Conscious Consumers

This is a nice little initiative by the non-profit 42 Collective:

Conscious Consumers

It's a Wellington-based project to award cute badges to cafes that follow "sustainability" practices (fair trade, composting, organic, seasonal produce, recycling, allowing BYO cups, eco-friendly cleaners, free-range eggs, compostable packaging).

It's worth checking out the details of the badges on the website - requirements for earning some of them are pretty mild (for example, to qualify for the "seasonal produce" badge, only three dishes on the menu need to use entirely seasonal produce).

Cafes do get charged to belong, which might explain obvious omissions such as People's Coffee (who obviously could qualify for the Fair Trade badge). Badges are awarded mainly based on the declarations of the cafes, although 42 Collective "reserve the right to audit".

I've yet to spot the badges in cafe windows, but the website is handy for finding which cafes belong.

I'll definitely be more likely to go to Meow for my cafe treats - the closest cafe that promises to use organic milk!


Update Nov 2010:
Conscious Consumers is growing - People's Coffee have joined up and the website has about 20 cafes in total now. It's tipped to spread to Auckland soon!

But what can I do?

Sometimes I find all the bad news about the state of the planet overwhelming and start to think "But what can I do?"

In these moments I often find myself turning to a touchstone - a list of actions put together by Jared Diamond in Collapse.(It's buried back in the "Further Reading" section, pp. 555-560.)

He says there are half a dozen things every individual can usefully do:

1. Vote (and let your elected representative know your views).

2. Reconsider what you do and don't buy.

3. Draw public attention to the policies and actions of companies (he recommends praising the good as well as condemning the bad). He also points out that it's more effective to target retailers and brands that sell to the public, because they are the most sensitive to consumer pressure.

4. Talk to others who vote and buy.

5. Be involved in work to improve your local environment.

6. Donate money to environmental organisations.

I think it's a good list.

Where are your undies made?

I've been wanting to write a post on Made-in-NZ knickers for ages.

I've hunted down three brands:

Munro


Munro have the craziest website ever (yet kind of brilliant in its simplicity): http://www.munroclothing.com/

But I'm pretty sure they must be the same knickers described on the Greenlist as made in NZ out of fabric offcuts: http://www.greenlist.co.nz/Sustainable/Eco-Friendly/656/Underwear--Made-In-NZ-From-Fabric-Offcuts.aspx

Munro now has a shop on Cuba St, and is no longer selling them through Good Score in Island Bay.

Verdict:
Cute, bright, comfy, a bit more sexy than Fanny Adams.
$25

Thunderpants



Then there are Thunderpants ... http://www.thunderpants.co.nz/go/home/
The pair I bought were size "small", the same as I'd bought for the other brands ... unfortunately for me these were in fact size "too small".
The design is much the same as Fanny Adams, so they probably perform similarly. And the packaging is 100% plastic-free.

Available at Madame Fancy Pants ($28) and Frutti (where they're only $25) on Cuba St and The Vault and Voon on Willis.

Verdict: Love the fabric patterns (the only knickers I've ever owned with insects on!). They're probably excellent, if I'd gone for the more generous size.

Fanny Adams

[Photo coming when the washing is dry!]

But my favourite so far are Fanny Adams: www.fannyadams.co.nz
Like they say on their business card: no sagging, no riding up, no visible panty line. Perfection in a pair of undies!

I bought mine at the craft fair in Nelson, but you can buy them through their website too. Tempting ...

Verdict: Supercomfy and cute, plus they're the cheapest of the bunch!
$17