Echarger Mobile Solar Charger Product Review

Solar charging has almost become the method of choice of charging gadgets on the move. With products like the Solio Hybrid, if you live somewhere sunny it’s an easy decision to make. But what about in less sunny climes? Well in the UK, Echarger has launched theMobile Solar Charger.

Unlike the Solio, it doesn’t have an internal battery so you’ll need to put in up to three rechargeable batteries and then unfold the case to reveal the solar panels. Then it’s up to the sun. You can also use it to charge the batteries through your computer using the USB cable, but I went for six hours in the British sun. And it was a lovely day so I hoped for good results.

It was recommended that I use 1600mAh rechargeable batteries for best performance but as I’ve only got 2700mAh ones I had to make do. The charger comes with a few connectors – Nokia, Sony Ericsson, iPod, USB and one for the Nintendo DS so that’s what I decided to try and charge with it afterwards. I left it alone to charge although you can play it while its charging (but I didn’t) and the three batteries gave one and a half hours of charging. This translated to almost an hour and a quarter of game play on the DS before it died – and that was with full sound and the screen brightness at maximum. Which is pretty good really.

The downside is that although the charger is portable in size, you can’t really use it on the move – it doesn’t attach to a backpack like the Solio Hybrid for example. Also as a piece of electronics it’s not made from environmentally friendly materials, but using rechargeable batteries powered by the sun is better than using the mains or normal batteries.

The Mobile Solar Charger costs £30 from Echarger.

Headonism Organic Haircare Conditioner Eco Product Review

I see myself as a simple soul when it comes to washing my hair – either just shampoo or if the shower gel is suitable for hair then I’ll use that. So when Male Organics gave me some Headonism Organic Haircare Conditioner (scent 2 – sensuality) to test, I was a bit wary.

So I did what goes against every fibre of my being. I read the instructions. It soon became clear that while conditioner seems to be a vital component of haircare I’ve missed for 30 years, it is more useful for people with longer hair than mine. A ‘number 2′ trim doesn’t give much hair to “moisturise, nourish, rebuild and protect”. But despite not having a large toothcomb (to be honest I may have one, I just have no idea what it is) I ploughed on and immersed myself in the world of hair conditioning.

Headonism Conditioner Scent 2 is a 100% organic conditioner (although not certified) that has a combination of herbs and oils including the amazingly-named Goldenseal, Jojoba and Safflower. It seems everyone but me knows how conditioner works, so after being instructed to leave it on for a while I set about it. First of all the bottle is amazing. As I pulled the wooden/cork stopper out of the glass bottle I thought a genie would pop out. Alas that wasn’t the case, but the conditioner is quite thick so I actually had a bit of trouble getting it out at first. I can now do it with a decent shake but portion control is a little haphazard, mainly I end up using far too much.

Anyway it works quite nicely, even on my short hair and it leaves it nice and soft. I’m not sure if it makes much difference on me but my girlfriend likes it and any man with a bit longer hair would benefit from it. It’s scented with organic plant oils to evoke desire, luxury, arousal, sensuality and euphoria but seemed a bit odd to me. Not off putting, just a bit weird.

There’s no mention of whether the wooden/cork stopper or glass bottle is made from sustainable or recycled materials, but it is an impressive bottle and at £14 (or £10.50 on sale) from Male Organics it’d make a good present or why not treat yourself?

The Wholeleaf Co. Palm Leaf Plates Eco Product Review

We’ve tested different disposable plates on Life Goggles before – the ones made from potatos which Kev looked at and ones made from sal and siali leaves that I looked at. So when I was given some made from the Areca palm tree I jumped at the chance to test them.

Made by the Wholeleaf Company, the plates are made in southern India from leaves that have naturally fallen to the ground. Usually these sheaths are burned, fed to animals or composted. The Wholeleaf Co turn them into plates and bowls by soaking the leaves in local spring water, and hot stamping them with a mould by hand to make the plate and then cutting away the rough edges. The heat also sterilises the plates. And that’s it. They are produced by marginalise rural people and claim that if all the fallen leaves were used in this way they would employ 300,000 people!

But how do they work? Very well is the answer. I would have thought being made out of wood that some juice of my dinner would seep through but no, they’re well sealed and not even that easy to cut with a normal knife.

As you can see from the picture they’re strong too, although maybe if I’d had another orange I may have caused a problem, but they’d be perfect for a barbeque or a buffet where holding the plate with one hand is needed. Also you can see how different each one looks, I think that’s part of the charm.

Although they’re a disposable product – just put them on the compost heap when you’re finished – I did try and wash one. A quick wipe and you can use them again, but soak one and it loses shape.

The Wholeleaf Co. supplied the BBC Good Food Show this year and have a huge range of products – bowls, dishes, plates and so on, take a look at the website for more details. Or go to Nigel’s Eco Store where they’re £11.75 for a set of 25 plates, they have bowls too.

