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.

Now in its third year, UK Aware has become the must visit event for anyone seeking out new ways to lead a green and ethical lifestyle.  This year the event takes place on Friday 16^th and Saturday 17^th of April at Londons Olympia Two with over 15,000 green-minded folk anticipated to attend.

I think we cover a lot of bases here at ECOutlet when it comes to ideas for a greener lifestyle but I’ll hold my hands up and admit that UK Aware does pack them in and on both occasions in the last two years were I’ve gone along I was really impressed with the range of exhibitors and the number of events taking place over the day.  You can easily spend several hours at the event taking in a couple of guest speakers, browsing the exhibitors and learning more about home renewable technologies.

Visitors to the event this year can expect to see over 50 guest speakers, hundreds of eco exhibitors, a massive clothes swap, GreenTech zone as well as a kids interactive area.

Tickets for the event will be £15 on the door but ECOutlet have managed to secure some reduced price £6 tickets for any of our customers looking to pop along. To obtain your discounted £6 tickets simply click through the link below.

Get UK Aware tickets for £6

Being fans of all things second hand and vintage we did ponder initially on searching Freecycle or Ebay for a cheaper, older model but soon came to the conclusion that a new energy efficient machine was the wisest long-term move in terms of saving energy and money.

Having gone on about Sust-it on here before and to friends over the years, this was the first time I personally had the opportunity to use the site for advice on making a purchase.  The conclusion?? Fantastic, Sust-it is in my opinion, a highly useful resource for anyone looking at electrical purchases.

465 washing machines are in the database and all are ranked in terms of their energy efficiency.  Best available prices are listed on everything also so you can match your budget to the most energy efficient model.

To be honest, having not made a major new electrical purchase in several years we were a little worried our cash-strapped January budget wouldn’t stretch to a very efficient model but after browsing the site for a while we opted for the BEKO WM7335 which is ranked 5^th out of 465 in terms of annual running costs.

Sust-it gave us a full comparison of the environmental and financial running costs – litres of water used, power used, annual CO₂ emissions and running costs per year.  The BEKO WM7355 has annual CO₂ emissions of 103.01 kg based on 250 cycles.  The old machine (which was very old indeed) was taken away for recycling and was a Hoover model not listed on Sust-it.   The best performing Hoover washing machine on there emits 120.18 kg CO₂ a year so at a rough estimate we’re at least 15% more efficient at washing clothes than we were last year.

Gone but not forgotten – before waving him off to recycling heaven, we also managed to do a spot of recycling ourselves and transformed the old glass door into a handy bowl for all that fruit we’ve resolved to eat in 2010.

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!

If you fancy giving your loved one a treat on Valentines Day, check out our top ideas for eco friendly gifts this year from ECOutlet.

1. Instead of buying flowers flown in from halfway across the planet – how about something different this year like a packet of your lovers favourite flower seeds to plant in the garden.  No air miles and they can enjoy them for weeks rather than days.  The perfect accompaniment of course would be a lovely recycled Champagne Bottle Vase so they can enjoy displaying their favourite home-grown flowers throughout the summer.
2. If you’re planning a cosy meal in with a bottle of wine on Valentines night then our Green Wine Glasses and Clear Wine Glasses could be the perfect pressie to whip out at the start of the evening.
3. Boys can be a little difficult to buy for sometimes but chances are they might like the odd beer every now and then served up in one of our Sol Bottle Glasses or Corona Beer Bottle Glasses.
4. Is your loved one a grumpy Valentine without their coffee fix?  The Presso Coffee Maker is super stylish, easy to use, makes great coffee and will put a smile on the face of caffeine addicts all year round.
5. Set the scene on Valentines evening with some ambient eco friendly lighting.  Our candles range includes Soy Tea Lights, Soy Candles in recycled glass containers and some rather butch Man Candles.
6. Bath and bodycare treats always go down well as gifts so if a little “me” time is something your Valentine might enjoy, the Sweet Geranium Luxury Gift Set is an organic pampering treat they’ll love.
7. Has your man let himself go lately and looks more hairy biker than Greek God? Perhaps some grooming products might be in order this Valentines.  The Groom Mate Ear and Nose Hair Trimmer and Men-U Premier Shaving Brush will gently prune the smooth operator back to life.
8. This one is for snuggling up together with during those wintery February nights – hot water bottle covers made from organic merino wool…hmmm toasty!
9. If a bit of bling is in order, make sure its ethical bling.  Our Ethical Jewellery section has lots of pieces to choose but we especially love the classic style of the Silver Stripe Earrings and Silver Stripe Pendant.
10. Finally, what about a gift that will last for years and years to come.  Planting a Wild Cherry Tree for your loved one on Valentines Day means they can enjoy a lifetime of one of the prettiest UK trees.

Wheatgrass juice anyone? If youre detoxing in 2010 or just looking to be a little healthier then this one might be for you – the Easy Health Seed Sprouter, one of the latest additions to the shop here at ECOutlet.

This manual seed sprouter is used to grow wheatgrass and sprouts on windowsills, kitchen tops or anywhere with indirect light.  It packs in two trays for growing barley and wheatgrass and two separate sprouting trays divided into four segments so you can grow up to eight different varieties of sprouts including alfalfa, mung bean, beetroot, cabbage, fennel or sunflower.

We like the idea of helping people to grow more of their own produce at home – you know exactly what goes into it and it helps to avoid all the packaging and transport miles associated with supermarket purchases.  It’s generally cheaper too – for the cost of a shot of wheatgrass juice in your local juice bar you can grow enough sprouts and wheatgrass to last a week with this device.

Sprouted seeds are highly nutritious and can be eaten with salads, sandwiches or as an accompaniment to other meals whilst wheatgrass has been praised for its numerous health benefits due to a seriously high chlorophyll content.  Chlorophyll oxygenates the blood and organ tissue, impedes the growth of harmful bacteria in the digestive tract, neutralises toxins and helps purify the liver.  Regular intake of wheatgrass is said to improve blood sugar disorders and digestion and reduces blood pressure.

Wheatgrass juice is generally taken in small shots but not all juicers are suitable for making it.  The Easy Health Manual Wheatgrass Juicer is however perfect for the task as it cold presses the wheatgrass which helps preserves all the natural nutrients.  It does’nt just do wheatgrass, if you’re tastes are more traditional you can still get healthy with some homemade orange, lemon, grapefruit, carrot or apple drinks.

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!