Wednesday 16 January 2008

Ocado gets even greener

Shopping on-line and having your groceries delivered to your kitchen has always been a greener option. One delivery van can replace 20 car journeys, so the saving in fuel and CO2 emissions is obvious. Ocado, the delivery service of Waitrose supermarket, are raising their game when it comes to being the greenest grocery delivery company. They are investing in a TV advertising campaign for the first time in a bid to win our hearts and minds. They already offer a ‘green’ delivery slot on their website, which means you can choose to use a delivery van that is already scheduled to deliver in your area, therefore saving even more fuel and emissions. Ocado already offers a carrier bag return and recycle service, but it is now introducing a brand new recycling centre on its warehouse site at Hatfield.

This follows last month’s introduction of biodegradable carrier bags. As the competition for the greenest home delivery supermarket picks up momentum, we can expect to see new innovations from all the major players. Tesco has recently been lauded for introducing an all-electric delivery van service and offering its customers the choice of carrier bag free delivery.

German government warns its citizens of the dangers of Wi-Fi

While our government plays down the harmful effects of electromagnetic fields or electro-smog, and even ignores the advice of its own Health Protection Agency chair Sir William Stewart, the German government is advising its citizens to avoid using Wi-Fi and mobile ‘phones as much as possible. Their advice goes further, and warns people of the dangers of electro-smog from other household electrical products. The German Environment Ministry is recommending that people minimise their exposure to Wi-Fi radiation and is “actively informing people about possibilities for reducing personal exposure”.

The German equivalent of our Health Protection Agency, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection, is calling for caution in the use of electrical equipment. A representative of the office said Wi-Fi should be avoided “because people receive exposures from many sources and because it is a new technology and all the research into its health effects has not yet been carried out”

With access to the same research and information, the German government has drawn the opposite conclusion from our own. It looks like the German government is putting the interests of its people before the interests of big business, whereas our government is more concerned about big business and is happy to sacrifice our health to keep us buying increasing amounts of technology and appliances.

[Via The Independent]

Moom natural organic hair remover

I know this is not the kind of thing you would normally expect me to write about, but I was passed this item by my partner Dawn. Well, I cannot say I have ever used it, or am ever likely to either, but the product does look good. Moom is a natural hair remover, it is organic and contains only natural ingredients – chamomile, sugar, lemon juice, essential oil and water. The range comes in organic Tea Tree Set for normal/sensitive skin, Organic Rose Set for mature/dry skin and Organic Lavender Set for extra sensitive Skin. Oh and there is M4Men, for men I suppose. The sets sell for £14.99 and there are also Facial Kits for £4.99. Moom is supposed to be less painful than waxing and leaves the skin softer, smoother and hair free for up to eight weeks. Great stuff, and it is not tested on animals, the ingredients are organic and no chemicals are used, their packaging is kept to a minimum and the jars are recyclable. You can buy Moom from the Moom website or good high street and on-line beauty and health food retailers.