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 .

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.

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Alex: I love a hot, lazy bath but know it’s not very eco friendly. Do I really have to give them up?

Ben: If you have a power shower and spend more than eight minutes in it there’s a high possibility you will be using more water than having a bath anyway.
That’s not to say that baths do not use an incredible amount of water though. You can save a lot of money on your water bill by using an aerated shower head which mixes the water with air so the jet feels just as powerful but actually uses up to a third less water. Sometimes though a bath is just what is needed so my advice would be to try and take them less often and if you are feeling fruity then share a bath, at least then you are halving the water used and lets face it, it’s far more fun!

Alex: Cheeky! I like it . So, Ben, my friend has those ecoball washing machine ball thingies. If I’m going to give up my lovely smelling washing liquids for those, I need to know they’ll really work. Do they?

Ben: Absolutely they work.  They work by increasing the alkaline content of the water in the same way that washing powders and detergents do.  Because they don’t need temperature to activate any enzymes and because there is no powder build up to wash away you can both wash at lower temperatures and reduce your rinse cycle, which saves both water, energy and you cash. We sell a wide range including Ecoballs®

Next page: You’re not telling me I have to give up my hairdryer!

Well, it seems the answer is yes, which is great news. Wallpaper is still enjoying somewhat of a revival, particularly the all-four-walls theme, but here at greenmystyle we’ve been a little concerned about whether it’s possible to do wallpaper and be green at the same time. But green wallpaper is alive and well, and available at online eco style store EcoCentric.

Perfect for a feature wall, ‘Pavilion Birds’ eco wallpaper, pictured here, is printed in the UK on chlorine-free paper sourced from managed forests. The inks are water-based with no use of hazardous solvents. And any waste from edge trimmings is recycled.

This exclusive design, inspired by the decorative Brighton Pavilion, is printed onto high-grade paper, and hand finished. The design is a printed montage of hand-painted birds and photographic elements of flowers and butterflies. Each of the leaves are individually hand-coloured.

Pavilion Birds Wallpaper is £75 for a 10-metre roll. To see EcoCentric’s full range of eco wallpapers click here.

If you know of other eco wallpaper ranges, please leave a comment.

TV architect and designer Oliver Heath, founder of our favourite home style boutique EcoCentric and author of new design manual ‘Urban Eco Chic’, spared us half an hour this week to chat eco home tips, address book secrets and what he’s buying his wife for Christmas. Ladies, you’ll wish he was yours.

What eco object couldn’t you live without?
Oliver: My bicycle – it’s perfect for flying around town on and avoiding the traffic. At weekends I put my 2-year-old daughter into the backseat and we cycle off along the seafront to the swimming pool – ringing the bell all the way!

What’s your top tip for stylish urban women who want to green up their homes but aren’t sure where to start?
Oliver: Snuggle up this winter with cushions made out of old woollen jumpers. It’s an easy and satisfying home project and with the addition of a few vintage buttons, or coloured ribbon, you can make really beautiful cushions that fit your home and your taste; a truly crafty bit of recycling!

Next page – Oliver’s treasured eco posessions and vintage style secret

OWL Wireless Energy Monitor

Here’s one expert tip for monitoring your energy use following this year’s astronimical energy price rises.

Are you one of the millions of British Gas customers waking up depressed  this morning? Are you wondering how you’re going to manage when your gas bills go up 35% and electricity bills up 9% as reported yesterday.

One positive step to take is to get an energy monitor for your home. Greenmystyle likes this OWL Wireless Energy Monitor by 2Save Energy. The OWL monitor will tell you how much electricity you’re using as well as how much harmful CO2 your electricity usage is contributing to the environment – take it from me, you’ll probably never switch those GHD hair straighteners on again! The absence of wires and fuss keeps it neat, tidy and relatively stylish.

It’s currently discounted at ethicalsuperstore.com, priced £34.95 down from £49.95. Check out the reviews too – apparently, it’s really easy to set up, always a bonus.

Find out more about OWL here
British Gas raises energy bills, BBC News