Fine distillers in Cognac, France have combine their expertise with exclusively produced fair trade ingredients from independent producers across the Andes of Bolivia. One such example is the FAIR VODKA made with quinoa, the humble grain that also happens to be a superfood and is full of phytonutrients and antioxidants that is also good for balancing your blood sugar level.

The other flavour is FAIR GOJI, the first ever liqueur made from the sacred goji berry, which tastes a little like cranberry, cherry and plum and comes from the remote, pure valley of the Himalayas

I’m not usually a fan of the flavour of goji berries, making a point of picking it out of my breakfast muesli, and so I approached FAIR GOJI from a somewhat dubious perspective.

I must admit, after a taste of this liquer on the rocks, I quite quickly changed my mind and has become my drink of the season! On its own its a very sweet drink and reminds me of children’s flavoured medicine, which I used to quite enjoy!

My friends who tried it however weren’t as keen, put off by its aroma.
What this liquer really benefits from is some mix and shake action, and so it was cocktail hour and some experimentation that the drink came truly alive.

It became a real fruity, fun and feminine drink for all when added to my favourite cocktail, the mojito. To create, add two cl of FAIR GOJI to 6 cl of rum (we recommend Utkins Fairtrade Organic White Rum from Paraguay), mint leaves, sparkling water and two tablespoons of sugar.

You may also enjoy the drink as a “Gojipolitan”, made with vodka and cranberry juice. Or add a few drops to some quality organic champagne for the perfect aperitif on the patio?

Verdict? Quite the therapeutic alcoholic drink for a hot day. If you’re looking for simplicity, go for the quinoa vodka. If you’re feeling adventurous, try the goji berry vodka as a cocktail (there are more recipes on the FAIR site) and you’re bound to feel pleased.

Available from Harvey Nichols and Selfridges in London, with further stockist details across Europe on the FAIR site.

Taking place from 5th – 6th March at George Bernard Shaw Theatre, the film festival will host a fabulous selection of independent documentaries and short films that have a social and global cause at their core.

Merging art and activism, honoree Daryl Hannah loves the festival, as does singer Avril Lavigne and actress Patricia Arquette, so why not head there too?!

Diaky Diaz, Artivist Founder-President says: “We are really excited to be bringing the Artivist Film Festival to London. Raising awareness for the interdependence between Humanity, Animals, and the Environment is the true mission of Artivist. Filmmakers, celebrities and NGOs from around the world can gather to celebrate advocate artists that inspire positive actions in our global community.”

The opening showcase is Children of War, a critically acclaimed, award-winning documentary set in Uganda that outlines the daily struggle of escaped child soliders of the Lord’s Resistance Army.

Many films that have premiered at Artivist have gone on to great acclaim, including Academy Award winner Born Into Brothels, Academy Award Nominees Super-Size Me and God Sleeps in Rwanda, and the Los Angeles Premieres of Fast Food Nation, Emmanuelle’s Gift, Stolen Childhoods, Zeitgeist, Zeitgest Addendum and Trudell.

Artivist Film Festival has been running for six years now and has showcased over 400 films representing 45 countries through festivals in LA, Tokyo, Lisbon, Mexico City and the UK’s own capital. It’s received warm reception from Claes Nobel of the Nobel Prize family, Amnesty International, and the United Nations Department of Public Information.

Tickets are £8/£3 and can be bought from Keithprowse.com (search Artivist) or on 0844 209 1663.
Further information of this year’s listed films available at Artivist.org

We love the Godfather of Pop Art and we love Green & Black’s chocolate. So we got very excited to hear about a new gallery competition that combines the two and allows you to win 700 bars – yes 700 – of the gorgeous choc! Jen Marsden writes.

Sir Peter Blake is renowned for his iconic cover for The Beatles album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. But his most recent venture includes creating gorgeous pop art out of 700 bars of Green & Black’s most colourful and new packaging, which you can buy to decorate your own walls with to make a very cool eco statement at the dedicated Art of Green & Blacks website.

Following in Sir Peter’s footsteps, organic choccie lovers everywhere have been invited to join in the fun of creating a similar gallery exhibit. Each flavoured chocolate bar becomes a paintbrush colour that you can mess around with on a blank digital canvas.

At Greenmystyle.com we’ve already had fun making our own artistic creations: we’re not ashamed to state that the  piece entitled “Munch Monster” is ours.

Now it’s your turn. And, if you are the lucky person to be selected by a public voting system in the gallery, you could win a real life 700 bar version of it for yourself!

