Mind the Gap

The Gap, at least in North America, is going to be selling a white, organic, unbleached, non-chemical dyed t-shirt. Good news - sort of. It will be interesting to learn about the equity in the supply chain - it does not claim to be a fairtrade item.

Where are we headed with ethical consuming? Of course many would say that consuming can never be truly ethical and that it is all a way for monster retailers and brands to help us conveniently forget the REDUCE that comes at the beginning of the reduce, re-use, recycle mantra. Others will point out that we do need clothing, although not in the large quantity that we currently purchase, and that what we buy should comply to the highest ethical standards.

The internet is full of ethical, organic, sustainable, eco, green, conscious fashion. Maybe it is time that the big retailers started to jump on the bandwagon - and Gap are certainly not the first by a long stretch. For me the question remains - is this a response to customer demand or actually a greenwash PR initiative that actually results in greater consumption, more money for retail giants, and another passing fashion?

I hope that the cynical interpretation is proved wrong. Time will tell. For the meantime a weather eye needs to be maintained that ethical fashion doesn't prove to be an oxymoron.

Budget Fudge It

Yesterday's optimism in the beauty of Devon seems a long time ago now as I reflect on Gordon Brown's budget. I fear that Mr Brown will never become Mr Green.

Taxation and fiscal measures surely have to form some part of the response to global heating (a far more meaningful term that the benign warming I always think). Yet the Chancellor seems to have had the wind put up him by the "fuel protests" of a few years back. Now he has no teeth in addressing transport issues and he seems to have lost his nerve completely over flying. Yesterday's budget was a fudge at all levels.

Even the money to protect forests in Afica appears to be the Chancellor's favourite old trick of reallocating or renaming money that had already been committed. Does he think that we are all so naive that we still fall for that soft shoe shuffle?

Billy Bragg once wrote "You can be active with the activists or sleeping with the sleepers". Gordon Brown and the politicians of Westminster are fast asleep so I guess the rest of us better get active - fast.

Blue skies and crisp mornings

Today is just a wonderful, joyous morning in Devon. The sky is blue, the sun is shining brightly and there are the last residual spots of frost on those plants that the sun's rays have not yet penetrated. It was a cold night and a chilly start to the day but perfect in so many ways. As I write I can hear jackdaws, a pheasant exclaim, blackbirds singing and collared doves sharing their calming call. Somehow "it is as it is" seems easier on these kind of days.

Why do we need to be subtle in dealing with gas guzzlers?

While walking through London I was hit once again by the obscene numbers of gas guzzling cars. There were lots of 4x4s of course, but big saloons, lots of sports cars, and plenty of big expensive motors.

Now so far the government approach to discouraging gas guzzlers has been at best a tweak. I say forget this and go in hard! My plan would therefore be to announce that in 3 years' time Road Tax on cars under 1000cc would be nil, on cars 1000 to 1500 it would be the same as now, on 1500 to 2000 it would be three times the current rate, and on cars over 2000 it would be ten times the current rate. At the same time I would remove all duty on biofuels. Equally I would make all cars over 2000cc pay £25 for congestion charge.

This isn't subtle. It doesn't address every nuance of the issues. So what - our aim is to reduce carbon emissions, pollution, and road congestion. So what that many old cars are much bigger polluters than new cars (the dust to dust carbon footprint is still probably lower than buying a new car). I say that this would be crude but effective. It is not so hard that people will simply revolt. Its tough love and I think the planet needs that right now.

Shopping Bags

Marks & Spencer seem to be quick off the mark in their public anouncements on carbon footprints and sustainability yet maybe their staff have not all got the message. I found myself needing to shop there today and wasn't prepared with my usual old bag to put things in. So I found myself in a major struggle with the person on the check out about trying to minimise the number of bags I would use - are check out staff given targets for using as many bags as possible? This came to a head with the British Daffs I purchased - these were deemed to need two bags! When I protested and got them in with the rest of my shopping this was almost viewed as revolutionary action and the look of horror was only barely suppressed. Oh well, the great leap forwards may take longer than I was hoping!