Campaigning
As regular Readers may know, I campaign on occasions about various things close to my heart - justice, poverty, mental (ill) health pollution, to name a few (gosh I have dyselxic fengirs today!)
So todays entry links Readers to a few. I leave it up to you to decide what to do, if anything, about them.
First Up: - Justice, in this case for workers in the garment trade in Bangladesh.
After the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse that killed 1,135 people, retailers using factories in Bangladesh signed a legally-binding accord promising to uphold new safety standards for workers, and ensure a tragedy like that could never happen again.
Now British companies such as Debenhams, Next and Sainsbury's are refusing to continue their commitment to fire and building safety, by ignoring calls to sign the renewed 2018 Bangladesh Accord.
The new accord goes into effect in May, so time is running out. We need to act now and demand the high street brands take action and sign the renewed 2018 Accord now!
Sign the petition to tell Debenhams, Next and Sainsbury's that they owe a duty of care to these workers, to tell them to sign the renewed 2018 Accord now.
For that matter, did you know that not all foreign-made garments or overseas garment industries are equal? On the whole the garment industries in Bangladesh and India are among the worst in regard to safety, looking after their workers and wages. However Vietnam and Cambodia have much better regulated industries, wages and provisions - and still manage to sell their garments cheaply on the world market.
Second:- there's the matter of plastics pollution, you've probably heard about that, Dear Reader. The trouble is that most types of plastic are so durable that, even if the items themselves fall to bits, the bits persist somewhere in the environment for decades, quite possibly centuries, if not longer. We've only had plastics available for just over a century, and look at the mess we've made with them!
We all use plastic items these days, it's hard to avoid them, plus they can be so useful, but it becomes necessary to use them selectively.
Single-use plastic items are, generally, a Bad Idea, and can, generally, be replaced with either a non-plastic item (ideal), or a plastic item which can be re-used multiple times. So there has been a 5p charge on single-use plastic carrier bags in the UK for ages now. People are using, and disposing of, a whole lot fewer single-use plastic bags these days.
Shops are selling 'Bags for Life'. Made of sturdier plastic these will last for quite a few shops and can be easily folded up and put in the bottom of the bag you always take with you, your car boot, or, in my case, the shopping trolley (just remember to put them back for next time.) What's more, when these bags finally wear out you can take them back to the shop where you bought them and swap them for new ones. I assume the shop then thoughtfully and carefully disposes of the 'broken' bags - maybe to make new ones.
Other single-use plastic items are slowly being phased out - plastic cups for example. Or, for that matter, those non-recyclable plastic-lined paper cups we can get our takeaway coffee in. Though, apparently, there are more easily recyclable takeaway cups available.
One solution is to take your own, sealable, cup with you. I currently have one, from Ethical Superstore (smaller model,) made from bamboo, with rubber grip-ring and lid (all recyclable.) It works. Well. It's lightweight, it fits in my bag easily, and I can carry peppermint tea-bags (my afternoon drink of choice) in it - just in case places I visit don't serve peppermint tea. (Haven't tried) Just be careful not to drop it. Not because my drink might spill (unless I haven't got the lid on properly) but because it might crack. Fortunately I bought two when they were on offer. H is thinking about something to fix the cracked cup - non-toxic, heat-reisistant, durable, hot-water-resistant, maybe Araldite. (Hmmm, how Green is Araldite?)
Anyhew, alternatives to plastic or paper single-use takeaway cups are available (see links, above) already, so we don't need to use them. Some coffee shops even give you a discount on your takeaway drink if you bring your own cup. Of course the thing here is to make sure you remember to actually wash your cup and lid regularly! I drink 'skinny Americanos', but I can see how a hot chocolate with whipped cream etc could really muck up the inside of your cup (not to mention your weight loss!)
One single-use plastic item which really needs phasing out is plastic drinking straws. I may be old, but I distinctly remember having waxed-paper straws at school (no, that was back in the (second) Elizabethan age, not the Iron Age!) Come to think of it, they're probably available for crafting. However they are being phased out, yay!
Grocery chains Morrisons and Tesco's have promised to phase them out (probably in Own Brands, but it's a start.) Now there's a campaign to get Sainsbury's to do likewise. Sign up, if you like, Dear Reader. There's a link to a petition too. Purely for your interest, Dear Reader, it's reckoned that if we don't seriously curtail our use of plastics, by 2050 there could be more plastic in the ocean than fish!
Bearing in mind that plastics break down into smaller and smaller bits, which get into the food chain - it could well be that by 2050 there could be more plastics than fish actually in fish too! And even those of us who eschew seafood will likely be on the receiving end.
*Looks at the time. Hmmm, I'll cover plastic bottles another day.*
Pardon? Yes, of course I've signed the petitions. Haven't Tweeted or Facebook-ed Sainsbury's though. I'm not on Social Media, and hearing the current brouhaha about Facebook and the data-mining and re-selling I'm glad I'm not. Heck, I can waste time perfectly well just pottering around the intarwebs checking out links in emails and writing this blog.
So I shall stop. The dust needs chasing and, as it's a nice and sunny day, the washing needs pegging out too.
