of good quality. My one complaint is that when I ordered the box I chose the option of having my produce delivered unwrapped, but when it came it was all wrapped. The fruit was all in paper bags, but I pulled it out before taking the photo so you could actually see it.

The Naturally Organic website was easy to use. During the ordering process you can specify things you don't want to receive in your box (handy when you are still trying to finish off a giant cabbage from last week's produce box). You can get an idea of what your box might contain by checking the seasonal lists on the site. You can get a box delivered (in Auckland) any weekday if you order before 10 am on the day.

Reviews of other produce box delivery services:
All Good Food
Foodbox.co.nz
Eco-Organics

Produce Box Delivery Review: All Good Food

All Good Food box contents

In a bid to make eating local, seasonal produce as easy as possible, I've decided to try out some of the produce box delivery services available in Auckland. I've started with All Good Food because I liked the authentic feel of their website and how easy it was to use. The philosophy behind All Good Food is basically, "We couldn't find reasonably priced organic food and we figured others would be having the same problem, so we thought we'd start up an organic produce delivery service to solve that problem." As well as several sizes of organic produce boxes, you can also order a range of organic and free range meats, and free range eggs.

I thought the small mixed organic fruit and vegetable box (pictured above) was reasonable value for $30 (including delivery). All of the produce looked fresh and high quality. The bananas are Fairtrade All Good Bananas. They helpfully include a produce list on their website in case you don't recognise some of the less common contents of your box. They hadn't got around to updating it in time for box deliveries this week.

The service was  excellent. When you order you can include up to three "wishes"- items that you particularly want or don't want in your box. The night before the delivery I got an email telling me when (approximately) my delivery would take place. The delivery guy was very polite and asked whether it would be OK to drop the box by the apartment door if ever I'm not home at delivery time. They also have cute deals like if you place a four week order, you get a free bag of mixed herbs. It's very straightforward to add extras like potatoes, organic meat or free range eggs to your order. There's a recipe section on the website containing a token two recipes. Perhaps they are changed regularly to reflect the contents of the boxes?

Update
All Good Food still hadn't updated the produce list by the end of the week, and it turns out they don't update the recipes on their site to reflect the contents of the box. Two weeks after receiving the box, none of the ten or so kiwifruit that came in it were yet ripe - not ideal.

Reviews of other produce box delivery services
Naturally Organic
Foodbox.co.nz
Eco-Organics

Why Can't We Opt Out of Receiving the Phone Book?

Once a year, Aucklanders receive 9 centimetres or so of paper and cardboard, whether they want it or not. I'm talking about the phone book. It feels like people have been talking for years about instituting an opt-out system for phone books, but still we get it every year, whether we want it or not. Why? The Yellow Pages says:

Our research shows that 83% of people believe that it is important or extremely important that the phone book is still delivered. At present it is a regulatory requirement to produce and deliver a phone book to every New Zealand household.

If that statistic is accurate, my apartment block must be full of people in the other 17%, given that this is what the pile looked like when the phone books were delivered a week ago:

and today, a week later (and moved into the lobby), the pile looks like this:

New Zealand comedy icon Rhys Darby has been tweeting up an amusing storm about alternative uses for the recently delivered phone books. His suggestions include:

Let's gather all the phone books of the world and build a giant labyrinth. Then capture a Bigfoot, put him in there and see who finds him!

Given the choice, I'd definitely opt out of receiving the phone book. I'm never far from my computer, where I can look up phone numbers online in an instant. I think the phone book is obsolete for a significant number of people, and they should be able to avoid having 9 cm of wasted paper and cardboard dropped on their doorstep each year. If you feel the same way and want to tell the people who can change the system, the Yellow Pages advises:

We constantly monitor the requests for opt-outs and at present there are very few which means we do not currently offer this as an option. If you would like to register your interest, please contact the Yellow™ Customer Assist Team on 0800 803 803.

I'm interested to know whether you feel the same way about phone books. Would you like to be able to opt out of receiving a new phone book each year? Or do you have an ingenious alternative use for phone books?

Demystifying Sustainable Product Certifications - Part 3

This post is part of a series on Demystifying Sustainable Product Certifications, where I share my research into the most common certifications found on grocery products in New Zealand. Previously I explained what the Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance logos mean, and looked into New Zealand's most common organic certifications. This time I'll clarify what the carboNZero and Environmental Choice certifications tell you.

carboNZero is an internationally accredited greenhouse gas certification programme run by Landcare Research (a research institute owned by the New Zealand government). Members of the certification scheme must reduce the carbon emissions associated with creating the product, and offset the remaining emissions by purchasing carbon credits. The carbon credits for the carboNZero scheme come from New Zealand wind farm, landfill gas capture and native forest regeneration projects. You can find this certification on several brands of New Zealand wine, and a selection of other non-grocery products.