Method All Purpose Spray Eco Product Review

After testing Method’s Stainless Steel Cleaner, Flushable Wipes and Soy Candle, Big Green Smile sent us some All Purpose Spray to review. Firstly I’ll get out the way how much I like the bottle shape and tounge-in-cheek writing on the bottle – all products should be like this – but it’s more important to find out if it works well.

I didn’t get the same colour as pictured on the website, I think Method must just update them as mine was pink as pictured below, although I’m sure it doesn’t make a blind bit of difference to how it works.

I gave it a stern test – my cooker top which hadn’t been cleaned for a couple of weeks. And I just used a cloth so I would have to work at stubborn stains. But I didn’t have to really. I turned the nozzle to ‘on’ and off I went, a few sprays and a quick wipe and I was done. Well almost. There were a few places which needed a further wipe but what I discovered was that if you sprayed a drop of the Method cleaner on the area, left it for about 30 seconds, it then wiped off easily.

The smell wasn’t quite as nice as other Method products and it did seem a bit ‘chemically’ but I wasn’t worried about breathing it in or touching it with my hands like I am with other cleaners. It’s made with naturally-derived surfactants and is biodegradable.

Method All Purpose Spray costs £3.00 and is available from Big Green Smile.

Method Bathroom Flushable Wipes Eco Product Review

Once again, Big Green Smile has sent us a Method product to test, this time it’s Bathroom Flushable Wipes.

I never thought I’d like these, well maybe I’d like them but they’re disposable so not very green right? Wrong. Okay it’s probably better to use a cloth but these are made from wood from renewable forests and can be flushed or even composted as there’s nothing bad in them.

Basically for giving the bathroom a quick wipe rather than a proper clean, they come into their own when cleaning the toilet or the tiles around there. Smelling strongly of eucalyptus and mint (reminded me a drinking a mojito), they’re fine to use with a bare hand and are pretty wet. Almost too damp as squeezing them releases a bit of foam, but actually are the right side of moist and the resealable flap means they remain that way.

Quick and easy can also mean green. I liked the convenience and ease of these and don’t get told off by the girlfriend for using the cloth meant for the kitchen floor for the toilet – hey, they were right next to each other.

Method Bathroom Flushable Wipes cost £3.50 for 24 and are available from Big Green Smile. Check out our Eco Reviews pages for other Method product reviews.

Essential Care Ylang Ylang & Orange Body Wash Eco Product Review

Despite the mad writings on the bottle, I’m a big fan of Dr Bronner’s liquid soap for the shower so when it came time to test this Essential Care Ylang Ylang & Orange Body Wash, I was expecting not to like it. Male Organics thought I would like it though and to be honest they were right.

Essential care make a promise on the back of their products that includes that as much of the product is organic as possible – in this case 70 per cent – and that it’s bio-degradable. It’s also got the Soil Association’s Organic Standard mark on the bottle which is a big achievement as it doesn’t hand out those marks easily.

But what of the product itself? It’s in a pump dispenser bottle which is okay, but to get the amount out I needed it took quite a few pumps but the smell is really nice. A bit like Dr Bronner it doesn’t foam up as much as synthetic shower gels but it still cleans you nicely and leaves a pleasant scent afterwards. The only downside is the bottle itself, I don’t like having to take a lid off and put it down somewhere every time so I just leave it off which has had no affect on the pump.

It’s not going to set your world alight, but it is a a nice body wash with Soil Association approval so would make a good present – makes a change from a pack of Lynx coupled with a massive pair of boxers.

Essential Care Ylang Ylang & Orange Body Wash costs £9 for 200ml from Male Organics.

Preserve Toothbrush Eco Product Review

I have to admit I use a rechargable toothbrush most of the time. I’ve had it for ten years and now feel it’ll be a waste to throw it away and I should use it until it dies naturally – which it’s close to doing, I have to charge it more and more frequently.

However while I’m away, which is often, I always use a manual toothbrush to save taking the charger with me etc. So when Male Organics sent me Preserve’s toothbrush to try out, I took on the challenge with relish. Especially as Joel got to review the Radius toothbrush.

The first thing to point out is that it’s made of plastic with a nylon brush head. The second thing to say is that the plastic is made from recycled yogurt pots and once you’re done with the whole thing you can send it back to Preserve for recycling.

The box it comes in looks like plastic but says it’s made from wood (!) and this has a dual use as a holder for the toothbrush when travelling and is quite useful.

The toothbrush’s handle itself is quite curved which takes a little getting used to but actually I now prefer it than a straight brush. The handle forgoes any of the now usual rubber grips and just has three bars/protrusions near the head that you can grip with your thumb and finger that works well, stopping your hand from slipping.

I have the soft head brush but it comes in different styles (ultra soft and medium) and I would recommend anyone to give it a go when choosing their next brush. It might not be for some, but for simple functionality and environmentally friendliness you can’t get much better.

A Preserve toothbrush is available from Male Organics“>Male Organics for £2.99.

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