mmm. more food.

Why do i keep buying so much food? Because I cannot go shopping for anything else! So here it is a lovely piece of pasta (tasted strangely of fish when it was vegetarian, no i'm not a  hippie I just didn't want lasagne again) from the lovely Sweetlands ladies.

Please let me buy something fun soon!

wholesome sandwich possibly knitted by hippies

So today I wanted to try a different place so I went to a vegetarian cafe on Cathedral Green in Exeter, the above was a much anticipated, beetroot and goats cheese sandwich with mango chutney. As the sandwich was a day old it didn't live up to expectations but all in all a fair feed.

The Plant Deli Cafe is a lovely little cafe perfect for all and sundry, cue feeling slightly embarrassed about  not actually being a hippy and some yoghurt weaving staff. The best thing about it was the poster on the wall denoting where all the local produce was sourced. Fantastic. That's what I like to see. Maybe next time I'll get something else, the sandwich range is lacking. Try it though, it's different and you get a new view of the cathedral from the warm and cosy cafe. Lush.

Day 5: The Body Shop and Sustainable Palm Oil

Ok, so I mentioned to a few friends about only shopping for cosmetics in The Body Shop as they are the most ethical company I know of and they informed me of the palm oil situation.

Apparently The Body Shop WERE using palm oil from an unsustainable source, cutting down swathes of the Amazon rainforest and clearing the habitat of Orangutangs and others species. The Body Shop were buying palm oil from a company out in South America so I like to think that they didn't know what they were doing, however The Body Shop should be aware of  how and where everything is being sourced to make their products. They should do their research and make sure it's as ethical as they stand to be.

The Body Shop have joined the Executive Board of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and are pledging to help local workers, communities and animals affected by the production of palm oil.

Here's a link to The Body Shops Foundation site http://thebodyshopfoundation.org/ and The Body Shop Activist http://blog.thebodyshop.com.au/2009/08/dont-palm-us-off.html

So I can now buy from them but it was a bit of a scare! Who else could I use for my beauty products?

Day 1: Too easy by far!

So far so good. The only thing I wanted to buy today was some bread for my soup (old can of sainsburys own in the cupboard!) and if I had time I'd look for a dress for the postponed Chalk&Ward christmas party tomorrow.

Firstly I managed to buy myself a bit of beef lasagne from two lovely ladies from Sweetlands on the Exeter Food Market stall. It was delicious! Homemade, handmade and as far away from a packaged Tesco's cardboard lasagne as you can possibly get.

Secondly, I took a look in Oxfam, I was hoping to buy a dress but failed and tried on the most hideous coat instead. However, I did find a beautiful beaded necklace made in thailand. Perfect for my outfit for tomorrow.

So as long as I don't need anything else I think I'm having a very achievable non high street consumer day. I have to find a better way of saying that!

problems so far

train tickets
air travel
toothpaste
chocolate
photography

consumerist rubbish

I am seriously considering a years worth of not shopping in any superstores or shops owned as chains. Possibly franchises but at a push. I wonder if this is a possibility or am I being foolish to believe that it would make me feel better about my consumerist behaviour?

I have always had a serious problem with Tesco's, Primark, etc. If I could buy (only with my money not bought by someone else) my food from local markets, butchers and grocers, would I feel better?

But what about clothes and cosmetics? Clothes aren't too difficult as there are many boutique stores but cosmetics may be a problem. Body Shop is a chain, however they work hard to make products as fair trade as possible and also push women's rights, so in essence I'd be doing a good thing by buying their products.

What else do I need? Bicycle repair stuff is simple, there are so many local bike shops. There is a market every Thursday to get food and there are many local stores in Exeter.

It's decided. Watch this space for any conundrums that may come up! I feel like a regular Danny Wallace/Dave Gorman, wonder if I'll be asked to release a book at the end, I think not!

starbucks coffee logo redesign.

Well Starbucks have unveiled their new logo marking 40 years of the company.

As a brand I don't think the starbucks has lost any recognition with this logo, same colour, siren-image - on a coffee cup. however i don't think there was any need to change the full logo, it was beautiful, recognisable, distinctive and had a pure american punch.

Maybe tweaking the original logo to make it cleaner and sharper and slightly more modern would have been enough. It's lost it's personality and has become just another clip-art ident.

I wonder if this will have any effect on their product quality? (Queue slurp on insipid coffee.)