Environmental Choice New Zealand is owned by the government, but operates independently. You may have seen the certification logo on cleaning products or toilet paper. Environmental Choice certification is product specific - there is a unique set of specifications for each type of product Environmental Choice certifies. According to the website, the Environmental Choice certification symbolises that a product is less harmful to the environment than comparable products because it meets "environmental leadership specifications". The product specifications are available on the website if you are interested in what the label means in relation to a particular type of product. 

The next post in this series investigates some niche certifications.

Demystifying Sustainable Product Certifications - Part 2

This post is part of a series on Demystifying Sustainable Product Certifications, where I share my research into the most common certifications found on grocery products in New Zealand. Previously I explained what the Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance logos mean. Today I'll look at New Zealand's most common organic certifications.


For starters, what exactly does "organic" mean? There are loads of definitions out there, but this one from the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements seems to capture the essence:

Organic agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. Organic agriculture combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair relationships and a good quality of life for all involved.

So that you know a product claiming to be organic has really been produced in accordance with organic production standards, there are organisations around the world that inspect and audit producers, and certify those who meet the strict standards for organic certification. There are two major organic certifications seen on New Zealand grocery products.

AsureQuality is a company 100% owned by the New Zealand government. It provides a number of food safety and biosecurity services, including organic certification. In the AsureQuality Organic Standard, "organic" is defined as "a labelling term that denotes products that have been produced in accordance with organic production Standards". Once a producer is certified organic by AsureQuality, compliance is audited every year.  A product displaying the AsureQuality Organic Standard meets these conditions:

• Has been produced using only the permitted substances listed in the Standard.
• Ingredients, additives or processing aids derived from GMOs have not been used in production.
• Soil fertility and pest control have been achieved using biological or physical methods where possible (rather than adding chemicals to the production process). 
• Has not been treated with ionising radiation.
• In the case of livestock, they have been raised with natural feed (organic where available), sufficient space, and sanitary conditions. Poultry, pigs and rabbits must not be kept in cages.
• Has been produced without forced labour or child labour, and the producer has a non-discriminatory employment policy and allows employees to bargain collectively.
• Has been produced, packaged and transported in a way that prevents contamination with non-organic material.
• Is packaged in a way that avoids unnecessary packaging materials, and in reusable, recycled, recyclable and biodegradable packaging whenever possible.

A certified organic product may contain less than five percent of ingredients that are not organically derived if certain conditions are met.

BioGro is a not-for-profit organic producer and consumer organisation. The BioGro NZ Organic Standards have been developed especially for New Zealand producers. BioGro is accredited by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements. Products carrying the BioGro certification have undergone a three-year certification process. Products undergoing the certification process will display a BioGro "In Conversion" label. BioGro Organic certification requires producers to meet similar standards to the AsureQuality Organic Standard. The conditions that the producer must meet include:

• Having a sustainable environmental management strategy, which covers practices that maintain or enhance the quality of the air, water and soil and enhance biodiversity.
• Maintaining cultural values associated with land and water.
• Providing habitats in which livestock can be raised in comfort and with minimal stress. This includes allowing natural grazing, complying with specified stocking densities, providing adequate shade and shelter and ensuring access to adequate fresh water. Transport and slaughter must minimise any pain and distress to livestock.
• Reducing waste through reducing, reusing, recycling and energy conservation.
• No use of genetic engineering or GMOs.
• Production without involuntary labour, and the producer has a non-discriminatory employment policy and allows employees to bargain collectively. Any children employed by the producer must be provided with educational opportunities.
• Contamination with non-organic material has been avoided at every stage of the production process.

Coming up next in the Demystifying Sustainable Product Certifications series: carboNZero and Environmental Choice certifications.

Demystifying Sustainable Product Certifications - Part 1

Do you know what the certifications on the grocery products you buy actually mean? It seems that there's an ever-increasing variety of certification labels adorning items in our supermarkets and competing for our attention. How are we supposed to choose between products that make competing claims about their ethical and/or environmental kudos? Is there a gold standard, and if not, which is the best kind of certification to choose for key products? I've researched these questions, so that when I'm in the chaos of the supermarket I can make the best choices. I'll share the fruits of my research into the most common certification logos in New Zealand as a series of posts, starting with this one on Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance.

