For our first foray into product videos we decided to go with some of our favourite picks from across the store so for your viewing pleasure we bring you the premiere of the Paper Potter, Eco Kettle 2 and Presso Coffee Maker movies below!

So far we’ve added videos for the Ecoflap, Pedalite Bike Lights, Presso Coffee Maker and several of the recycled glasses including the Sol Beer Bottle Glasses.

Over the coming weeks and months we’re looking to make this is a regular monthly feature so keep checking back here for updates on all the latest new additions.

We all love to treat our Mums once in a while and if youre planning a little gift for yours this coming Mothers Day how about something with a lighter footprint on the environment or which might inspire her to live a little greener?  Here’s a few of our favourites from across the store:

Gardens will soon be springing back into life and if your mum’s the green fingered type, the gift of a Tree is something which will give pleasure for years to come, our two favourites at this time of the year – the Plum Tree and Grape Vine Gifts will make a special gift for any Mums who love spending time in their garden and appreciate growing their own fruit.

Mums who garden will also love the ever-popular Paper Potter which makes biodegradable paper pots for seedlings whilst the floral and vegetable shaped Forget Me Not and Grow Recycled Plant Labels are a pretty way to organise vegetable and flower patches. For the disorganised Mum in the garden, this Garden Planner made from recycled coffee cups should help ensure all those little jobs get sorted.

Alternatively the Pocket Garden plant range make a thoughtful gift for Mum’s with no outdoor spaces and are an easy, attractive way to grow house plants such as Lavender, Marigold, Poppies and Sunflowers.   Or for the Mum with a windowsill full of plants, these Pot Plant Holders add a big cheery, splash of bright colours using recycled vegetable sacks.

If you’re a practical gift giver, perhaps you’d like to help your Mum save some money on energy bills and for this we’d suggest the Eco Kettle which helps ensure only the correct amount of water, energy and money is spent each time the kettle is boiled.
If Mum’s living with draughts, then one of our vintage Snake Draught Excluders will keep chills at bay, heating bills down and will have her reminiscing of the psychedelic 70’s when these were a familiar site in everyone’s home.

Finally if you just want your Mum to have a little ‘me-pampering-time’ then something from the Figs and Rouge Bodycare range will be perfect.  Combining natural and vintage inspired aromas with organic ingredients, this gorgeous range moisturises and nourishes from head to toe.  Choices include the Sweet Geranium Gift Set, Rambling Rose Hand and Foot Set or Rambling Rose Facial Toner, Facial Cleanser and Day Cream.

Speakers corner has just launched here at ECOutlet. Yes this is your chance to get on your soapbox and tell us what you think of our products by leaving us a Customer Review!

To help get things rolling with our latest feature, we’ve decided to add a little incentive so at the end of this month we’re going to reward the Top 15 reviews with a set of recycled glasses worth £14 each.

Though we do appreciate positive feedback, reviews don’t need to be glowingly positive to impress.  Constructive criticism will also be rewarded as will reviews which make us chuckle – in fact anything which helps to inform other customers will be in the running to win one of the prizes.

At the end of the month, we’ll select the Top 15 reviews which we think are the most helpful to our customers and the winners will each receive a set of glasses.

The glasses which are made using recycled Coca Cola bottles will make a lovely addition to any kitchen.  They are great everyday drinking glasses and also double up as slinky Ice Cream Sundae glasses.

If you fancy joining in and entering the competition, there are two ways to leave a customer review:

1. Log in or register with us on the customer sign-up page.  Go to the product you would like to leave a review for, click the Customer Review tab and leave us your thoughts.   You will then be automatically entered into the prize draw.
2. Guests can also leave a review.  Simply go to the product page and click the Customer Reviews tab to leave the review.
   If you leave a review this way and want to be considered for the prize draw, you will need to send us an email at comps@ecoutlet.co.uk and in the body of the email please confirm the name of review headline you left on the website.

