Competition: Win Tickets to Radical Nature At The Barbican

Life Goggles has teamed up with the London’s Barbican Art Gallery’s latest exhibition to give away two tickets.

Radical Nature – Art and Architecture for a Changing Planet 1969-2009 exhibition, celebrates the
innovative and environmentally friendly developments that have occurred in the design and architecture fields and the people behind them.

Tickets usually cost £8 but we have two to give away by answering the simple question below. The closing date is 5pm (GMT) on Monday 5 October and the winners will be notified by email. You can find out more about he exhibition on its website.

Question: In which city is the Barbican Gallery?

This will also sign you up for our free newsletter (you can unsubscribe easily at any time, but must be subscribed when the competition winners are drawn to be in with a chance). If you are already a newsletter reader, then you still need to enter the form below to be in with a chance. Please remember to confirm (opt-in) your subscription!
Your Name:
Your Email:
Answer:

Organic Blue Hair and Body Wash Eco Product Review

Hair and Body Wash for Men by Organic Blue from So Organic is an all natural and organic shower gel and shampoo combination. The product is SLS free and does not contain parabens or any synthetic colours or fragrances.

The first thing I noticed when I popped the top off the bottle was the strong smell of the gel, a mixture of lemongrass and eucalyptus. This was a bit overpowering at first but did calm down a bit after a while and I got used to it fairly easily. The gel didn’t leave the strong smell on my body that I was worried it would, but rather left me feeling fresh for work that day and each day I used it.

The main problem I had with the gel was that I used the whole bottle very quickly for two reasons. Firstly, the gel was quite runny, especially when compared to other shower gels, which meant a lot came out the bottle when I tipped it into my hand. Indeed, the wash has more of a watery thickness than a true gel.

Secondly, the gel didn’t lather well at all meaning I had to use plenty for each shower. I would probably have been able to use less but I was not used to using a shower gel that didn’t lather much at all.

I’m afraid I can’t say that the Organic Blue product was good or bad as a shampoo – I never think that shower gels that double up as a shampoo are particularly good and didn’t use it for my hair. It probably says something that I wasn’t tempted to try it on my hair after using it on my body.

Importantly, Organic Blue Hair and Body Wash left me clean and refreshed after use and at £3.99 represents good value for an all natural alternative to high street brands of hair and body wash, even if the bottle empties fairly fast.

Discover the Forest Campaign

Personally, I like the forest and don’t go often enough. The US Forest Service and the Ad Council have a Public Service Announcement campaign about rediscovering the forest. The amount of time U.S. children spend outdoors has declined 50% in the past 20 years, according to the Ad Council. The Forest Service is hoping to change this startling statistic through a PSA project entitled “Where the Other You Lives” that encourages tweens and their parents to re-connect with the great outdoors.

The Forest Service and the Ad Council created a pretty cool microsite for the campaign where you can find local parks and pick up ideas on what to do on an outdoor adventure (leaf rubs, tracking animals, learning to use a compass). Take a look at Discover The Forest here.

Heaven Scent Spiced Apple Jar Candle Eco Product Review

This candle from Scented Candle Shop is a little different from all the others we’ve reviewed it is housed in a glass jar.

There’s not much difference though, it’s still 100% organic plant wax handmade from a natural, sustainable plant source. There’s no petroleum based paraffin wax or animal products involved either. All this makes for a very runny wax when the candle is lit so the jar format works very well. The top half centimetre or so melts and turns a little darker than the rest of the candle which is actually quite a nice effect.

The weight of the glass is also an advantage as any little knocks on the candles housed in little tins or pots and suddenly you have near invisible wax over the table or on the floor. This ins’t the case with this one but I did check to see how hot the wax is and once again it’s not hot at all so if you did spill it on you, you’ll be okay.

The scent is quite delicate actually, until you get extremely close when you can smell the apple more strongly.

With a 50 hour burning time and being eco-friendly, it’s hard to fault this candle. The scent could maybe be stronger but I’m not sure you’d want that really.

Heaven Scent Spiced Apple Jar Candle cost £6.29 and is available from the Scented Candle Shop.

Dot Eco Top-Level Domain

I received a couple of emails about trying to establish a .eco top level domain name.

First Dot Eco, LLC is coordinating the establishment of a new .eco top level domain. Unlike most top level domains that are purely profit driven, over 50% of the profit generated by .eco domain registrations will be donated back to non-profit organizations to fund scientific initiatives that will help our environment.

Dot Eco is partnered with former Vice President Al Gore and his non-profit organization, The Alliance for Climate Protection and Sierra Club.

Second Green Cross International a global non-profit with national organisations in over 30 countries, has announced its intention to help support the launch of the .eco domain. However they seem to be supporting the The Big Room Inc. application for the .eco extension. This has been developed along with an international team of advisors and investors with deep roots in sustainability, environmental, and business communities.

So, all sounds good, just don’t ask me. You can visit Support Dot Eco and Dot Eco Info.

Bill Streever – Cold Book Review

Cold – Adventures in The World’s Frozen Places is a book that looks cold. But that’s OK, it was 100°F today so I don’t mind.

Living in Anchorage, Alaska, Bill knows what it’s like to be cold. Split into 12 monthly chapters – July to June for some reason, the book is a nice change, rather than global warming it talks about the places that are still cold, and how this effects the people and animals there, and across the world.

There are plenty of historical references setting the scene in context and I enjoyed the nature parts the most, learning things on almost every page. I thought all Polar bears hibernated (nope, just the females), some frogs can freeze and still return to life, and a full-grown musk ox can shed five pounds of underfur per year.

I’ve never made it to Alaska, or the Arctic, but this books makes you want to go, it’s almost a travel guide in one respect. There are slow parts, and parts where I would have liked more information (though there’s a great notes section in the back for further reading), but no more than any other book I’ve read.

Definitely worth a read.

Today is PARK(ing) Day in the UK

PARK(ing) Day is coming to the UK for the first time on Friday 18 September. Brought to Britain by eco car insurance provider ibuyeco and US art collective Rebar, PARK(ing) Day UK is the first official, nationwide event of its kind in the UK and is part of International PARK(ing) Day – an annual, one-day, global event where artists, activists and members of the public collaborate to temporarily convert paid-for parking spots into beautiful green spaces.

Held in celebration of the little things that make a big difference to the environment, the inaugural official PARK(ing) Day UK will take place in London and will see a small part of London’s busy, bustling West End transformed into a miniature urban oasis for all to enjoy – and they hope that others will get behind the movement and take part.

If you fancy finding out more or taking part yourself, go here.
.

Next Page »