You're most likely to see the Fairtrade logo on coffee, chocolate, tea, spices, sugar and now bananas. According to the Fairtrade Association of Australia and New Zealand, more than five million people benefit from the Fairtrade scheme. Fairtrade provides producers with a fixed, fair minimum price for their produce, which covers the cost of sustainable production. Fairtrade producer organisations also get paid a premium on top of the minimum price to invest in social, economic and environmental development in their community. To qualify for Fairtrade certification, producers must meet set standards, which cover:

• chemical use on crops; 
• labour conditions: non-discrimination, freedom of association, collective bargaining, minimum wage and health and safety requirements; and 
• how producer organisations must make decisions on how to spend the Fairtrade premium.

The Rainforest Alliance certifies operations meeting its set of standards, which focus on the environmental impacts of agricultural activities, such as decreasing contamination of waterways, decreasing erosion, controls on the use of agrochemicals, waste control and water conservation. Farms must also meet labour standards such as paying workers at least the local minimum legal wage, having a non-discriminatory hiring policy and providing sanitary facilities for workers. Unlike Fairtrade, there is no minimum price guarantee for Rainforest Alliance producers. The Rainforest Alliance certification logo is found most prominently in New Zealand on McDonald's McCafe coffee. A considerable proportion of New Zealand's forests are now certified under the Rainforest Alliance's Smartwood program. The Body Shop uses Rainforest Alliance certified palm oil in its soaps.

Next up, a look New Zealand's most prominent organic certifications. Also coming up, a deeper delve into the relative merits of the most common coffee certifications.

Rethinking Giving

Image by nosheep

What do you want for Christmas?

I usually find this question quite difficult to answer. I'd like a solution to all the problems facing the world, but the people asking me aren't in a position to give that. I'd like a round the world air ticket and some ski gear, but I'm pretty sure the people asking me aren't planning to spend quite that much money. I'd like a worm farm or bokashi system, but most people don't perceive things like that as suitable items for Christmas gifts. I'll always appreciate cash, but some people don't feel comfortable giving it as a gift. The thing is, I'm not a fan of stuff. You know, the kind of stuff you see advertised on TV and in junk mail at Christmas time, often labelled with a helpful caption like "Great gift idea!"  I don't consider something a great gift idea if I have to find somewhere in my apartment to put it, dust it regularly, and it doesn't give me any tangible benefit in return. Nor is it a great gift idea if I have to wear it and pretend to like it. And it's definitely not a great gift idea if it's labelled "As seen on TV!"

I don't disagree with the concept of giving gifts, but I think that our attitude to gift-giving has gone awry. You still hear the phrase "It's the thought that counts" often, but it doesn't seem that many people actually believe it. Most people seem to feel that there's a minimum amount of money they ought to spend on a gift, which depends on the occasion and the closeness of their relationship with the recipient, and they will tailor the gift they give to reflect that amount. It seems more important to me to focus on the value of the gift to the recipient, rather than its dollar cost to the giver. If the recipient is concerned about world issues, they'll probably be much happier with a gift that doesn't contribute to the problems they are concerned  about. If you and/or your intended recipients are concerned about the ethical implications of the gifts you give this Christmas, here are some options (for New Zealanders).

Ethical gifts

If you want to give a tangible, physical gift, but want it to have minimal negative impacts on the world, check out these sources:

• Trade Aid is a wonderful source of beautiful, exotic, fair trade gifts. You can preview their products online and find your nearest shop location on their website.
• Ecostore stocks environmentally friendly body products, cosmetics and other nice things.
• There's a wealth of options in The Good Shopping Handbook, compiled by Good magazine.

Charity gifts

There are a number of easy ways to give directly to needy recipients. Some of these options are intended to operate in lieu of a gift for your loved ones, and offer to send a gift card telling the recipient about the donation you've made on their behalf. Others are simply ways to share some Christmas cheer with people less fortunate than yourself.

• Until December 24th, you can donate gifts by placing them under the Wishing Tree at any Kmart store.
• Give a miracle of sight via the Fred Hollows Foundation. For just $25 you can restore the sight of someone who can't afford to pay for a cataract operation.
• The now well-established Oxfam Unwrapped lets you gift things like goats and toilets (perfect for the workplace Secret Santa), and categorises suggestions by price and intended recipient.
• In a similar vein is Wish List, run by Save the Children.
• Greenpeace Giving offers diverse options, from fertility kits for tuataras to GE-free Christmas cakes. 