You can visit Sir Peter’s work -  (chocol’)art  – from 26th-29th November at the Art Barter exhibition at trendy East London’s The Rag Factory .

Alexandra Bishop from ethical interiors online boutique Biome Lifestyle chats to Clare Saxon about lentil lamps, being a reformed banker and the horrors of flat pack furniture.

So Alexandra, is your home full of your gorgeous Biome Lifestyle products?
Yes!! I have slowed down a bit recently as our flat was becoming filled with vases! I tend to order samples from designers and co-operatives and bring them home to test out first. Our kitchen cupboard is also filled with recycled glass plates, glassware and bamboo salad bowls!

Do you only choose eco furniture for your home?
 I love vintage furniture as it has so much character and individuality. If we are not buying vintage then I always check to see if the wood is FSC sourced.  I am yet to find an eco sofa though, so we decided to buy a good quality brand that we knew we would have for many years to come and that we can change the cover and colour very easily.

My ‘pet hate’ is badly made, flat pack furniture!! We have all owned it as students, but now as I grow older I appreciate well designed, good quality pieces that will last many years to come and not be another throw away item added to the local rubbish heap.

What is your absolute favourite room in your house and why is that?
It is probably our kitchen/living room as that’s why we spend most of our time. My husband and I enjoy cooking together, so we usually cook each night after work and talk through our days. Our flat has lots of natural light, so it’s lovely in there throughout the day.

What is your favourite item in your house?
My favourite item from Biome Lifestyle is the Lentil Lamp. It sits on our fireplace and when it’s turned on during an evening, it gives off a beautiful warmly lit light. Everyone who comes to our house always comments on it.

My other favourite item is another lamp! We have a Sixties arco floor lamp that we bought from Spittalfields Market. Biome Lifestyle had a stall at Spittalfields when we first launched and on my break I used to love looking through a great vintage shop there. I kept my eye on this lamp as I just loved the classic design and finally one day we decided to buy it.

What other designers or stores do you like?
For fashion, I love Stella McCartney and wish I could afford to dress in her clothes everyday! When flicking through magazines I always seem to be drawn to her designs and obviously the fact that everything is ethically sourced in her range too, makes it all the more desirable!

My favourite store in London though has to be Libertys. I love the beautiful old building and it is always such a lovely shopping experience in there.

What were you up to before Biome Lifestyle?
Whilst studying Geography at Manchester University I worked at UBS Investment bank where I continued to work after my degree.  But deep down I knew this wouldn’t be my long-term plan.

Who would have thought  banking came before ethical interiors! What caused you to start up Biome Lifestyle after that?
The inspiration for Biome Lifestyle grew when my friends and I started on the property ladder.  I started to take note of where and how furnishings were made.  Somehow it seemed wrong to reap the planet of its precious resources simply for a beautiful table, but, at the same time, I didn’t want to sacrifice my stylish ideals for the more unattractive eco alternatives.

This is when I started to notice that there really were few stylish choices for conscientious consumers, either on the high street or at trade fairs.  So the hunt for beautiful yet environmentally friendly products began.

How did you get the ball rolling?

At the beginning of 2005, I finally followed my dream and after searching the web for inspiration, visiting trade shows and talking to designers, I found I soon had a range of fantastic products to offer like-minded consumers.  Biome Lifestyle was then launched as a desirable compromise for those who want to live in a stylish home whilst minimising their impact on the environment.

Where did the lovely name come from?
A biome is a ‘natural habitat’ (pronounced ‘by-ohm’). As Biome Lifestyle provides natural products for the home, the name Biome Lifestyle was created.

I like it. Who would you say buys from Biome Lifestyle?
Biome Lifestyle appears to attract customers who are interested in creating a home with a unique identity. I feel our customers appreciate that our products are carefully handmade and not mass-produced, so they know that they are unlikely to walk into their friends home and see the exact same item!

As many of our products are well designed, I do not feel that all of our customers have environmental and ethical credentials at the top of their shopping lists.  Whilst they appreciate the product story and transparency of the product chain, they see these factors more as an ‘added bonus’.  However, anybody could be a Biome Lifestyle customer and we hope that one day, everyone will be!!

Speaking of these ‘added bonuses’, how  do you track how ethical the beautiful products are?
We have a checklist of questions that we ask ourselves when we are looking for new products. We start, of course, with the basic issue of whether our customers will like the ‘look’ of the item. But then we get down to the ethics of the story behind the product.