Y'all have a good (and campaigning?) day now!
So todays entry links Readers to a few. I leave it up to you to decide what to do, if anything, about them.
First Up: - Justice, in this case for workers in the garment trade in Bangladesh.
After the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse that killed 1,135 people, retailers using factories in Bangladesh signed a legally-binding accord promising to uphold new safety standards for workers, and ensure a tragedy like that could never happen again.
Now British companies such as Debenhams, Next and Sainsbury's are refusing to continue their commitment to fire and building safety, by ignoring calls to sign the renewed 2018 Bangladesh Accord.
The new accord goes into effect in May, so time is running out. We need to act now and demand the high street brands take action and sign the renewed 2018 Accord now!
Sign the petition to tell Debenhams, Next and Sainsbury's that they owe a duty of care to these workers, to tell them to sign the renewed 2018 Accord now.
For that matter, did you know that not all foreign-made garments or overseas garment industries are equal? On the whole the garment industries in Bangladesh and India are among the worst in regard to safety, looking after their workers and wages. However Vietnam and Cambodia have much better regulated industries, wages and provisions - and still manage to sell their garments cheaply on the world market.
Second:- there's the matter of plastics pollution, you've probably heard about that, Dear Reader. The trouble is that most types of plastic are so durable that, even if the items themselves fall to bits, the bits persist somewhere in the environment for decades, quite possibly centuries, if not longer. We've only had plastics available for just over a century, and look at the mess we've made with them!
We all use plastic items these days, it's hard to avoid them, plus they can be so useful, but it becomes necessary to use them selectively.
Single-use plastic items are, generally, a Bad Idea, and can, generally, be replaced with either a non-plastic item (ideal), or a plastic item which can be re-used multiple times. So there has been a 5p charge on single-use plastic carrier bags in the UK for ages now. People are using, and disposing of, a whole lot fewer single-use plastic bags these days.
Shops are selling 'Bags for Life'. Made of sturdier plastic these will last for quite a few shops and can be easily folded up and put in the bottom of the bag you always take with you, your car boot, or, in my case, the shopping trolley (just remember to put them back for next time.) What's more, when these bags finally wear out you can take them back to the shop where you bought them and swap them for new ones. I assume the shop then thoughtfully and carefully disposes of the 'broken' bags - maybe to make new ones.
Other single-use plastic items are slowly being phased out - plastic cups for example. Or, for that matter, those non-recyclable plastic-lined paper cups we can get our takeaway coffee in. Though, apparently, there are more easily recyclable takeaway cups available.
One solution is to take your own, sealable, cup with you. I currently have one, from Ethical Superstore (smaller model,) made from bamboo, with rubber grip-ring and lid (all recyclable.) It works. Well. It's lightweight, it fits in my bag easily, and I can carry peppermint tea-bags (my afternoon drink of choice) in it - just in case places I visit don't serve peppermint tea. (Haven't tried) Just be careful not to drop it. Not because my drink might spill (unless I haven't got the lid on properly) but because it might crack. Fortunately I bought two when they were on offer. H is thinking about something to fix the cracked cup - non-toxic, heat-reisistant, durable, hot-water-resistant, maybe Araldite. (Hmmm, how Green is Araldite?)
Anyhew, alternatives to plastic or paper single-use takeaway cups are available (see links, above) already, so we don't need to use them. Some coffee shops even give you a discount on your takeaway drink if you bring your own cup. Of course the thing here is to make sure you remember to actually wash your cup and lid regularly! I drink 'skinny Americanos', but I can see how a hot chocolate with whipped cream etc could really muck up the inside of your cup (not to mention your weight loss!)
One single-use plastic item which really needs phasing out is plastic drinking straws. I may be old, but I distinctly remember having waxed-paper straws at school (no, that was back in the (second) Elizabethan age, not the Iron Age!) Come to think of it, they're probably available for crafting. However they are being phased out, yay!
Grocery chains Morrisons and Tesco's have promised to phase them out (probably in Own Brands, but it's a start.) Now there's a campaign to get Sainsbury's to do likewise. Sign up, if you like, Dear Reader. There's a link to a petition too. Purely for your interest, Dear Reader, it's reckoned that if we don't seriously curtail our use of plastics, by 2050 there could be more plastic in the ocean than fish!
Bearing in mind that plastics break down into smaller and smaller bits, which get into the food chain - it could well be that by 2050 there could be more plastics than fish actually in fish too! And even those of us who eschew seafood will likely be on the receiving end.
*Looks at the time. Hmmm, I'll cover plastic bottles another day.*
Pardon? Yes, of course I've signed the petitions. Haven't Tweeted or Facebook-ed Sainsbury's though. I'm not on Social Media, and hearing the current brouhaha about Facebook and the data-mining and re-selling I'm glad I'm not. Heck, I can waste time perfectly well just pottering around the intarwebs checking out links in emails and writing this blog.
So I shall stop. The dust needs chasing and, as it's a nice and sunny day, the washing needs pegging out too.
Y'all have a good (and campaigning?) day now!