Re-gifting
Not everyone will see eye-to-eye on Christmas gift giving. You're bound to receive something that you don't want or need. If you'd prefer that it benefitted someone else rather than gathered dust in the spare room, here are some options for re-gifting. Just make sure you don't offend Great-Aunt Maude!

• If you think it might be useful to someone else, list it on DonateNZ. You might provide a Happy New Year for a not-for-profit organisation.
• For dud clothing, trade it for something you actually like on iSwish.
• Save it up to put under the Kmart Wishing Tree next Christmas.

Have any other suggestions you'd like to share? Please do by posting a comment below.

Reduce, reuse, recycle... and the neglected "R": repair

There are lots of words starting with R that describe sustainable behaviours: reduce, reuse, recycle, regift, re-home, repair... Society has shifted towards making some of these actions more convenient. Reusable bags are available in most major stores nowadays. Most cities and towns have kerbside recycling.  Online services like Trademe and DonateNZ are great ways to re-home items so that others can reuse them. But one R seems to be lagging behind the rest: repair. Surprisingly often the cost to have something repaired is more than what you paid for it or what it would cost to replace it. Two good examples are shoes and handbags.

The other day I took a handbag back to the store I had bought it from because the metal fastener that held a strap in place had come apart. They shop assistant immediately offered to exchange it for a new bag or give me a store credit. While the offer of a new handbag was mighty tempting, I'd thought about all the resources that must have gone into making my handbag and, since it was in pretty good condition other than the broken fastener, I preferred to have it repaired. The shop assistant was obviously surprised that I wanted to have the bag fixed rather than get a new one, but she said she would see what she could do. The next day I received a phone call from the shop assistant telling me that it was going to cost more to repair my bag than what I had paid for it. The manufacturer was overseas, and she had called a local repairer, who had quoted a price in excess of what I had paid for the bag. I was disappointed, but not really surprised. When I had tried to get my previous handbag fixed last year by going direct to the repairer, the quoted price was enough to convince me to send the bag to the scrap-heap instead. (That bag was in much worse shape than the current one - it was coming apart at most of the seams and one of the straps was nearly broken from the strain of me carrying far too much around in it all the time). It's the same with shoes. The cost to replace worn-out soles can be enough to convince people that they might as well buy new shoes instead.

This pricing situation negatively affects the sustainability of people's behaviour towards broken consumer goods. Many times I've heard people say, "It's not worth getting it fixed". In purely personal dollar terms they're right. But what about when other factors are weighed in? The environmental impact of manufacturing the product, the positive economic impact on their local community from paying a tradesperson to repair the broken item, and the environmental impact of disposing of the broken thing are relevant considerations, but ones that are difficult or impossible for the owner of the broken thing to quantify, even if they turned their mind to it.

In the past, when simply replacing a broken item was not always possible, people were more resourceful and many were more skilled at fixing things themselves. Expecting everyone to become a handyperson is not realistic in the time-starved society of today. But there are still people out there who are pretty handy. If you already know someone like that, you could try to strike up a bargain with them. Maybe they'll fix your shirt that's coming apart at the seams in exchange for you baking them some muffins, or buying them a beer. Or maybe you have skills that you can trade with them. You'll fix their door hinge if they'll sew the buttons back onto your shirts. If you don't know a handyperson, maybe you can track one down through community noticeboards (for example at your local supermarket or in your community newspaper), or maybe someone you know knows someone that they can put you in touch with. If you think that there's even a slight chance that you might be able to fix it yourself, if only you knew how, try googling "How to fix [insert broken thing here]". Obviously use this within reason. If you've never fixed anything electrical before, I wouldn't recommend trying to fix your microwave based on a Youtube video some home handyperson has posted. If you don't think it's worth even trying to fix it then the next step may be to try to reuse it in some other capacity, or to rehome it. Landfill transfer centres often salvage stuff and resell it, and some small repair stores will be happy to accept broken things from you that they can potentially use for parts. I've also discovered a market for broken electrical and electronic goods on Trademe. People list broken items for $1 reserve or thereabouts, and it seems that eager handypeople snap them up to repair and resell. So, it should be a rare occasion when something is only worth throwing out.