We look at the impact of its production and sale, to see if it damages the environment in any way, either by its use of local resources, or by the way it’s transported. We like the use of recycled materials, and the production of recyclable products. Sustainable sources of raw materials are important, as are properly managed forests. And transport to the UK by ship would always be preferred to airfreight.

We look at who makes the product, and how they are organised. We won’t sell products if we don’t know the full story. We tend to favour co-operative or family unit production, because we feel that this reduces the probability of unfair exploitation. If we are thinking of sourcing from a company, we investigate their policies on pay rates, opportunities for training, and the position of the company in its local community.

To encourage British design and keep transport emissions to a minimum, many of Biome Lifestyle’s products are UK-sourced.  However, many products cannot be made in the UK, so we also work with a number of small and wonderful co-operatives in Nepal, Vietnam and India. When working with these groups we follow many guidelines to ensure all products are made under fair terms, offering fair rates of pay and good working conditions to its employees.

Sounds like you have everything covered, but what is most important factor to you in the business?
I think there are two important aspects in the business – products and customers. I love finding new items to stock and also working with co-operatives to develop new product ideas. Many of the co-operatives who I work closely with are thrilled when a new order sheet is sent through to them because they know that the people working with them will all benefit. Everyone in the process has such pride in their products and are happy to know that other people love their products as much as they do!

However, as clichéd as it sounds, customer satisfaction is vitally important to me. There is nothing that brightens up my day more than speaking to or hearing from another satisfied customer who loves the site, their new product or the service received. Without these customers, we wouldn’t have a business, so they always have to remain a priority.

What do you have planned for the future?
On a personal level we will have a new addition to the family in the form of an eight week old chocolate Labrador puppy! But in terms of the business, we aim to grow as much as possible in the next few years. We have also recently had a lot of interest from stores (large and small) wanting to stock our range so this is an area I am working on at the moment so hopefully in the not so distant future you will find Biome Lifestyle products in a store near you!

And lastly, you’ve probably seen our fantastic ’20 Beautiful Eco Objects’ story. If you had to choose the most beautiful green item what would it be?

Something special that springs to mind is a former water mill which was being converted near my parents old house (actually by someone from the band, The Who!).  It was many years ago and the water wheel was 100s of years old and was being restored to it’s ‘formed glory’ and would have been a centre piece in the house. The wheel was then going to be used to generate all of the house’s electricity which I thought was brilliant, reusing something that is 100s of years old and the wheel itself was quite spectacular, and I thought an object of beauty.  It was one of the first ‘eco homes’ I had ever seen and I found it really inspiring.

Biome Lifestyle have just launched a new range of adorably simple children’s bedroom accessories. Take a look at them on Biome Lifestyle here.

Feeling the pinch? Here are our top ten home buys for under a fiver.

Get expert interiors inspiration. Meet the designers: Oliver Heath and Ryan Frank.

Top ten fair trade furniture for your home.

Our eco agony: “Food gets thrown away a lot in my house, and not because we’re always on a diet! Are there any easy ways of turning this into compost instead?”

Ben says: You can turn anything into compost that is organic. The problem we have is that we are in central London so although we have a few pots on the balcony I am not sure we could get through enough compost.  The best thing for food leftovers is using them again.  I appreciate that this can’t be held true of all leftovers but so many can be wonderful either heated up or cold the next day, made into soups even or of course Bubble & Squeak.

Our eco agony: “I need to use nappies for my baby, but disposable ones can’t be good for the environment. Are there any eco-friendly nappies besides washable ones?”

Ben says: Did you know that the UK adds three billion nappies to landfill each year?  It is a number I can barely comprehend – to break it down, every child uses approx 6,000 nappies by the time they are two-years-old.

The two choices we face are disposables and the cloth nappies.  Cloth nappies are much better as they don’t end up in landfill, but they have added cost both to you and to the environment in the amount of washing  they need.

There are more eco-friendly disposable nappies on the market that don’t use harmful chemicals such as chlorine  and are made from a high content of bio-degradable material.  As a new father myself  I have decided to chose the more eco-friendly disposables such as the Moltex nappies which I have found to be superb, and because they don’t contain chlorine they are far kinder on sensitive skin.  At the end of the day though you should chose whichever best suits your little one!

There are recycling plants in the pipeline that will recycle disposables which I think is a great idea, although it needs to be nationwide to make real inroads into the nappy landfill problem.

EXCLUSIVE OFFER: Get 15% off all Method purchases at BigGreenSmile.com until September 5. Offer code: BigGreenOffer15

Our eco agony: “I used to use bug spray repellent in the summer to protect from mosquitoes, but it can’t be good for the environment. I’m off on hols again soon. Is there a natural alternative to seeing off the little critters?”

