Photo by hellochris

off-grid takes a look at “green” celebrities and sorts them into those who are simply PREENing their own image by appearing green, and those who are dyed-in-the-wool GREENies who even walk the green walk when they’re not being watched.

Here are some quotes from two-faced celebs who talk green and walk mean.

Ashley Tisdale:

“You definitely want to keep the environment healthy because were living in it and we want to keep it for as long as we can.”
So how does she do her part? “I dont use that much hairspray.”

Cate Blanchett:

She converted her home to solar power and plans to power an entire Sydney Theatre Company season off-grid, with solar panels and rainwater collection systems. But since the press conference announcing this she has done precisely zip. PREENER!

Bonnie Sommerville:

“I save everything - wrapping paper, ribbons. I bought a bunch of organic cotton bags that I bring to the grocery store now. And I bring my hangers back to the dry cleaners, which is very important and easy to do. Every time you pick up your dry cleaning, bring your wire hangers back.” PREENER!

Now here are some more celebs who walk the walk:

Edward Norton:

The actor helped launch a Solar Neighbours Program, which gets solar panels into low-income homes in Los Angeles. GREENER!

Daryl Hannah:

She was arrested for staging a 23-day tree-sit in a bid to save an urban community garden in LA. GREENER!

Alanis Morissette:

The singer campaigns against oil drilling in Alaska and has a solar-powered home. GREENER!

Here’s one you missed guys. In an interview with the Independent, Guns N Roses’ Slash said: “People need to think more about the loss of energy and actually do something about it. For me, I try to turn off the faucet when I am brushing my teeth and I try and remember to close the refrigerator door.” I try to remember to close to fridge door too, but it’s just so DIFFICULT.

Read more at Preen or Green? [off-grid]

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Miles Owen is one of the directors of Ecotopia. We told you a little bit about them and their facebook forest recently. In this guest post by Miles, he looks at the documentary “Black Gold” and discusses the importance of buying Fairtrade coffee.

Many people start the day with a few cups of coffee, or if you’re like our very energetic team at Ecotopia - a few pots of coffee. But have you ever thought where it comes from? If you haven’t checked out “Black Gold,” the acclaimed documentary that takes a look at the multi-billion dollar coffee industry and the poor farmers who cultivate the beans, then you should! You probably will never set foot in a large supermarket to buy your coffee again.

The film follows Tadesse Meskela, the General Manager of the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union, as he visits coffee-growing regions in Sidamo and Oromia, as well as a coffee processing center, a coffee auction house, and his union’s headquarters in Addis Ababa. He also travels to England and the US in an effort to promote Ethiopian coffee by eliminating the numerous middlemen.

With great frankness, Meskela uses “Black Gold” as a stage to describe the chronic situation Ethiopian coffee farmers face. When the price of coffee hit a 30-year low at the start of the Millenium, farmers struggled to feed their children and send them to school. Some quit farming. Others began growing a more profitable line - a local narcotic banned in the US and Europe. With their families malnourished and being forced to travel long distances to accept foreign aid, some farmers saw no alternative but to bring their families to government feeding centres.

So why do they call it black gold?

Coffee is traded as a commodity—just like oil or gold—and is second only to oil in commodity value. Because of the production surplus brought about by sun-grown coffee, the price of coffee has been chronically depressed on the world market, making it difficult for farmers to make a good living from year to year.

The price of coffee is rising, but little has changed in these communities. In Ethiopia, country that depends on coffee for about 40 percent of its export revenue, farmers make as little as 2.5p for every cup of coffee sold in Europe. Meanwhile, multinational coffee corporations collectively rake in as much as £160 billion each year, according to the film.

So why buy Fairtrade?

Fair trade organisations work directly with cooperatives of small farmers to eliminate much of the middleman costs and provide the growers with a stable price that ensures a reasonable standard of living. For instance, in 2004 the UK Fairtrade market guaranteed participating coffee growers a minimum of 126 cents per pound for arabica coffee beans, compared to a world market price of 52 cents per pound. Many fair trade organisations also encourage their growers to employ sustainable farming practices (such as organic and shade-grown).

Photo credit: jsbarrie

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Oliver Heath is the UK’s favourite celebrity interior decorator, I say he’s the favourite because he’s one of the few who really takes green issues seriously, so he’s my favourite anyway. Here’s his latest effort for the environment, in conjunction with Recycle now.

Here are some great recycled products that you could buy to close that recycling loop.

Kitchen & Home:

Recycled aluminium foil - save loads of energy by using recycled aluminium foil.

Recycled glass wine glasses - perfect for drinking organic and Fairtrade wines with a clear conscience. Good looking too!

The ultra-useful Cycloc bicycle storage solution - this little recycled plastic gizmo simply hangs your bicycle on the wall, freeing up floor space in your hall, or shed, or garage. Wherever.

Fashion:

Unisex recycled London Fire Brigade hose belt - you’ll have a belt that has saved lives.

Personal:

Recycline toothbrush - not as gross as it sounds. Not actually a recycled toothbrush, but rather a toothbrush made of environmentally sound materials, and easy to recycle.

Recycline Razor - an easy to recycle re-usable razor.

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