Aisle 7 - Liquid Challenges 1: Hot Drinks

* Challenge 20: Does Fairtrade tea make the best brew?
* Challenge 21: Does ethical coffee hit the spot?

I am a tea drinker. A chai consumer. And a coffee hater!

But have I really thought about the ethical/environmental background of my tea?

Not really.

I use a combination of loose teas and tea bags. I am a Twinings girl when it comes to bags and I prefer the individually wrapped ones - with full knowledge of the extra waste this creates. For my loose tea, I mainly buy from T2 (I was startled to learn recently this is owned by the Coca Cola company!) and I buy my chai latte in bulk from a company called Kenteco, either online or direct at expos etc.

So I am taking this challenge quite seriously and doing the research that I should have thought of long ago.

Twinings - I found their website (which has lots I want to explore) and was relieved to read the following statement:

Tea with standards

We want people to be able to drink Twinings tea without worrying about the welfare of the people who picked it.

Twinings is committed to ethical sourcing and it is our responsibility and that of all tea companies to;

- buy from tea estates where social and environmental standards are at an acceptable level

- try, with the means we have available, to work with tea estates, their communities and other stakeholders to improve standards.

Given the size and scale of the tea sector, Twinings believes that the best way to improve conditions is at an industry level and that is why Twinings is a member of the Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP).

The goal of the ETP is to ensure that all of the teas its members buy are being produced in a socially responsible way. Members include many of the world’s best-known tea companies.

The ETP continually monitors 6 areas of estate life ; employment (including minimum age and minimum wage), education, maternity, health and safety, housing and basic rights. The ETP also provides remedial advice and support to achieve these standards which are based on the UK Ethical Trading Initiative and the International Labour Organisation conventions. Click here for a copy of the ETP standard.

To find out more about the Ethical Tea Partnership visit www.ethicalteapartnership.org

I think that is a pretty good result - maybe not specifically Fair Trade, but trading fairly. I will continue to buy.

T2 - when googling T2 and Fairtrade - found this on their Facebook page:

Tea T2 tea and the subject of “Fair Trade” products.
Whilst we scrutinise all our suppliers and their estates to ensure decent working conditions and local sustainability as well as seeking to build long term relationships with fair pricing in developing regions – we do not at this moment align ourselves with any particular organisation and brand ourselves with these accreditations.

mmm ... sounds okay, but I will keep a watch on this one.

Kenteco - Kenya Tea Company

http://www.kenyateabags.com
What makes Kenya unique among tea growing nations is its tea producing and marketing company KTDA – wholly owned and directed by the 370,000 small-holders who skillfully grow the crop in often difficult conditions. For the past 30 years Kenya has produced fine small leaf teas by the CTC(Cut Tear and Curl) method used mainly for teabags. Recently traditional methods of tea making have produced Orthodox Kenyan teas.

I think that is good news - although they don't say anything about Fairtrade specifically. I think I am happy to stay with them.

Coffee - Apart from not buying Nestle products, I haven't really explored the coffee I provide for others at home or work. So I will endeavour to be more pro-active in this area in the future.

Goddess Circle

This week, I stepped into a brand-new Circle of Women and it feels really good.

I have long been a fan of Goddess Leonie and her inspirational, beautiful website and resources. At the start of the year, I took on her 2010: Creating My Goddess Year Workbook & Planner , which helped me plan my path for this exciting year.

But joining a Circle of Goddesses is quite a new direction for me. I consider myself creative but not artistic, spiritual but not far from mainstream, so to align with such a group is to step into a new way of life.

Yet, how lovely it has been - all three days so far! I have connected with some lovely new friends around the world and feel like I have found a part of me that was over-looked.

I know many of my friends would also enjoy this Circle. It does cost to join and the price may be beyond some budgets. But I really want you to know about this and to consider how you might take part. You can find out about it here

If joining the Circle is not for you right now, then have a look at her blog and other resources, because they will truly bring joy and colour and light into your everyday.