Ben says: When I was on my travels in South America and Africa I used the Jungle stuff in the green bottle and had those plug-in things for the hostel, neither of which was particularly environmentally-aware I know!  The repellents I used all contained a substance called DEET which was for years the only known substance to repel mosquitoes, which it does by blocking receptors that detect human sweat. It’s also able to dissolve plastics!

Although there is nothing conclusive on the human side-effects of DEET, it has been known to cross the placenta if you are pregnant.

There are natural mosquito formulations on the market now that use natural citronella which  shield the mosquito-friendly smells from your body (kairomones), deterring the pesky creatures.

Our eco agony: “My friend uses natural toothpaste and mouthwashes that are alcohol-free, but do they really keep your mouth as fresh? Tell the truth please – I’m online dating right now!”

Ben says: We sell quite a range of natural toothpastes and mouthwashes and so I have tried a lot of these and most are approved by either the British or the American Dental Associations, so have been scientifically proven to work.

Some, I have to be honest, I didn’t get on too well with; there are some interesting flavours out there!

Natural toothpastes use substances that have been used for centuries such as Propolis which helps guard against oral diseases.  The big benefit to me of the natural toothpastes are that they avoid artificial colourings and flavours.

Our eco agony: “I use my laptop all day (Greenmystyle.com, Facebook and shopping mostly) so I have it on charge most of the time. I must use a lot of electricity, so is there an eco-friendly alternative?”

Ben says: You can get solar chargers for laptops which are great if you are out and about but not as practical if you are in the home or office.

I would say just charge your laptop when it needs it, this helps prolong battery life as well, and when you are not using it turn it off.  It may seem like a very small change and one which will not make a big difference. You would hardly notice it on your electricity bill.  But start thinking of it in terms of savings over a year and the collective benefit of everyone turning their laptops off when they weren’t using them. All of a sudden those small changes have made a big difference. 

Our eco agony: “My bamboo towels were pristine until my boyfriend got his mitts on them. What could I use instead of bleach to get rid of tough stains, but which is less harmful to the environment?”

Ben says: There are lots of products out there but we use the Ecover Laundry Bleach which seems to work a treat.

EXCLUSIVE OFFER: Get 15% off all Method purchases at BigGreenSmile.com until September 5. Offer code: BigGreenOffer15

1. What is organic?

Put simply, organic cotton is grown without chemicals, from plants which are not genetically modified, so is kinder to your skin and kinder to the environment. What’s not to like? This pretty lace edged 100% organic cotton percale bedlinen from natural collection goes straight to the top of the class when it comes to organic goodness. Not only does it have a minimum 220 thread count but it’s also organically bleached to achieve the crisp white colour. As if that wasn’t enough, the cotton is from the Green India Organic Project, set up to help the farmers of the region come together under one umbrella to grow cotton organically for a fair price.

Next page: It’s your turn to do the dishes

Annie writes: Saving the world needn’t cost a fortune. Check out these great value eco buys – all under £5 – and do your bit for the environment. Every little helps… so hop to it.

1. Bowled over by recycling

The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can power a computer for 20 minutes, or a 100 watt light bulb for almost an hour. So, it makes sense to get your head round recycled glass. Ecocentric sell affordable and stylish crockery. Their recycled glass tapas bowls, £3.99, available in many chic colours, are ideal for olives, nuts and sauces.

Keep clicking to see the rest of the top 10 under £5 home products.

Inspired by the heaps of discarded furniture on the streets of London, Ryan Frank mixes urban attitude with green interiors. Olivia Wood from mydeco chats to Ryan Frank about saving cash, ‘free-range furniture’ and finding glorious things in skips.

Olivia writes: In these belt-tightening times, we could all use some tips for cheap redecorating. Well, I’ve spoken to the man in the know. This is beyond re-upholstering furniture or buying second-hand however; this guy did it all for free!

Eco furniture designer Ryan Frank decorated his entire East London flat on a zero budget –using things he found in skips or discarded on the street. Not only using sustainable materials in his award-winning designs, Ryan adopts this recycling aesthetic in his everyday life. The streets of Hackney are his inspiration and his resource: a treasure trove of objects waiting to be reclaimed and given new life.

An artist of improvisation, Ryan created lights out of bollards and an old traffic light, a coffee table out of two wooden pallets glued together, and his bed out of old doors. This might look ridiculous in most of our homes, but I imagine that Ryan pulls off this laid-back look, which fits his fashion style and personality to the T.

