Archive | January, 2014

Choose safe cleaning products for your home

Photo: Sponges (Flickr/Horia Varlan)

A clean home feels fresh and healthy, but how healthy (and how safe) are the cleaning products that you are using? Chemicals in cleaning products can lead to health problems such as skin and eye irritation and chemical burns, headaches, asthma and other respiratory issues.

In Australia cleaning products are not required to disclose full list their ingredients on their label. While this makes choosing a safe product that is safe a bit more challenging, the following tips and guides can help you make more informed decisions. Continue Reading →

Ethical banking: answering your questions

Over the last few months, a number of you, our readers, have contacted us with questions about how to find an ethical bank.

As those readers no doubt know, the way you invest your money is one of the most powerful tools you have to promote your ethical values. As argued by Sam Mostyn at the Otter event It’s up to us:

an active decision as an investor to send a message to companies that are investing billions and trillions of dollars in the economy, that we would prefer that money to be spent in a more ethical and sustainable manner. Continue Reading →

Bees: looking beyond the sting

Photo: bee at flowering gum (Flickr/ Richard Taylor)

Let’s play a little word association game. When I say ‘bee’, what comes to mind? Bee stings? Pain? Do you cringe at the thought? You certainly aren’t alone – many people fear these little critters and their infamous stingers. Honeybees carry an incredibly negative rep – the issue is that most people don’t realise how crucial they are to our health and environment. It’s about time we set that reputation straight. Continue Reading →

Delicious ways to veg-up your barbie

Your guide to putting more veggies on the barbecue

Nothing beats having a few friends around in the backyard for a sausage sizzle in the summer. Barbecue season also represents a great opportunity to try out some new summer recipes, and whether you’re catering for vegetarian guests or not, now is a great time to add some veggie options to your barbecue arsenal. Continue Reading →

Nice bling! Feel good with fair and sustainable jewellery

Photo: Diamonds (Flickr/Kim Alaniz)

You’ve probably heard about blood diamonds–whether it be from the sparkling light cast on the issue in the 2006 movie Blood Diamond starring Leonardo di Caprio, or from the media attention that followed. But are diamonds the only minerals which use unethical practices in their sourcing and manufacture? And how do we go about finding fair and sustainable alternatives? A little research with some simple principles in mind can help you find a lasting piece that will make you feel good inside and out.

Continue Reading →

Three step guide: save money and save carbon on your food consumption

When it comes to personal action to reduce global warming, we can’t avoid looking at our food consumption. There’s a lot of advice around about reducing energy use, and that makes sense as there’s ongoing potential for energy efficiency improvements to save money as well as reduce our contribution to climate change.

But our consumption of food is an equally significant part of our carbon footprint. The production and distribution of food is a huge source of carbon emissions; it’s also an easy area to take action. This infographic from UK site Shrink That Footprint gives the top three actions individual can take. Continue Reading →

Veggie BBQ ideas, just in time for the Australia Day long weekend!

Photo: Junior Farmers Picnic at Mount Morgan, circa 1958 (State Library of Queensland).

The Australia Day long weekend is right around the corner, and for many of us, that means one thing – summer barbecue time! Nothing beats having a few friends around in the backyard for a sausage sizzle on a hot weekend. Barbecue season also represents a great opportunity to try out some new summer recipes, and whether you’re catering for vegetarian guests or not, now is a great time to add some veggie options to your barbecue arsenal.

Continue Reading →

Swim safe this summer: pool maintenance guides

Keep your pool (and kids) safe and clean this pool party season with these three guides that cover home pool maintenance and pool chemical use.

1. Royal Life Saving Australia have developed this checklist on keeping your home pool safe for your family.

2. Make sure your pool is healthy and clean with Public Health WA’s
pool and spa guide.

3. Read up on Choice’s pool maintenance tips for ideas on cleaning and heating your pool, and which chemicals to use.

Continue Reading →

Fix it! Where and how to repair your bike locally

Photo: bike (gratisography)

Got a bike that needs a quick fix? Here’s a few places you can go to fix it yourself or get it fixed cheaply and responsibly. If you are looking for a place to drop off an old bike you no longer want, check out these suggestions by Continue Reading →

Cooperatives – what are they and how are they useful?

By Celine Massa

You might be surprised to learn that there are more than one billion people around the world who are part of some sort of cooperative(1). Eight in every ten Australians are members of a cooperative or mutually-owned enterprise. Think of roadside assistance such as NRMA, member-owned superannuation funds, mutually-owned banks such as Bank MECU or consumer cooperatives such as the Co-op Bookshop.

Are you one of the eight in ten? What does being part of a cooperative mean? And how can you use your membership of a cooperative to make change? Continue Reading →

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