Aisle 6 - Healthy Challenges 2: Personal care products

* Challenge 17: Do natural deodorants really work?
* Challenge 18: Sunscreens: what's the safety factor?
* Challenge 19: Girl talk: the gory details on sanitary protection

As per my previous post, I have sensitive skin - and when it comes to deodorant, I am at the mercy of ONE product! Around 18, my body suddenly developed an intolerance to the product I had always used and I began a search to replace it. It seemed I would come out in an awful rash with anything I could buy in the supermarket (this was the early 80s, so choices were limited) but eventually I found a solution at a department store counter - and began a lifetime relationship with Innoxa Free and Easy. If they ever discontinue the product or change the formula, I am doomed (they brought out two variations a few years ago - fragrance free and sports: both restored the rash and were hastily dumped!)

I am open to trying the deodorant crystal discussed in the book - perhaps as a winter option: I suspect it wouldn't meet the need in summer - and will look for one as I am running low. But otherwise, it is that little pink roll-on for me!

Sunscreen is something I always felt guilty of not using enough of, however as I tend to avoid the sun when it is at its highest, I really only get caught on those first few outings in October when I forget sunscreen and hat! But in recent years, as awareness of the benefits of sun and vitamin D for MS, I now actively seek the sun in all but the most dangerous times, when I retreat to the shade. I truly believe if skin cancer is in my future, it will be caused by the hours I spent unprotected as a teenager, not the occasional overdose I get as a wiser adult! So I limit my sunscreen use, wear a hat and use a parasol and sleeves to cover my skin.

Now - sanitary protection! I almost baulked at writing about this challenge, when my blog is so public and posted to my facebook Wall for all to see! However, I have made drastic changes in product use in recent years, so I am just going to say - yes, I have ditched the disposable goods and have embraced the Diva Cup and cloth pads, which should see me through this next few years until it is all done and dusted!

Aisle 5 – Healthy Challenges 1: Beauty Products

• Challenge 15: Staying lovely without chemicals
• Challenge 16: Can you make your own skincare at home?

I have been plagued by sensitive skin since my late teens, so have always been wary of what I put on it. At the same time, I am compulsive about facial and hand moisturising, so have an eternal quest for the perfect products!

I turned away from the mainstream band-wagon more than a decade ago, when I finally could no longer ignore the excess packaging and ethical mistrust I had of many companies. I was a fan of The Body Shop for many years and found my solace in their hemp creams for face and hands, until Anita Rodderick sold out to Loreal, who are owned by Nestle, adding insult to injury. Giving up my beloved products was, however, a step I was prepared to take for my ethics.

For a while I turned to Lush and found a cream that suited my skin and was happy, however I go through this stuff at an alarming rate and couldn’t justify the frequent trip to Chadstone to buy more! Although they have an online option, I really needed something I could rely on getting without planning ahead. So I turned to the local health food store and found not only alternatives for my face and hands, but also discovered Alchemy and Akin products and was able find new shampoo and conditioner that were gentle on my skin and my ethics.

Since reading the book which inspired this blogging, I have now discovered another skin cream and am trying Moo Goo! So far, so good!

I have toyed with making my own products in the past, but came to accept there are better ways to spend my time and I am happy to pay for someone else to do the creating!

Aisle four – Household challenges: Cleaning, washing, Wiping and Wrapping

• Challenge 11: Domestic cleaning without chemicals
• Challenge 12: Green washing: laundry the eco way
• Challenge 13: Does recycled toilet roll pass the test
• Challenge 14: Can a girl live without clingfilm?

Okay – confession time upfront: I pay for a cleaner to come to my home twice a week, for a total of six hours. Have done since I re-returned to the paid workforce again in mid 2006. It is the only way I can balance paid work with my health challenges.

So … if it was just me, then I could say I clean almost 100% chemical free. I am a fan of ENJO cleaning gloves and other microfiber cleaning cloths and when I was doing all the cleaning, that is what I used for everything from the oven to the floors to the windows. And it is my main choice for cleaning in my workplace (for which I am 100% responsible!)

But I accept that whoever does the cleaning has the right to choose the tools for the job. So I provide spray cleaners etc for the paid help. I do, however, select the most- gentle, environmentally-conscious products I can and encourage the micro-fibre cloths in preference.

It is the best compromise I can achieve for now.

