The Green Familia » natural collection

Cutting Down on Packed Lunch Waste

erica — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 08:54:26 +0000

As you may know this year’s Zero Waste Week is concentrating on cutting waste away from home. I’ve been looking at ways I can do more to cut waste created by me and my family. Packed lunches seemed an obvious target. Both my son and my husband have a packed lunch to take to school or work on most weekdays. Sandwiches and often other food is wrapped in cling film to keep it separate from other food and in the case of sandwiches to hold them together. So I’ve decided to tackle the cling film waste pile by looking for innovative products to help.

Cling film is a particular environmental nasty. It’s difficult to recycle and doesn’t biodegrade easily. It seems there are 2 main ways to avoid cling film. One is to use something else in much the same way as you use cling film and the other is to use a lunch box with suitably sized compartments so it’s unnecessary. Today I’m going to look at substitutes for cling film which I think will be the way for us to go as it saves buying new lunchboxes.

Waxed Paper or Parchment Paper are 2 possible alternatives and they can both be composted after use. Obviously you can cut them to size and if you need to seal them, a clip or a small piece of sellotape should do the job. Aluminium foil could be used in a similar way too and that’s recyclable. You could reuse packaging from elsewhere e.g. supermarket vegetable bags, giving those bags a second use.

Another option is the Wrap-n-Mat. It’s fastened with Velcro and it’s an eco friendly, reusable alternative. As it’s machine washable, so you can use it again and again. When you unfold it, the cotton wrapper acts as a place mat. This is an attractive product with a choice of 4 colours and it’s priced at £4.99 each. I do have a few concerns about it though and I think I would experiment with 1 or 2 before buying more. We would need quite a few of these in our house, as my husband and son would probably use 3 or 4 in a day between them (1 each for sandwiches and another for something extra). Plus, we’d need extras to allow for washing, so it would be quite an investment.

Why not make your bathroom eco-friendly and feel the benefits for yourself!

Hannah B — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 08:00:53 +0000

Trying to transform your bathroom into an eco-friendly haven is not as difficult as you may think and requires minimal effect from you and will benefit both the environment and your pocket. TGF have gathered together some top tips and the latest eco-friendly products to ensure that you achieve an eco-friendly bathroom without any hassle.

TGF Top Tips:

1. Cleaning products can be some of the most toxic substances in your bathroom, try to choose items that are bio degradable.

2. A great purchase that ensures you lower your water usage is a slow flow shower head. It is estimated that by doing so that you’ll use less than half as much water with this item alone!

3. Why not change your toilet to a water saving model and you could easily reduce your water usage by as much as 3.5 gallons per flush, lowering your water usage yet again.

4. Some materials are not very Eco friendly and should be avoided within Bathroom utensils. Porcelain, ceramic or stone tile is a great thing to use for flooring and lasts a long time without looking worn making your eco-friendly bathroom low maintenance.

Once your bathroom itself is eco-friendly why not purchase some natural organic toiletries and therapeutic remedies to match. Herblore offer you an ever-growing range of the finest products, all of them made from 100% natural ingredients such as: Turkish Bath products , organic cotton towels and slippers, handmade soaps, body care products, bath and shower relaxation products, and gift sets. All of this combined will leave you feeling relaxed and refreshed in your new and improved eco-friendly bathroom.

Gardening Ideas from Natural Collection

sue — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 11:00:12 +0000

Spring finally seems to have arrived so my daughter’s and I have been busy planning what to grow in our garden and planting seeds. I’ve also had lots of fun browsing around on-line to see what new things I can find for the garden and to help us with our vegetable patch. Natural Collection always have a wonderful selection of products for the garden and outdoors. Here are just a few of their exciting things that caught my eye:

My daughters both love growing plants in pots so that they can be responsible for planting their own seeds and watering and looking after their own plants. These Recycled Tyre Pots are a brilliant idea. As they’re made from 100% recycled tyres, the pots mean that old tyres can be put to good use and don’t end up in landfill. The Recycled Tyre Pots come in two sizes: medium (£10.95) and small (£6.99).

We would be lost without our trugs in the garden. They’re ideal for mixing and carrying compost, collecting fruit and vegetables, washing gardening tools – their uses are endless! Natural Collection’s Recycled Plastic Tubtrugs are made from 100% recycled plastic and are lightweight, durable and water and frost-proof. They are available in three sizes: small (£5.95), medium (£6.95) and large (£8.95) and in a variety of colours.

Garden pests can be a real problem, especially slugs and snails! Having had most of my lettuce and sprouts eaten by slugs last year, I was determined to find a natural way to deter them, and Slug It Out looks like it could be the answer to my problem. You simply place the protective recycled plastic ring into the soil around your plants and the overlapping lip stops the slugs getting to the plant – brilliant! The rings can be used again and again and cost £11.95 for a pack of 6.

It’s always nice to have some plants inside the house as well as in the garden. Although I have herbs outside I love having little pots of herbs on my kitchen window sill too. I confess that mine are in various sized, plastic pots and look rather untidy! These stylish Herb Pots and Tray would look gorgeous in the kitchen. They’re also ideal if you don’t have much outside space but still want to have a go at growing herbs for cooking. The pots and tray are made from metal and come in two colours: apple green or coffee. The set costs £15 and would make a lovely present – in fact, I think I may drop a few hints about this for my birthday!