Have you got any thoughts to add on the neglected "R", repair? Make a comment below. Handyperson  self-promotion welcome!

Blog Action Day - Go Vege to Save the Planet?

Today, Thursday 15 October, is Blog Action Day '09. Blog Action Day was initiated to generate discussion around an important social issue (this year: climate change) by creating concentrated focus on that issue in the blogosphere on one nominated day. The idea is that so much discussion will lead to plans being made and action being taken.

I've decided to focus on the "Action" part of Blog Action Day, and am doing something I've been gathering up the resolve to do for months: I'm pledging to go vegetarian for a month. Although it's still not talked about as much as gas-guzzling SUVs and food miles, it's becoming more common knowledge that going vegetarian or vegan is one of the best, if  not the best, change an individual can make to decrease his or her impact on the environment. I've been in internal turmoil since I learned this information. I want to do everything I can to reduce my footprint, but I love steak! And fish!

I didn't want to give up meat too lightly, so I did some research. I came across an article from a couple of months back in the Washington Post referring to a 2006 UN Report which concluded that cattle-rearing generates more greenhouse gases than transportation. Livestock farming is also incredibly damaging to the world's scarce water resources, and it degrades land too. The Washington Post reporter pointed out that not only is reducing meat consumption one of the best things a person can do for the environment, it's also one of the easiest, because it doesn't require extra resources, and you can make the change immediately. Another article in Time magazine highlights the potentially dangerous effects of antibiotic use on animals, especially those raised in feed-lots. But these articles are U.S.-centric, and a lot of these issues must be a much less of a concern where I live, in New Zealand. For instance, we have plenty of grass to go around, so we don't usually need to feed our livestock massive amounts of grain like they do in the U.S. (the occasional bit of palm kernel, but that's another issue). We produce a lot of meat in NZ and we're a pretty small country, so the meat I eat is unlikely to have clocked up too many food miles. But our cattle still burp and fart, and the methane they produce is a significant contributor to NZ's greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, agriculture is responsible for over half of NZ's CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions. Agricultural run-off has already ruined many of our waterways and continues to do damage. 

So how much of a difference can I make by going vegetarian in New Zealand? A lot of the meat and dairy products we produce are exported anyway, so any reduction in demand resulting from NZers going vegetarian might just mean that more meat and dairy is exported instead, resulting in big greenhouse emissions from transport. Discussion on another NZ blog suggests that we can make more of a difference by reducing our meat consumption and using our consumer power to create demand for ethically treated, organic meat. And they raise the very valid point that many protein substitutes, such as lentils and chickpeas, are probably imported rather than grown in New Zealand, so they come with big food miles. Of course, reducing one's contribution to climate change is not the only reason to move to a more plant-based diet. There's the animal welfare aspect (which I somehow manage to block out every time I tuck into a chicken stir-fry or ham sandwich). Some of our pigs and chickens live in terrible conditions, and I already try to avoid contributing to that by buying free range. But, as a good vegetarian friend of mine would say, "if you can live just fine without killing animals, isn't that a better way to live?" Then there's the suggestion that I might feel more healthy and energetic if I cut out meat from my diet, because meat is supposedly much harder to digest than most plant foods.

So, there's a possibility I might reduce my environmental impact, the certainty that I'll contribute to less animal slaughter, a possibility that I'll feel healthier, and I'm pretty sure I'll save on my grocery bill. It definitely seems worth giving vegetarian eating a try. So, starting tomorrow (because I have half a can of tuna and leftover chicken in the fridge today), I'm cutting out meat for a month in all meals I choose. (By this I mean I may make allowances in social settings where to avoid meat would be particularly inconvenient.)  I look forward to exploring the issues more in the month ahead, and I'll keep you posted on how my "vegetarian trial" goes. I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts about meat-eating and climate change. I also welcome any tips, advice and moral support - send me a comment below.            

10 fun ways to live more sustainably

Who says living sustainably has to be taken with a straight face and involve cutting things out of your life? It's about thinking outside the square and having fun with the changes you make. Here are ten fun ways to use less of the world's resources without feeling like you are shortchanging yourself. What else can you add?

