Shopping is about to reach frenzy levels as the to-do list gets ever longer. And then there is that wonderful person in your life whose present cannot be fur, meat, plastic - or boring. BRENDAN MONTAGUE asked ethical companies for their best gift ideas this Christmas.
Starbucks has positioned itself as a 'progressive' brand - but it's no such thing. It refuses to commit to fair trade coffee, organic milk, GMO-free / organic foods and snacks, and supports the mighty Grocery Manufacturers Association, lobbyist for GMOs and industrial agriculture.
From cotton seeds to high street clothing racks, the Fair Wear Foundation's new film links the myriad processes in the clothing chain and shows how you can make a difference in supporting a more ethical clothing industry
Tucked away in leafy Gloucestershire is a beauty brand with a ‘beyond organic’ philosophy that’s making the world sit up and take notice. Ruth Styles hopped on the train and went to meet the inspirational Denise Leicester
Looking for a fabulous place to eat without compromising on your eco-friendly lifestyle? Valentina Jovanovski serves up 10 restaurants that combine good eating with a green ethos
In Uganda, as in the rest of the world, carbon trading is a controversial topic. But could the concept of fair trade carbon credits revolutionise the sector, or is it just a distraction from the bigger problems with carbon markets? Adam Corner investigates
The uniting of 800 million rural workers against the loss of their traditional way of life gives lie to globalisation’s claims to beneficence. Resistance is far from futile, says Ed Hamer
It began as a student project: environmentally-friendly underwear with a message. But Green Knickers has taken off - to the delight of its founders. Matilda Lee reports
Dressing poorer countries in our designer cast-offs while we invest in shabby sweatshop chic? Invest in their infrastructure, not vetements, argues Joe Turner
If you're looking for stylish yet ethically produced clothes you may leave the high street empty-handed. Online, eco-boutiques offer organic, 'reclaimed to wear', and fairly traded designer collections, ultimately making shopping more enjoyable.
What could be more cheerful than this ubiquitous breakfast fruit? But if you’re not buying them Fairtrade and organic, argues Ed Hamer, then you’re buying into a modern agricultural scandal
What do you get if you cross a shoe with a coconut? A bounty for the feet. Laura Sevier meets Sven Segal, eco shoe designer and founder of the Po-Zu range, who has found a novel use for waste coconut husks. . .
Revenues obtained from the often illegal extraction and supply of commodities such as timber and diamonds are directly bankrolling corrupt regimes and armed insurgency groups, and fund the purchase of weapons and other contraband goods that perpetuate cycles of conflict.
Must-have handbags? shoes to die for? From cheap trinkets to luxury car interiors, Jim Wickens discovers the startling facts behind what we buy into when we buy leather goods.
It’s 2008, and feeding ourselves has never been easier. We take for granted a supply of every agricultural commodity on the planet, 365 days a year. Food is cheap. Never in living memory have we spent less on it as a proportion of our total expenditure. Even our poorest citizens can afford the luxury foods of yesteryear, like salmon and chicken.
At heart, fair trade is a strategy for poverty alleviation. It creates opportunities for producers in the developing world who have been economically disadvantaged by the conventional trading system and ensures they receive a fair price for their goods, and support and education for sustainable farming practices.
Environmentalists had waited with baited breath for the Chancellor's 2007 Budget. Gordon Brown had intimated that it would be the 'greenest ever'. In fact, it was a resounding disappointment.
Gordon Brown's Budget was disappointing. But not just because of its economic niceties. It fails to address key issues which have become taboo amongst economists - money, debt and economic growth. Molly Scott Cato, a green economist and Senior Lecturer in Social Economy at the Cardiff School of Management, addresses all three...
MPs will be given a private screening today of the highly-acclaimed film ‘Black Gold’, a documentary which charts the exploitation of coffee growers in Ethiopia.
