Imajo is a importer of hand made rag dolls from Sri Lanka and has now teamed up with Babi Pur selling these beautiful dolls online. Rosanne pictured here has starred in a recent commercial for Harveys furniture at the start of Coronation Street. Each doll is Hand made using locally sourced materials supporting the local community in as many ways as possible. The factory they are made in operates Fair Trade standards and principles.
A few facts provided by Imajo LTD
- No employees under age 18
- Employees take home at least minimum wage depending on skills and experience
- Transport to and from work is fully paid for by employer
- Both employer and employees contribute to an "Employee Crisis Fund" which can be used to help employees through difficult periods
- Both employer and employees contribute to an "Employee Trust Fund" which can be accessed at any time.
- Refreshments are provided in employee canteen area
- Factory layout result of consultation with European Factory Manager
- Standard 44.5 hour week (8 hours Mon-Fri, 4.5 hours Saturday)
- Employees are granted paid annual leave and all public holidays are respected, including any religious holidays
- All female workers receive maternity pay and have the right to return
I think you'll agree, a great range of beautiful dolls has been added to the Babi Pur toy collection. Shop Rag Dolls
Reducing the fmaily Carbon Footprint. We are all aware that we need to do our bit to help preserve the environment for future generations but with so many different ways to be 'green' it can all be a bit confusing. We've put together these simple and cost effective ideas that you and your family can do straight away, some you may do already and some you may not have thought of.
Recycle, it's easy! Not just seperating your rubbish but see if some of the things you normally throw away can be re-used, keep all the packaging you get sent in the post so next time you need to send something you don't have to buy a new jiffy bag. Our granparents would always do things like this but we seem to have lost this art and tend to throw things away.
Be carefull what you buy. The Uk is one of the worlds largest importers of unsustainable wood which contributes to deforestaion and accelerates global warming. Make sure any product containing wood is from managed forests or FSC certified. When in the supermarket check where the fruit and veg is from, anything in season should be grown in Britain, it doesn't make sense that apples come from South Africa at this time of year! Buy things that are built to last, if something seems a little more expensive but is better quality it will more than likely last longer thus saving you money in the long run and reducing you carbon footprint at the same time. We as consumers have huge power, if we stop buying unsustainable products, they'll stop making them!
Save energy. The simplest thing you can do is insulate your home, it's now free to people on low incomes and 50-70% off the costs for everyone else see www.freeinsulation.co.uk for more info. Change your light bulbs. Use your car less, most people are doing this already because petrol has gone up so much, it's nicer, healthier and cheaper to walk short distances.
Use washable napppies. The benefits of washable nappies are obvious, save money (you can do the calculations yourself), lower your carbon footprint (just think how all those disposables are produced and distributed around the country) and reduce landfill waste.
Often small changes like these have a bigger impact than some more costly green projects. For example changing your car to a 'green' hyrbid will lower your petrol consumption but how much carbon has been immited to produce that car, it would be better to prolonge the life of your current car and try to lower your petrol usage by changing your driving stlye. If we all made these little changes we can make a big difference.
Your house price is falling, your shares are loosing their value, your not sure your savings are safe, fuel and food bills are going up. So can you keep your ethics during the credit crunch? There's been reports in the papers of organic food sales falling and the possibility of people putting the price of goods before ethical concerns.
We think there are plenty ways you can be green and ethical even when you think you can't afford to be. The current trend of fast fashion and cheap throw away goods is not sustainable in so many ways. Buying just a few high quality clothes instead of loads of cheap ones means they'll last longer and probably save you money in the long run. Ebay is a great way to find second hand bargains, how many times have you bought something and never worn it, there are lots of new or nearly new things you can buy. Why not find something in the loft you can sell as well to help pay for your new purchases. Most people can get hand me downs for their children and maybe just buy one or two new things when they need them. Ethical shopping isn't just about buying organic and fair trade goods it's about not buying unsustainable products.
The old 'free range chicken' debate is a good example, "I can't afford free range at the moment" , do people really mean this? We can feed our family of four for a good two days with a chicken, thats pretty good value I'd say. Organic food doesn't have to be expensive, there are always offers on and I bet there's a farm nearby offering a box scheme, you'll get fresher better quality food as well. If your good at gardening and you've got the space why not grow some vegetables, they'll be the nicest most rewarding veg you've ever had.
So before you think you can't afford ethical products, just think about what you could buy instead. Our grandparents wouldn't have wasted so many resources, so why do we?
A bike with no pedals? It didn’t make much sense to me when my husband first mentioned these kid’s bikes which have no pedals or stabilisers yet are designed for children as young as 20 months. The first thing I noticed was how ‘cool’ they look with the flame detailing on the wooden frame and the chunky wheels. The reason they have no pedals is so that children can concentrate on learning to balance first. Then they can learn to steer and stop with confidence. The ‘Early Rider’ has ‘restricted steering’ to prevent children from over turning and falling over, once they have built their confidence it can then be changed to the ‘unrestricted steering’ setting.
Lite Series – Pre 2-4 years
Weighing just 3.25 kg this is a great little bike which is suitable from 20 months will give your young child confidence and independence and help develop their balance and motor skills.
Classic Series – 2-5 years
The original Early Rider and looks really cool!