1. Go scwhopping, not shopping. The girls of The Big Schwop organise mass schwops in New Zealand. You bring good condition clothes you don't wear, and you can take home something else you love in exchange. To make this good thing even better, you can have a glass of vino while you schwop. There's one on at Auckland's Langham Hotel this weekend, and registrations are still open. Or, you could organise your own on a smaller scale with a group of friends.
2. Don't give birthday cards. What do people do with them afterwards? I don't know, because I'm never sure what to do with mine once the novelty of displaying them on my desk wears off. They are a waste of trees, and nowhere near as nice as a big hug and a face to face birthday message. Can't see the birthday boy/girl face to face? Call them, email them, Facebook message them, or send them an e-card. Electronic messages are easier to keep too, because they don't take up physical space. The no-birthday card policy is a great excuse if you forgot someone's birthday too: "Forget? No I didn't forget! I didn't send a card because I was waiting to give you this great big hug instead."
3. Switch to loose leaf tea. Besides being all the rage right now, drinking loose leaf tea uses less resources than tea made from tea bags. No bag means less resources used in production. Once you're done with the leaves you can put them straight in the compost.
4. Wear a g-string instead of briefs. To add to the numerous other advantages of g-strings over briefs,  they are also better for the environment because they use up less fabric... hehehe
5. Eat at the restaurant rather than take away. Takeaways are usually excessively packaged, with each thing in its own container, then the whole lot in a bag, with some single use chopsticks or plastic cutlery to top it off. As well as saving resources, eating in is so much more fun than taking it home to eat in front of the TV. Enjoy the chance to really catch up with whoever you are with, or if you are alone, spend some time with your thoughts.
6. Buy a beautiful refillable pen. The amount you invest in a beautiful refillable pen is probably not much more (or maybe even less) than the amount you would spend on "throwaway" Bics over the rest of your years. Think about how much nicer it would be to use a beautiful ink pen every time you write than some temperamental ballpoint. The challenge is to make sure you don't lose it!   
7. Get an Ecotanka. These beautifully crafted stainless steel bottles will last forever, so you can ditch plastic bottles for good. They keep water cool and don't make it taste funny.
8. Go vigilante on your housemates' wasteful habits. Got a flatmate who washes in hot water, uses the dryer when the sun's out and leaves lights on when he/she leaves the house? Tried suggesting that they shouldn't do these things but they just don't care? It's time for vigilante action. Once they've put the washing on, sneak in and turn it down to cold. Dial down the time they've set the dryer to go for. Sneak into their room and turn the lights off. Experience the buzz of being a clandestine eco-warrior!
9. Don't throw away cardboard boxes. Learn to make awesome things from them instead!
10. Spend a Saturday morning trawling local garage sales. Trademe may be a more direct way to find exactly what you are after, but there's just something about looking through other people's stuff. I find it fascinating. And you might find something amazing and out of the ordinary, at a bargain price. Only do this if you actually need stuff though - buying crap that you don't need is still not a good thing even if it's second hand crap.

Do you have other fun ways of living more sustainably? I'd love to hear them - add a comment below.

Update: Cadbury announces Dairy Milk to go Fairtrade

Back in July I wrote about Cadbury's introduction of palm oil into its chocolate. This month Cadbury announced that it was removing palm oil from its chocolate, and that one of its most popular products, Dairy Milk chocolate, is getting Fairtrade certification. What an amazing response to consumer pressure!

There are lots of groups out there trying to get people to employ consumer pressure against other products and corporate practices - why was this particular campaign so successful? I think it was a combination of a number of factors:

• 
  
  Cadbury's high profile and huge popularity in New Zealand. This meant that there was a large consumer base who felt personally connected to the issue. The sheer numbers who got behind the campaign meant Cadbury couldn't ignore it.
  
  
  

• 
  
  The issue had broad appeal. Palm oil production destroys the habitat of orang utans. Who wants to be responsible for wiping out a species so closely related to us?
  
  
  

• 
  
  But, I think what really made this campaign take off was that the media got behind it. It was on the primetime news, it was in the papers, it was on the radio. Everyone knew about it. And then Whittakers got on board and promoted the issue too to try and steal some of Cadbury's market share.
  
  
  

It is heartening to know that, at least where a perfect storm of circumstances exists, consumer pressure can make a difference. How else can we use our collective power to create positive change?

What could you live without?

Image by BJN

Every generation owns more personal possessions than the last. Like magpies we keep adding to our hordes, and the list of things we 'can't live without' is ever-extending. Our society tends towards exaggeration, and this shows in the way we speak about our belongings. I've had people say to me, "I couldn't survive without a car." Or, "I really need new shoes." Would these people actually drop dead if they could no longer use their cars? Of course not. Do these people really need new shoes? Will they have to go barefoot tomorrow if they don't buy new shoes today? Probably not. But the way we talk about our possessions tends to remove us from the conscious choice we made when we acquired them. Every acquisition is a choice, with consequences that the buyer becomes responsible for, even if they aren't actually aware of what the consequences are. Ignorance of the consequences doesn't mean they aren't happening.

