Summer is here at last, with the promise of leisurely evenings spent outdoors under the stars, eating grilled meats and catching up with friends. The yearly mosquito scourge hasn’t arrived in France as the weather has been unseasonally cool, but it’s time to start thinking about natural remedies and protection that do not involve DEET.
DEET [...]
Archive for the ‘buying green’ Category
Natural mosquito repellents for summer
Posted in buying green, health on July 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Safety in cookware: PTFE vs nano-ceramic coatings?
Posted in buying green, health on April 24, 2009 | 7 Comments »
Belgian cookware manufacturer Beka has come out with a handsome line of products called Beka Eco-Logic which replaces the traditional Teflon anti-stick coatings containing PTFE chemicals with a ceramic coating which they call Bekadur Ceramica.
Like many of the more recent PTFE-free offerings, such as Green Pan, these pans are covered with a durable nano-coating in [...]
Buy an electric scooter in Paris and get 400 euros
Posted in air quality, buying green, climate change on March 17, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Paris Town Hall authorities are offering to give away up to 400 euros (not exceeding 25 % of the retail price) for every purchase of a new electric scooter. The offer, which begins on March 21, applies to anyone or any business resident in the French capital. All you have to do is fill [...]
Best organic mascaras
Posted in buying green, health on February 24, 2009 | 1 Comment »
I’ve always had minor allergies associated with mascara, and have tended to blame the problems on inefficient eye makeup remover, but once you look at the mascara ingredients it makes more sense to blame the mascara. There are some decent choices of organic mascara out there now; the only problem is that none of [...]
Organic perfume goes upscale
Posted in air quality, buying green, fashion on January 9, 2009 | 1 Comment »
The benchmark study on toxic chemicals in perfume appears to be the Greenpeace one from 2005 which tested 36 different fragrances and found both phthalates and artificial musks in almost every single sample. Most commercial scents contain either animal substances such as musk, civet, castor or ambergris which have been obtained at some price to [...]
Green, good and beautiful holiday gift ideas
Posted in air quality, buying green, food, social change on November 27, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Earlier this week I spent half an hour browsing in a traditional French candy store. The candies are sold in bulk from big glass vats and have names like “Les Negus de Nevers” and “Les Briques du Capitole” which evoke place and regional identity. Each variety of candy – the name, packaging and craftmanship – [...]
Ethical Fashion Comes of Age
Posted in buying green, fashion on October 10, 2008 | 2 Comments »
The fifth annual edition of the Ethical Fashion Show opened its doors yesterday at the Carrousel du Louvre, an incredibly grown-up location which is symbolic of the industry’s position at the threshold of the mainstream. From an eclectic gathering of 20 designers in 2004, the event has grown to be a showcase for some 130 [...]
What’s the real impact of the Grenelle after one year?
Posted in Grenelle, agriculture, buying green, food, transport, waste disposal on September 30, 2008 | 1 Comment »
One year after the Grenelle on the Environment, what’s the real impact of changes which were decided in an unprecedented coming together of stakeholders across the board from NGOs and unions to business and industry to local authorities. Well, we lost some proposals, such as the carbon tax and the freeze on building new highways. [...]
French PM kills the picnic tax
Posted in buying green, policy, waste disposal on September 19, 2008 | 1 Comment »
French Prime Minister François Fillon killed the picnic tax yesterday. Pity. Apparently Fillon and President Nicholas Sarkozy were concerned that Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo was getting carried away, announcing too many “green taxes” and provoking undue anxiety among the parliamentary majority. RTL reports that the PM met Borloo and his deputy, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet yesterday to [...]
“Picnic tax” on plastic cups and cutlery in 2009
Posted in buying green, policy, recycling, waste disposal on September 18, 2008 | 2 Comments »
As part of the government’s drive to use fiscal measures to encourage more sustainable behaviours, Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo announced this week that plastic plates and cutlery would, starting next year, face a “picnic tax” of 90 centimes to the euro for every kilogram. Similar “green” taxes on wasteful fridges, washing machines, televisions and batteries [...]
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