About

Hiya

My name is Brenda and I am the publisher and editor of this blog. I am also have a personal blog for my musings over my chaotic life called http://familylife-brenda.blogspot.com/ and you can shop at my green shop www.myecobiz.co.uk.

We are what would be classed as light greenie people, who realise that for the sake of the world we live in and for future generations, we need to be more careful and thoughtful in how we live our lives.  It is impossible to change everything at once, but if we can be aware, we can make a difference!

I want to share with you all, my ideas on what the eco-friendly shopping options available are, tips, product reviews, my thoughts, dreams and aspirations on how living a greener life is not just about paying extra, because it’s got the “green” label, it’s much more than that, some of the “greener” options cost nothing at all!

Of course if you have a product that you wish to recommend or you are a retailer and want to share your goodies with us, we would love to hear from you, get in touch via the contact page.

TGF is a team effort and our on board contributors are:

Erica Price

I’m a full-time mum to my 3 year old boy and we live near Birmingham. Keeping involved with my local community is important to me and I am part of our local NCT (National Childbirth Trust) committee plus I’m a school governor.  Last year we got an allotment at our nearest site and we’ve been working as a family to get it into shape and to grow some of our own food.  It’s been hard work, but it’s very rewarding.

From a green perspective we certainly try to do our bit, but we could probably do a bit more. I do buy environmentally friendly products for the house; buy some organic food; and we compost all our food waste either at home or on the allotment.  We recycle loads too and put out less than one black bag of rubbish a week.  On the minus side, we tried and failed with reusable nappies and have used disposables, but we have successfully used reusable babywipes.

I’m very keen to support local shops and buy all my meat from the local butcher and use small greengrocers whenever I can too.  I also try to purchase British (or European) products where possible and make sure I check the country of origin of the fruit and vegetables I buy, so that I don’t buy onions from Australia or apples from Chile.  I’m also a great believer in walking when I can, rather than getting in the car, and I’ve found that it keeps me fit too.

Jessica St. Clair

From helping with recycling drives to creating an organic community garden project in my teens, I have always been passionate about holistic and green living, organic and healthy foods, and resource sustainability. It wasn’t until I studied and worked in developmental psychology that natural and toxic-free living became extremely important to me. I remember being struck by the amount of impact small changes in everyday living have on young children – particularly as more and more research demonstrates that modern toxins are leading to delayed or impaired mental and physical development, and in the worst cases, causing diseases like cancer in the very young. So while pregnant with my son, Henry, now 21 months, I took the time to research all the green and organic products available so we could make Henry’s early years truly chemical-
free. But despite the time I had (as I was on bedrest), my background and interest, I was still quite overwhelmed by the amount of information out there, not to mention the disparity of it all, and wanted to help other parents who just don’t have the time to conduct extensive research on green living on top of everything else they’re doing.

I’m thrilled to contribute to The Green Familia to provide families with green resources and certainly I hope that the work I’ve done in the last few years can be of help to others! I currently also run Green Families; we provide educational workshops and consultations on eco-friendly and holistic living for urban families, designed to help families go green in an easy and manageable way. You can find me at: www.twitter.com/greenfamiliesuk or contact me at stclair@greenfamilies.co.uk

TGF Rated Reviewers include the above and the following:

Ellie Hothersall – I am a mother to a girl and a boy, and constantly juggle that with working full time in Public Health. We live in an 18th Century listed building, which means we are very conscious of our energy bills and lowering our energy intake. We grow some of our own food, and keep chickens in the back garden, hoping to teach the children something about where food comes from in a straight forward way. Through energy conservation, recycling, ethical shopping and choosing quality over convenience, I hope we can lead by example, without preaching, while accepting that sometimes there is a need to compromise.

Claire Fryer

Sue Fuller