It's pretty much impossible to know all of the consequences of buying a particular item. There are too many unknowns. If I pick up a pair of jeans, they might say "Made in China" on them, but they don't say "Made in a sweatshop by children" (I'm not suggesting all jeans that are made in China are made in a sweatshop by children; this is just an example). They don't tell me what miniscule proportion of the retail price was paid to the manufacturer. And they don't tell me what environmental policies (if any) the manufacturer follows. So, we are often shooting blindly when it comes to the consequences of our purchasing decisions.

If you are going to buy something, there are ways to decrease the uncertainty of the consequences:

• Buy from stores like TradeAid, Ecostore or the SAFE store. These retailers have ethical policies in place that the products they sell must meet, and they are open and transparent about the life cycle of the products they sell.

• Read packaging and signs. Many products have to be labelled with their country of origin nowadays, and products that have environmental or ethical kudos are likely to promote it. Look for the the Fairtrade logo, or statements like "Not tested on animals".

• Research big purchases in advance. You can usually find information by searching online to help you make the best choice about what you are planning to buy. Plus there are sites like Greenlist that collate the contact details of responsible retailers and service providers by area and product/service type.

There's another much more effective way to reduce the consequences of your purchasing: buy less. I'm not advocating wearing your current shoes and clothes until they fall apart before buying new ones. What I'm suggesting is that before you buy pair of shoes number 27, you could try thinking to yourself, "Do I really need these? What else could I spend this money on?" I don't know about you, but the thought of spending my money on something like a hot air balloon ride or putting it towards a holiday is even more exciting than buying yet another pair of shoes. I get a bit overwhelmed when I have too much stuff. I live in a small apartment, and struggle to fit in what I already have without adding to it. The clutter makes me feel like the place is always a mess. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way - there are TV shows dedicated to decluttering people's lives.

There are some things I have decided I can live without, in order to decrease my impact on the planet's resources and avoid being overwhelmed by clutter. Here are a few:

1. Buying every book I want to read. I try to borrow off friends or the library unless I know it's a book I will want to read or refer to again and again - then I try to buy it second hand : )
2. Eating meat every day. I've cut down the amount of meat I eat a lot, and surprisingly I don' t miss eating it more often at all.
3. 'Pretty things' for my room. There's nowhere to put them anyway, but I've always had an aversion to knick-knacks. Probably stems from the fact that you have to dust them.
4. Newspapers. You can read the news from anywhere in the world online for free. That is much easier than reading a physical newspaper too. Why must they make the sheets of newsprint so big that it is practically impossible to read one while eating breakfast and drinking a cuppa? Plus, the media usually makes the news so negative I'd rather not read it at all!
5. CDs. I'm surprised there's still a market for these. I find it difficult to understand why someone would go and buy a physical item that has to sit somewhere, gathering dust, when you can buy almost any album online from iTunes, and stick it straight on your iPod (something I couldn't live without!)

What do you or could you live without? Please share with us by commenting below.

Chocolate bad for more than your waistline

Image by nkzs

Specifically, I mean Cadbury's new formula. If you're a Kiwi you might have seen the new Whittakers' ad, which highlights the nasties of Cadbury's latest formulation (and if not you can check it out on their website). They've reduced the size, the cocoa content and the cocoa butter content, and production now happens offshore. This means we now get less choc for our buck, and what we do get is lower quality. And, apart from selfish concerns, the changes are bad news for the environment too. The shift of production from the iconic Dunedin base to Aussie means more food miles. But, probably more concerning is what they've replaced the cocoa butter with. The ingredient list discloses only "vegetable fat", but word on the street is that palm oil is the new secret ingredient. Palm oil production has had a huge impact on the eco-systems of developing countries such as Indonesia, Borneo and Malaysia. Rainforests have been cut down at an alarming pace to make way for palm oil plantations. The result is a massive decrease in biodiversity in the affected areas, and the destruction of habitats. The poster animal for the ill-effects of palm oil production is the orangutan. The risk to the already endangered orangutan is so great that Auckland Zoo decided to cease stocking Cadbury products when the changes were announced. Rainforest destruction also affects many other animals, birds, insects and plants besides the orangutan.