Evolution Series – 3.5-6 years
This is the latest addition to the Early Rider range, designed to grow with your child’s confidence. A great looking lightweight bike in the style of a chopper
Our daughters have been playing with their Early Rider bikes for a couple of weeks now and have already mastered balancing skills. Isabelle (22months) is a little short for her ‘Lite’ bike and can only use it when she has shoes! Harriet(3) has the ‘Classic’ and is really getting the hang of it. These bikes attract lots of attention when we go out with the girls and people are always commenting on how beautifully made they are. The quality and attention to detail really does show in these bikes.
Buy these bikes online here
Visit the Early Rider website
In June 2008 Wales was declared the world's first Fairtrade nation. The announcement followed a two-year campaign by the Wales Fair Trade Forum, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, to increase the availability of Fair Trade products in towns, cities and counties across Wales, and encouraging schools, businesses and other organisations to switch to Fair Trade. An independent panel of fair trade experts from Britain and Europe reviewed all of the evidence collated and congratulated Wales on its progress.
The Fair Trade Wales flag is now touring the country to celebrate Wales' new Fair Trade status. The Fair Tade Wales forum is now implementing the second phase of the campaign which will focus on increasing buying of fairtrade products. To find out more about the fairtrade wales campaign and what you can do to help visit the Fair Trade Wales website.
There are a wide range of Fair Trade products now available, tea, coffee, chocolate, footballs, clothes, fruit and more. For information about what you can do or where to buy visit the Fairtrade Foundation website.
And don't forget there is a wide range of Fair Trade baby poducts available online at Babi Pur
A spooky fortnight at Greenwood park in Snowdonia from 18/10/08 - 01/11/08! There's lots of spooky fun to be had at Greenwood this Halloween. Why not go along with your children in fancy dress! There are lots of fun activities such as broom making, scary face painting, rag rug making and make your own mask. Take a ride on the worlds first enviromentally friendly roller coaster. The Green Dragon familly rollercoaster generates more power than it uses.
There's lots of fun to be had at Greenwood, we loved climbing in the 'treetop towers' and looking out for crocodiles in the 'crocodile maze. Why not visit their website here
Made in France since 1961 Sophie the Giraffe is made from the sap of the HEVEA tree. She is a 100% natural rubber teething toy painted with edible paint so your baby really can sink their teeth into her.
Great for babies the long rubber legs and neck are easy to grab and she makes a squeak when her head or body is squeezed.
More than 20 million of these little Giraffes have been sold around the world since it's creation and she hasn't changed in her design or materials since.
There's also a range of teethers and other baby products to go with Sophie, just in case your baby isn't keen on Giraffes
If you’re looking for a dress that looks great on babies and toddlers, is bright, colourful as well as being ethically produced take a look at this gorgeous little number by Piccalilly in sizes 6 months to 2 years
This organic cotton dress is made from Fairtrade certified cotton and comes in three bright colours... ‘Raspberry’ ‘Blackcurrant’ and ‘Brick Red’ I bought the ‘Blackcurrant’ and ‘Brick Red’ for my little girl Isabelle nearly a year ago. She’s continued to wear them even though she’s outgrown the 12-18 size! It looks great as a top when outgrown and the best thing about this dress is that it still looks like new after months of wear and washing.
Buy this dress here - ‘Raspberry’ ‘Blackcurrant’ ‘Brick Red’
Frugi organic babies and kids clothes has evolved from the label Cut4Cloth. This Cornish company was origonally set up to tackle the problem of ill fitting clothes for babies wearing cloth nappies but they have branched out into clothes for older kids and breastfeeding mums.
The Cut4Cloth clothes are still going strong under the Frugi brand and it's not just the extra room around the bum that makes Frugi so great. Frugi recently recieved the highest ethical score from ethical consumer magazine out of all baby clothes producers. Their cotton has the Ecocert organic certification which also guarantees the workers a fair wage and the clothes are made in a Fairtrade factory in India. Frugi is also a member on 1% for the planet donating to the Pesticide Action Network (or PAN) and the Cornwall Wildlife Trust. We love their environmentally friendly eco potato packaging which reflects the level of detail Frugi go into. To shop the Frugi baby range visit Babi Pur. For older kids visist the Frugi website.
Piccalilly Hot Cotton
Piccalilly
Piccalilly are one of our favourite producers of fair trade and organic baby clothes. Superb quality clothes and some absolubtley gorgeous prints. As well as baby clothes, Piccalilly produce gift bags, adult sized bathrobes, towels, party bags and much more.
From the beggining founder Hannah Evans has been fully commited to the fair trade label and it's ethos. Sourcing cotton from Faitrade certified producers in India and using Fair trade projects to make the garments themselves. Piccalilly know their supply chain right from the source because they've been to see it. The CHETNA project is where they get their cotton, a guaranteed price is paid and an additional premium which is invested by the cotton farmers into clean water, schools, roads and medical centre's. The cotton is also certified by the Fairtrade foundation, they're the people whos label you see on tea, coffee and bananas amongst many other products.
So with organic cotton, environmentally sound dyes, fairtrade cotton/manufactuing and fantastic colourful baby clothes Piccalilly continue to lead the way in ethical baby fashion!
Visit the Piccalilly website or buy online at Babi Pur