His favourite piece of furniture is an old wooden school desk, one “with the lids that flip up”, which he uses as his bedside table. “It was totally covered in student graff like ‘I love Susan’ and ‘maths sucks’” he laughs. “It has a history and character, something you can’t buy – that’s really special.”

Ryan’s decorating ethos mirrors the inspiration for one of most acclaimed designs, the Hackney Shelf. Inspired by graffiti on the East London streets, Ryan left out some white wooden boards in his neighbourhood and waited. Days later he collected his ‘blank canvases’, which now bore the graphics of local graffiti artists, and used these to make funky shelving units – all one of a kinds of course. You could call it street art, you could call it salvaged art; he calls it ‘free-range furniture’.

Free range means his designs use sustainable materials and production methods – coat hangers made out of old newspapers and chairs crafted from redundant office furniture. And unlike many designers, Ryan has no desire to be elitist: “Eco should be widespread for everyone to benefit from” he says.

“I love the idea of not buying brand new stuff. One, because I love old stuff; two, because you don’t spend money; and three, because the style you end up with is your own.”

For Ryan Frank the mantra ‘practice what you preach’ certainly rings true.

Ryan Frank

Give me more of this please:

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Being short on cash can often mean that the luxuries of new clothes and decor must be forgotten. Not so if you have a nifty hand and a stylish eye. Anna Chambers from mydeco.com cuts shapes on the cutting edge craft trends and gives us some tips on recession busting DIY.

Anna writes: It’s no coincidence that craft is seriously cool right now. After all, necessity is the mother of invention. As old-fashioned scrimping makes a comeback, it’s time to get crafty.

1. A stitch in time…

‘Traditionally, craft was a nesting pastime, as housewives would make do and mend,’ says Danielle Proud, author of House Proud: Hip craft for the modern homemaker. ‘Now, it’s an expression of creativity. And your gran would fall off her rocking chair if she saw how we’re sticking two fingers up at how it used to be done.’ Craft isn’t just about saving pennies. It’s about creating something unique. A slick sewing machine is your secret to success.

Next page: Stitch and bitch your way to a new home and wardobe

© emmalovesretro

Cushions made from old dresses and curtains make for a stylish way to be eco in the home. emmalovesretro rocks striking psychedelic pinks with gorgeous 60s prints and she does it all from recycled materials. We love Emma as much as Emma loves retro! Emma Glibbery chats to Malaika Byng Features Writer of mydeco.com about £2 jeans, vintage Dior and childhood nostalgia.

As a child… my mother always encouraged me to be creative. Our house was full of things she’d made and the sewing machine was constantly humming.

I first began… working with fabrics during college. I would buy clothes from charity shops and embellish them with other finds. It was a way to express myself.

My label kicked off… when I rescued my parent’s old 70s curtains which were about to bite the dust. I made blinds and cushions for my new flat and things led on from there.

emmalovesretro because… of its graphic quality, amazing patterns and colours. I like to let my fabrics speak for themselves. There’s also a nostalgic element to it – my flat is a kind of replica of my childhood home. My mother says to me ‘it’s like being in my old house!’

I make retro fabrics contemporary… by backing the cushions with modern fabric. It gives my designs a clean, crisp look.

I’m obsessed with… recycling. I love giving new life to something that’s old. I’ve always had boxes of fabric scraps at home. I try to avoid buying anything new, where possible, and all my publicity material for emmalovesretro is printed on recycled paper with environmentally friendly inks.

The design industry could clean up its act by… creating things with longevity – products that won’t be in landfill sites a few months later. I would like to see more of a ‘make do and mend’ mentality.

My dress sense is… very eclectic and individual. I hate chucking clothes away and I think that being a slave to fashion creates great waste so I prefer to keep on trend by accessorising. My proudest purchase of late is a pair of high–wasted jeans – £2 from a charity shop!

My favourite fashion labels… are vintage Dior and Yves Saint Laurent. I love the elegance of their 40s and 50s collections, which were very considered, investment pieces. I also like the current collections of Roberto Cavalli and Stella McCartney for their femininity.

Fashion translates well to interiors… because the two have a symbiotic relationship. They look to the same things for inspiration and trends are based on fabric, pattern and colour. You can change your home’s style with accessories just like you can your clothes.

I love the Missoni Home collections… because of their bold colours and stunning graphic stripes.

In the future… you can expect a wider range of products from emmalovesretro. I want to offer a bespoke blind–making and upholstery service.

Cushions are around £45 at emmalovesretro.co.uk