In order to clean up at home without buying expensive cleaning products and not always effective, not to mention their corrosivity, toxicity and pollution they generate, there is an alternative to “green” household products purchased in stores: natural products alone or mixed!
White vinegar, baking soda, soap, lemon and its juice are the best allies for any scouring, cleaning and shining at home. They work alone or mixed.
The combination of lemon juice or vinegar and baking soda makes a great efficient couple, at a very modest cost. Who says that being environmentally friendly works only for the rich? It can protect the planet and make significant savings!

Information: it is best to wear gloves when you use these products, some are acidic. Baking soda might be natural, but it remains a chemical product. To be released in a forthcoming article: the presentation of these 100% natural products that are revolutionizing our lives.

Remember last November we presented the concept of Monsieur Poulet, a website fun and participatory, where artists and fans are daily around a permanent and retributed challenge, and have the privilege of seeing their picture or design chosen to be printed on clothing and accessories manufactured according to the rules of fair trade. Great news for all fans, the first Paris boutique Monsieur Poulet has opened its doors. Located in the heart of the Marais, at 24 rue de Sevigne, the shop which is only 25 square meters, offers all male and female models of the moment, as well as organic cotton tote bag. Find out about the brand new Monsieur Poulet sweats.

Monsieur Poulet
24, rue de Sévigné
75004 Paris
France
Open daily.

Photos ©

How can the impact of human activity on the planet to be kept to a minimum? To help find out the answers, come and visit the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, which is staging a major exhibition from December 16, 2008 to August 30, 2009. «La Terre et Nous» deals with the issue of dwindling resources due to exploding demographics and the increasing proportion of city-dwellers. It’s an alarming prospect: by 2025, almost 75% of us will be living on only 5% of the Earth’s surface – in cities.
To solve the environmental problems relating to transport, energy, waste and water, the exhibition offers us ways in which we can change: this is because changing our individual lifestyles is a difficult but vital part of the equation.
To solve the environmental problems relating to transport, energy, waste and water, the exhibition offers us ways in which we can change: this is because changing our individual lifestyles is a difficult but vital part of the equation.

Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie
30, avenue Corentin-Cariou
75019 Paris
France
T. : +33.1.40.05.70.00
citeservice@cite-sciences.fr
Ouvert du mardi au samedi de 10h à 18h, et le dimanche de 10h à 19h. Fermé le lundi.
Open on Thuesday to Saturdy from 10 to 18h, and Sunday from 10 to 19h. Closed Monday

photo credit : Cite-sciences.fr

www.ecologie-pratique.org is one of a number of fun and attractive websites with a whole host of information for those wishing to do DIY at home. Eco-construction is of increasing interest to private individuals who are environmentally aware and who are also looking for ways to make savings – large or small

This site provides users with all the information needed for building work, renovation and fitting out of your home. The site also has information for professionals, with a list of materials, techniques, energy sources and resources for their construction work. The site deals with a fairly wide variety of topics. For instance, there is technical advice such as “how to design an electrical installation” and topical articles, for instance: “how to reduce household energy consumption.”

Christmas is an opportunity to buy gifts which our loved ones have been dreaming about – or perhaps nagging us to buy! There are plenty of lovely and original gifts available to delight your friends and family without falling into the excesses of our consumer society. They include both intangible and practical presents. The Gavarni has come up with a list of really useful ideas. And if you’re one of those who prefer not to receive gifts for environmental reasons, an innovative gift exemption voucher has just seen the light of day.

(Virtually) intangible gifts
You can offer a concert ticket to music-loving sons, a one-year museum pass to that grandma of yours who is a contemporary art buff, cooking lessons to fathers who have decided to take up cooking as they approach the age of forty, a spa treatment for mothers-in-law who love their little comforts, or a gym membership for your fitness-crazed twenty-year-old sister. These simple gifts will be very much appreciated by all your family.

Practical presents

If concert tickets and the like are not your cup of tea, you can always go for a practical gift which is also environmentally-friendly. Selections include: a lovely wicker basket for market shopping, a guide to acts of greenness for your newly aware son-in-law or a set of handkerchiefs for your grandson who has never known anything other than disposable tissue

A gift-free Christmas
The mescoursespourlaplanete.com website has taken the unusual step of offering a gift exemption certificate. This involves sending a letter to our friends and family indicating we do not wish to receive presents from them. The suggested text is as follows: “Because money can’t buy the best things in life and I already have everything I need, I, the undersigned hereby take great pleasure in exempting X from the obligation of buying me a gift for Christmas 2008. With all my love, Y.” This unusual concept has already attracted a lot of fans!