The Customer Review competition closes on February 28^th. Winners will be selected and notified by email on March 1^st and all the winners names will also be announced here on the comments section of this blog entry.

Go on… help us to make ECOutlet a better place for everyone by giving us your feedback!

One of my predictions for the coming year is that going meat-free at least one day a week will become a hop topic for many people. The Governments advisory committee on sustainability, the Sustainable Development Commission recently released a report which highlights a diet with less meat as one of the main ways the general public can combat climate change. And as we commence the run up to the next general election, we’ll also be hearing lots more from all the major political parties on the issue as they promote their own sustainable food policies.

If you’re looking for new ways to reduce your carbon footprint in 2010, cutting down on meat could be one of the answers. For inspiration check out your local charity shops for veggie cookbooks and websites like Meat Free Mondays offer up handy recipes and restaurant recommendations for anyone keen to dip their toes into a veggie lifestyle.

Check out our new bling bling Magno Chutney rubbish bin which we recently found abandoned on the streets of Brick Lane. When we spotted it, the empty container was lying on the side of the road with a load of other rubbish waiting for the binmen to cart it off to landfill.

Magpie Marco was instantly drawn to the bright colours and after a quick clean up in the shower it’s now looking well smart in the kitchen.  Someone commented on Twitter when they saw the pic that perhaps the manufacturers should incorporate the dual purpose into the design which is not a bad idea, its very fit for purpose and after hunting in the shops for a suitable bin for some time now, our freebie re-used little number is a more than welcome addition to our home.

In the ongoing drive to reduce our carbon footprint here at chez ECOutlet, we recently acquired a wonderful wood burning stove. Our mission was to heat the office through the cold winter months as sustainably as possible and burning wood is a great way of achieving this goal.   Wood is a carbon neutral fuel source in that it only releases as much carbon dioxide as it absorbs when the tree is growing.  So long as we replace the fallen tree with a new sapling it’s sustainable too.

We’ve been getting our wood deliveries from Certainly Wood who source it from  sustainable, well managed British woodland and they also kiln dry their wood (to make it more efficient) using wood to power the kilns.

Choice of stove is also crucial, as the more efficient it is, the more heat you get for the smallest amount of fuel. Most of urban Britain is also a ‘smoke control area’. That means its legal only to burn wood (or smokeless fuel) in a stove that meets the requirements of the clean air act.

After a consultation and visit from the experts we opted for a Scan Anderson Multi Stove which was installed by a really nice team from Embers Fireplaces and Stoves. We’ve been saving up for this one for a while, they don’t come cheap but after a couple of months of use we’ve already seen a considerable drop in our fuel bill and the place is much warmer than the last few years even in this cold snap.

If you want to know more about Wood Burners there is a good article on the Channel Four site, the only thing it fails to mention is how lovely (and occasionally distracting) it is to have a warm, flickering fire at work.

PS That’s one of our Recycled Planters in the pic which we’ve found is the perfect vessel for storing wood and it looks really cool next to the wood burner too!

Hurray!…Our new website has just launched with lots of new features and over 100 new products!

New features on the site include Who Made Me? and Why am I eco? on the product descriptions.  The ideas was to give everyone a little more background on the people behind the products, where they are made and what makes them eco friendly.  We’ve also chosen this time to update our catalogue with loads of new products so there’s lots more choice for Christmas gifts this year.

I hope you like the new design and layout which hopefully makes browsing the site a little more pleasurable.  As always we’d love to hear any feedback so if you have any comments do let us know.
Thanks
Paul

The ECOutlet Summer Sale starts today and we have lots and lots of bargains available for anyone interested in a spot of eco shopping over the next few weeks.

Many of our best selling ranges are discounted with reductions between 10 and 40% applied to several lines so grab a bargain now while stocks last.

We’re now up and running on Twitter so if you tweet you can follow us.  I can’t promise we’ll be as informative as Mr Fry or as witty as Mr Brand but we’ll do our best to keep you up to date on all the latest going-ons here in the office.