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Our digital and real lives are so interrelated that it is sometimes easy to forget the impact the hours spent in front of our laptop have on the environment. Lucie Goulet picks 5 gadgets and online sites which will save money, energy and more importantly do their bit for the planet.

1. Aster recycled glass crockery sets

These Aster plates are available to purchase as mix and match sets. Made in Spain from 100% recycled glass and shipped to the UK to minimise carbon emissions, each plate is hand finished for a unique touch. Recycled glass never looked so good!

Prices range from £3.99 for a tapas bowl, to £11.99 for a serving plate.
Ecocentric

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20 Beautiful Eco Objects is compiled and written by Lisa Cugnetto. Production by Daniel Giralt.

1. Butterfly Throw
This is simply so pretty, we’d wrap this around us and wear it as a winter dress, if we could. It gives a whole new elegant meaning to ‘collapsing on the sofa’. The butterflies are delicate and whimsical, and bring a touch of spring to winter nights (unless, that is, you mistake them for moths) and the charcoal grey stops it from being too girly. Made from 100 per cent renewable and sustainable wool felt so it’s wonderfully soft against your skin.

Price £305

From www.oneecohome.co.uk

Next page: Keep those tootsies warm in bed

1. Bourke’s Luck from The Greenhaus
Why we like it: Its sleek lines make it the perfect choice for anyone who loves classic style teamed with eye-catching design. It’s perfect for use as a dining chair, for the office or even an extra living room seat.
Why it’s green: Bourke’s Luck is made from recycled chipboard and FSC approved wood.
Price: £295
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» Next page: Can you guess what this chair used to be?

First it was rugs, then coats and now it’s environmentally-friendly duvets on my shopping list. Anyone would think winter’s around the corner.

Yes readers, last night the pyjamas under the summer-weight duvet just weren’t enough to keep the chills away, and so it’s time (sigh) to pull out the winter duvet. Only, what’s this I see? Surely not the yellow-ish, faintly embarrassing tell-tale signs of bedding had for too many years to be healthy? Hmm. Caught out.

So, it’s off to find a new option, but what cuts it if I want to be greener? I know my way around the variety of ethical duvet covers on offer, but the thing itself? That’s a new one.

First find is this Natural Winter Duvet from Naturalhome-products.com. The idea is that you select your size, filling and cover from a range of natural, organic and chemical additive-free options.

I select a kingsize version, and am offered three alternatives of filling; organic camel hair, organic Merino lambswool and yak hair.

Organic Merino lambswool, says the guide, is cuddly soft, maintains an even temperature, absorbs moisture well and is self-cleaning. Anything that cleans itself gets my vote! It has a higher warmth rating.

Organic Camel hair down, is ‘surprisingly’ fine, soft and light and counter-balances the temperature of its surroundings to keep a good even temperature. This has the highest warmth rating.

Yak hair down, which just sounds great,  is ultra soft, supple and ‘beautifully fine’ and, being from the Himalayas, is very warm. It has a high warmth rating, but is also very light. I just love the idea that I’m sleeping under Yak. I’m normally sleeping under small cat.

The single-sized duvets also come with the option of animal hair-free raw wild silk filling (doesn’t that sound romantic?) or a cotton filling.

All covers are organic percale cotton, which is good for allergy suffers, is machine washable and releases excess heat and moisture back into the air.

I have to admit, the Yak hair kingsize duvet comes in at an eyewatering £629, which is a shock. Camel hair is £492 and Merino lambswool is £343. This is beginning to feel better.

Hmm, I wonder if I can live with those yellowy patches after all.

Natural Duvets for Winter at naturalhome-products.com

Yes, I know, re-using offcuts from Steinway pianos – inspired isn’t it?

Scrapile is the collaborative work of designers Bart Bettencourt and Carlos Salgado. Seeking to create a positive environmental impact with their work, these two have developed a unique method of collecting and repurposing discarded wood that would otherwise go to landfill to create one-of-a-kind tables, chairs, benches and lampshades.

The wood is sourced from Steinway & Sons, as well as The Guggenheim Museum and New York’s woodworking industry.

Using non-toxic water-soluble glue and masterful woodworking skills, the woods are laminated together, and then hand finished with Danish Oil to a durable and water-resistant finish. Each item is handcrafted and unique, and may contain a wide range of materials, including poplar, walnut, bamboo, plywood, yellow pine and cherry. The finished effect is simply glorious.

Excuse me while I head off to start a petition to get this stuff over here, somehow, without using airfreight. Slow boats, yes! That’s it. Right, I’m off..

Scrapile

Thirlwell makes very beautiful, simple and contemporary vessels, vases, lamps and jewellery from sustainable, home-grown timber and recycled plastics.

She uses a traditional wood-turning process to create the lovely smooth forms. And never has an old yoghurt pot looked so utterly beautiful as when it’s a curved base on a Thirlwell vase.

As I mentioned, I found Sarah Thirlwell at Origin this weekend, the modern crafts showcase at Somerset House. It was a treasure trove of amazing home style, fashion and jewellery, including ethical tweed tailoring from Eloise Lane, also worth a look.

A great option for a Christmas gift, Sarah’s work will also be on show at the Mixed Winter exhibition, New Ashgate Gallery, Surrey, from November to January 2009. If you miss that, there’ll be a solo show at Model House, Wales, in January and February 2009.

For more info, including prices, visit Sarah’s website

If it’s possible to fall in love with a piece of furniture, I think I’ve just fallen for this chest of drawers, made entirely from found pieces and other people’s waste. Ahhh (breathes big sigh) it’s so clever and interesting, and ethical. I want it. In my home. Now.

It has a name too, Vagabond.  “Vagabond originated from a series of photographs I took over a 12 month period of ‘homeless’ furniture thrown out on the streets of Edinburgh,” says designer John D. O’Leary, partner in award-winning design company BlueGreen&Co. “Amazed at the quality of such ‘rubbish’, I began to collect wood and various materials from skips and garbage bins.”

Each drawer inside is unique, hand-crafted from different reclaimed woods, including brown oak, sycamore, walnut, birch plywood, chipboard, and pine. Each door knob is also different; their patina effect juxtaposed with the high-gloss lacquer finish of the cabinet.

The idea for BlueGreen&Co. came about in January 2008 when designers Allan McIntyre and John O’Leary spoke with Furniture Plus about intercepting their waste materials to make new, ‘hybrid’ furniture.

Of the items donated to Furniture Plus each year, 12-14% is sent to landfill. By taking this waste and turning it into desirable, sustainable furniture, BlueGreen&Co. are helping to further save on landfill, contributing to the push towards a Zero Waste Scotland.

Vagabond, plus other covetable objects from BlueGreen&Co, are on show right now at Tent London, part of London Design Festival this week. Find out more here.

BlueGreen&Co