Source: Paris.fr

There’s just one week left before Christmas in which to buy your Christmas tree – and if you want it to be an act of greenness, buy it from Jardiland. This is because the well-known garden centre chain has joined forces with SOS Sahel to combat drought and desertification in Niger. Every year, almost 250,000 hectares of arable land are disappearing because of this desertification – an area the size of Luxembourg

As a result of this partnership, 300,000 trees will be used to reforest the Sahel – a belt of land which extends from Cape Verde to Djibouti to the south of the Sahara. This unexpected combination is in fact perfectly logical, because the two enterprises have the same core business: plant life. It’s a great idea for celebrating Christmas in the spirit of sharing and helping across the nations.

Credit photo

French consumer confidence is sagging. The reason is that the government has just announced average increases of 5% in gas and electricity rates.
More and more French people are turning to renewable energy sources, abandoning fossil fuels and inclined to take up more environmentally responsible behaviours. We know that mankind uses considerable quantities of gas, oil and coal. But these are not going to last forever and some day they will be gone for good.

Given the pollution caused by the increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere and the resulting major climate change, it would be better for everybody to use solar or hydraulic energy to preserve our planet. It’s all the more worthwhile given that there are financial savings to be made too!

Today, there’s a lot we can do: install solar panels or wind turbines for heating and lighting, insulate our homes properly to stop energy being frittered away outside, make use of a heat pump which will make better use of the solar energy contained in the ground, or even buy an electric car.

Although most people are in favour of such moves, installing this kind of equipment is still a significant investment for most households. But isn’t it all worth it in the end?

Photo: dm-pellets.be

Greenzer is a benchmark eco-consumer portal. Environmentally-aware users can buy here in complete confidence: all products are green and environmentally-sensitive. They range from energy-saving TVs to chocolate shampoo and hemp garments.

It’s not always that easy to know how to put into practice our sense of responsibility for what happens to our planet. Buying whatever comes to hand without considering the impact of this or that product on the environment is too easy an option. This portal helps by providing a search engine and news on its blog.

Greenzer’s blog draws readers’ attention to some of the more innovative products, discusses ecological issues in general and gives plenty of hints and tips: it’s a real mine of information!

More and more people want to do everything to protect the planet and it goes through a green travel. Being green is one of the most important aspect of the Hotel Gavarni.

Gavarni Hotel located a few steps from the Trocadero and the famous Eiffel Tower is the most regular customers. So if you are already occurred to Gavarni Hotel, it is likely that you return!

Some customers choose non-ecological Gavarni Hotel. “We must make people understand why we do what we do and you chose the hotel Gavarni so you should make an effort to be green.” – Xavier Moraga, General Manager.

Starting from September, a small note will be placed in each room to tell visitors the concept of the hotel and advice such as: “Turn out the lights before leaving the room”, etc.

A box for the collection of batteries is available in all rooms, but also at the reception. In September each room is equipped with a tray for sorting waste. Small, it will be divided into two compartments (one for the packaging and the other for garbage).

Small-to-few, Hotel Gavarni implements green policy for the happiness of the planet.

Photo: Activerain.com

Hotel Gavarni, un hotel green à Paris

All the major French cities are now concerned: Toulouse, Nantes, Marseille, Paris and others. For some months now, the “ Neon Clan ” has been active all over France with illuminated signs in their sights.
Their objective is to protest against the “excessive” use of stores’ neon advertising signs by switching them off.

Doing so is very straightforward. The power switches for neon signs are located outside stores, so all you need is a suitable pole and/or a leg up to reach up and cut off the juice.
It’s an amusing – and non-violent – way for this masked band to combat energy-wasting and protest against the consumer society all in one go. Even if the means used by these clandestine eco-warriors are very simple, they are nonetheless effective: some retailers have already abandoned their lighting.

The group has a very clear message :
“This is a simple, non-violent act which does no damage to property. Our own neon-lettered logo will be switched off and “clan” disbanded only once stores switch off their signs at night.”