However, in the laundry (where my cleaner also does the bulk of the work) we reuse the grey water on the garden, so the detergent of choice is as eco-friendly as possible. No fabric softeners, no bleach and cold water wash for everything. We air dry outside in the sunshine from October through May, on our traditional Aussie rotary clothesline. In the colder months, there is generally not enough sun to dry things unless there is a good wind, so we revert to clothes horses over the heating ducts, hanging rails in the laundry and the clothes drier on occasions when time and space are short. (Drying a king-size doona cover on anything other than a full clothesline is a nightmare!)

Toilet paper: okay, here I fall over completely! We all have our weakness and nice toilet paper is mine! I have tried and failed conversion to recycled paper toilet rolls and the quality just didn’t pass the test. So consider this a fail!

BUT! I hardly ever use cling film, foil or baking paper and only have paper towel for the most icky of tasks. I use cloth hankies and napkins and Tupperware for food storage. Perhaps this compensates for my toilet paper failure???

Aisle Three – Chiller Challenges: Milk, Meat and Fish

• Challenge 8: The quest to find the mystery milkman
• Challenge 9: Going veggie – the one week challenge
• Challenge 10: Fishing for … anything that isn’t cod

Again, I have this aisle sorted! Our home delivery company, Aussie Farmers Direct, deliver our bread and milk twice a week! Both are self-branded and sourced from small businesses, so I feel good on that level. Whilst I really enjoy their bagels, the bread is a little ordinary, however I don’t eat it much anyway, so fine by me – and the others seem happy!

Our meat also arrives on the doorstep, vacuum-packed in portions and delivered into our esky in the early hours. We simply transfer it to the freezer and forget about it. There is plastic packaging to dispose of, but about the same as it would be from the butcher. I am not, have never been and probably never will become vegetarian – my heart is in the right place but I enjoy meat and live with other carnivores. However, we do have non-meat meals fairly regularly and I would happily go without meat in the short term.

Fish is a big requirement for people with MS, so Tasmanian salmon makes a frequent appearance on my plate – delivered by Aussie Farmers with our meat! I also eat a lot of canned salmon, tuna and sardines – which means a lot of label reading to ensure ethical and sustainable sources. Like the UK, Australia faces over-fishing in some species and I am conscious of this and do my best to avoid those species. I also no longer eat flake in my fish and chips (it is the Aussie standard), as flake is shark and shark is a big fish who eats all the little fish and ends up with all the toxins, including mercury.

Aisle Two – Homemade Challenges: Dinner, Dairy, Baking, Preserves and Soup

• Challenge 6: Ready Meals vs Proper Dinners
• Challenge 7: Back to basics: can one woman make her own

Ready meals – those “Light ‘n’ Easy” type stuff you keep in the freezer and pop in the microwave, have never been part of our diet – they just don’t appeal on many levels. We don’t even use much in the way of convenience foods (apart from pasta sauce, ready to heat gravy and the occasional slow-cooker recipe base), with most of our meals cooked from scratch with fresh ingredients. Like our fruit and veg, the meat is home delivered once a week and goes straight into the freezer in meal ready servings, so our biggest challenge is being motivated to use it!

Cooking is shared by all living in the household – currently my husband and I and two of our three adult children. Each has their own cooking style and regular dishes. Most meals create leftovers, which we stuff into Tupperware and fill the fridge and freezer – intended for lunches and “can’t be bothered” meals. We could do better in using these!

We probably eat takeaway once a week – home delivered pizza, fish and chips or chicken and chips. We are not perfect!

We don’t tend to have cakes or desserts on a regular basis and when we do they are home baked. Desserts tend to be based on using up excess produce – apple crumbles, bread and butter puddings – or on a whim (Kieran does a great chocolate cake from his own recipe!).

I create my own breakfast oats recipe most days in the rice cooker, but I am not a jam maker! Have done, but honestly think it is easier to let someone with knowledge and facilities do it! So I do buy jams at the supermarket, unless I stumble across some at a market or fete.

I am the only yogurt eater, so buying it is easiest. We have a bread maker, but the novelty wore of - so we get that home delivered too!