There are many other brands of chocolate to choose from, even at the supermarket. I've sworn off Cadbury until they clean up their act - will you? And why not sign an online petition to make sure Cadbury gets the message loud and clear?

Bin Inn: dark horse of law carbon grocery shopping

On a recent trip out of Auckland I was susprised to find that Bin Inn still exists. I'm not sure why, but I've always had a thing for bulk bins. Maybe it's the ability to control the exact amount of product I buy that delights my perfectionist tendencies. Or maybe it's just the ability to see the product in its naked form, free from any packaging. Anyway, I had to investigate. The place is still a treasure trove. From hokey pokey muffin mix to exotic varieties of rice, my domestic goddess fantasies kicked into overdrive. And that was just the Thames branch. The also stock Ecostore products like dishwashing liquid and washing powder in bulk.

Bin Inn has yet to take full advantage of the potential eco-cred that comes with the ability to bring in your own reusable containers when you shop. According to their website, their philosophy is about paying for product, not packaging. The ability to control the quantities you buy means you are likely to waste less too. Goodbye excessive packaging, hello reusable containers and anal-retentive quantity control.

So why hasn't Bin Inn jumped on the eco-band wagon? Well, actually they have. They just haven't done a good job of letting us consumers know about it. Their website has a page about their environmental initiatives and why it is sustainable to shop there. Apparently they sponsored a couple's challenge to live a "waste free year". I reckon if Bin Inn undertook a publicity campaign based on their sustainable shopping philosophy, they could reinstate themselves into the public consciousness and dramatically increase their customer base. If only there was a store in Central Auckland...

Takeaway cup ridicule

Image by Unvrs

The other day I bought myself a shiny new thermo-mug. After a year and a half of "disposable" takeaway coffee cup guilt, I couldn't stand it anymore. I went to my regular cafe and proudly presented my new acquisition to the barista when I made my order. She cracked up laughing. I'm not sure if it was the bucket-like size of the mug, the fact it still had the Warehouse price tag attached, or that no one else who frequents my local cafe would consider bringing their own takeaway mug. I'm on politely friendly terms with the barista, so wasn't at all offended by her reaction. But it did illustrate how ingrained some practices are in our society, even when we know the benefits of another option. Why should it be the norm that every takeaway coffee comes packaged in a non-recyclable cardboard-plastic imitation of a mug? Why isn't there more support for people bringing their own mugs along to cafes to get their takeaway coffee in?

Increased awareness of unfair practices in the international coffee industry led to increased demand for Fairtrade coffee. In response to pressure from consumers, a number of cafes now offer Fairtrade coffee. Couldn't increased awareness of environmental issues lead consumers to demand better environmental practices from our coffee outlets? I think a discount for people who bring their own mugs along would be a great step towards making reusable mugs the new norm.

I dare you to take your own mug to your local cafe tomorrow and ask for a discount. Let me know how it went for you.

The joy of buying second hand

One of the pillars of sustainable living is minimising your consumption. But sometimes you actually need new stuff. I was very recently in that situation, as my much-loved boots were finally so worn out that I had been living in fear that they might fall apart on me, when I was wearing them, right when I reached the farthest point from home. New stuff clearly necessary... check. Next, how to get it with minimum environmental impact.

One option is to buy the most ethical, environmentally friendly new stuff you can find. Websites like Greenlist can point you in the right direction.

Another is to buy, beg or trade second hand items. I decided to give this option a go. I have been cultivating an obsession with TradeMe lately anyway, for its amazing selection of bargain-priced pre-read books: the perfect solution when you don't want to buy new, but can't get hold of that novel you're dying to read at the local public library. I was blown away by the selection of fashionable boots in "as new" condition. Apparently there are a lot of women out there who just can't master buying boots that actually fit them, so they have to flog their new foot candy off on TradeMe at a considerable discount from what they paid for them. Okay, okay, this isn't all that far removed from me going to the store and buying new boots myself, but I can see a clear environmental benefit. If I buy someone's boots that don't fit them, a pair of boots that might otherwise have mouldered away at the back of that person's wardrobe until they were eventually thrown out get a new lease of life. If I had gone out and bought a brand new pair, that would have been a whole new set of resources expended. Meanwhile, a perfectly good pair of boots were already waiting for a well-matched pair of feet to fill them. Of course, there are plenty of genuinely used boots and other goodies available on TradeMe and other auction sites too if you want to reduce the impact of your purchasing even more.