Fairtrade Teas

Brenda — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:00:49 +0000

Today I went out and bought myself some fairtrade teabags and thought I would highlight the differing types of fairtrade teabags around.

1 Cafe Direct Teabags, available from The Green Desk, for a pack of 440. Price is £15.58.

2 Clipper Fairtrade Teabags, available from Natural Collection, for a pack of 80. Price is £2.25.

3 Organic Fairtrade Green Tea Bags, available from Steenberg Organics, for a pack of 25. Price is £1.60.

4 Breakfast Organic Tea, available from Purely Organic, for a pack of 25. Price is £1.30.

5 Traidcraft African Gold Fair Trade Teabags, available from Traidcraft, for 6 packs of 80. Price is £14.40.

So what other Fair Trade Teas have you tried?

Hot Picks! Organic Towels

Brenda — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:00:47 +0000

If you are looking to invest in some new towels for your family, then check out these organic towels. I bought some recently for our bathroom and they are really soft and lovely to envelop yourself in, as you step from the shower.

Organic combed cotton bath towel, available from Natural Collection in 8 different colours. Price has been reduced to £19.50.

Organic cotton fairtrade twill towels, available from The Organic Towel Company in 3 different colours and 3 different sizes. Prices start from £9.99.

Luxury organic hammam towel, available from Towels in 5 different sizes. Prices start from £12.26.

Cuddledry cuddlemoo organic toddler towel, available from Amazon. Price is £25.49.

Organic cotton nautic towel, available from By Nature in 4 sizes. Price starts from £6.

Organic bath sheet by Hydrea, available from Beautiful Pure. Price is reduced to £19.

Hand towels by Liv, available from SoOrganic in a choice of 3 colours. Price is £9.74.

Hot Sales Offers!

Brenda — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:20:26 +0000

Here is a round up of the best ethical sales that there is. If you think we have missed any, please get in touch so we can add them in.

Ascension – Up to 50% off in the Womens, men and kids department.

Natural Collection - Up to 75% off their fantastic ranges.

Little Fashion Gallery - Up to 50% off, they stock some organic ranges for children.

Amba Nature - 50% off in their winter sale, which ends on the 24th January 2010.

Archies House - A closing down sale, they have up to 50% off, but hurry as stock is running out.

Babipur – Up to 33% off their organic baby clothes range.

Monkey and Mike - 20% off everything, just quote the discount code XMAS 20 at checkout.

The Natural Nursery - has 25% off Earth Friendly Baby toiletries.

Dolly Rockers - has up to 50% off in their winter sale.

Beauty Expert - Up to 25% off selected beauty products.

Bibaloo – Up to 30% off in their sale.

By Nature - Up to 80% off in their sale.

Cool Green Attitude - Up to 70% off their organic kids t-shirts.

Ecocentric - Up to 50% off in their winter sale.

Eternal Creation - Up to 50% off their winter and summer ranges.

Ethical Superstore - Up to 75% off in their winter sale.

Frugi - Up to 50% off their winter collection.

Natural Collection – 5 gifts under £5

Brenda — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:00:12 +0000

Natural Collection have come up trumps again in their gift section. Here are my favourite 5 gifts for under a fiver.

1 Dragonfly Beaded Bookmark, price is £4.95.

2 Fairy Craft Kit, price is £4.95.

3 Gardeners Seed Box, price is £4.50.

4 Mixed Beads Bracelet, price is £4.

5 Peace Dove Messenger, price is £2.95

Autumn Hot Picks: Jumpers

sue — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 08:00:01 +0000

There’s definitely been a chill in the air the past few mornings, so it seemed a good time to have a look around and see what long sleeved tops are available this Autumn. There are some great jumpers and cardigans around: here are a few of my favourites:

Light cotton jumpers are a great cover up for Autumn. I love this Lana Organic Crossover Jumper from Natural Collection. It’s perfect for dressing up or down and would look great with jeans. The jumper is available is black and coral and costs £74.95.

For a more relaxed look, this Wrap Cardigan by Asquith London (£60) is ideal. It’s made from soft organic cotton and is very versatile. It can be layered over workout wear or just worn as an extra warm layer around the house. It would also be perfect with your favourite pair of jeans. The Wrap Cardigan is available from Ascension Online and comes in black and charcoal.

It’s not quite cold enough for thick winter jumpers yet so, for the men, this Patagonia Long-Sleeved Stretch T (£39) is a great lightweight layer for chilly Autumn days. The top costs £39 from Natural Collection and comes in blue and espresso.

Special Offer: Ecover Laundry Liquid 5l with free Fabric Softner 500ml

Brenda — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:00:47 +0000

Natural Collection have cooked up a great offer for September. Buy the Ecover Laundry Liquid 5l bag in a box and get a FREE Ecover Fabric Softener (500ml).

Ecover uses only plant and mineral ingredients, and has been designed to have quick and complete biodegradability, so that it has a minimum impact on the environment.

Was £20.70 for both, now £18.75.

50% off at Natural Collection

Brenda — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:00:21 +0000

Whilst trying to clear my inbox, another email landed in it, but this one was a good one. It was highlighting the fab 50% off sale at Natural Collection. There are lots of goodies for you to get your hands on…if you are quick!

My top 3 are:

La Jewellery Recycled Silver Jigsaw Pendant on Ribbon Necklace, was £40 now £20.

Recycled Tote Bag (Blue), was £24.95 now £12.45.

Tie-Dye Cotton Shoulder Bag, was £13.95 now £6.95.