Forget about organic cotton or hemp for your clothes - they are just so yesterday.  If you are looking for the next big thing in eco-friendly and fair trade clothing you need to go for bamboo.  

Just what are bamboo?s green credentials? Growing up to 1 foot each day on farmland means it?s renewable and sustainable - it is harvested in less than 3 years.  Also, being naturally resistant to most bacteria and microbes means there is no need for pesticides or chemicals meaning that it? organic.   Made in to clothes it becomes as soft as cashmere.  It?s naturally wicking and highly breathable properties means that it?s cool in summer and warm in winter.

New York based Panda Snack say they were the first company to have started taking the woody pulp of this fast growing plant and turning it in to silky soft t-shirts and polo shirts.  They  even hope to extend the market to include bamboo made home furnishings, sheets, towels and loungewear.

Here in the UK, Bam bamboo clothing, use bamboos naturally anti-bacterial and deodorization property to deliver a fantastic range of naturally anti-bacterial sports t-shirts for men and women.  Bam even say that for every item you buy from them, they will plant a tree on your behalf in the South American rainforest.  Meaning purchasing one Bam T-shirt - one tree - will account for the absorption of 367kg of carbon dioxide.!

In the US more than 60 million plastic water bottles are thrown away every single day! Even here in Britain, each person in Britain now drinks an average of 33 litres of bottled water per year - the empty water bottles mostly end up in landfill sites as waste.  

With many scientists believing that the purity and health benefits of bottled spring or mineral water are no greater than if you drink ordinary tap water,  why not start drinking tap water instead? You will save waste plastic, energy and your money.

If you are worried about your bottle of tap water not having the same street credibility as your designer bottled water, then get yourseld a Sigg bottle!  Manufactured in one piece extruded aluminium it can be used over and over again, and will last you for years (my Sigg is over 10 years old and still looking good!).  A Sigg bottle combines strength with lightweight, and has a hygienic interior coating which alleviates odours, after-taste and contamination of the contents. What?s more, the Sigg bottle has acquired cult status ... recognised even by New York's Museum of Modern Art.

You can get your Sigg bottle in the US from Amazon or in the UK from Field and Trek or Great Little Trading Company.

Many human activities contribute to climate change. Flying, driving, heating and powering our homes and workplaces all burn fossil fuels and this releases carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere.

There are now many companies that, for a small payment, will reduce an amount of CO2 equivalent to that which your activity releases.  This is known as ?carbon offsetting?.  Offsetting your ?carbon footprint? complements efforts to reduce it. It is a key tool for building carbon-responsibility into everyday life.

These CO2 offset companies don't  actually reduce the amount of greenhouse gas that you produce, only you can do that.  What they do is develop and run a huge range of projects that 'offsets' your emissions. 

These projects can be in:

• Renewable energy ? this replaces non-renewable fuel such as coal, oil or gas.
  
• Energy efficiency ? this reduces the amount of fuel needed.
• Forest restoration ? this absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere as the trees grow.

One UK based carbon offsetting company, Climate Care,  run projects that include restoring rain forests in Uganda.  Each hectare of rainforest that is restored is expected to absorb 400 tonnes of CO2. That?s equivalent to the annual emissions from 80 average sized UK homes.  Another project that they run is to introduce school stoves that run off a new renewable fuel source. Crop waste is being used to make biomass briquettes for the stoves, providing an extra income to farmers. This project is expected to save 11,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.  That?s equivalent to 7,000 fewer return trips from London to New York.

Projects that other offsetting companies like The Carbon Neutral Company  run include; switching boilers from oil to woodchip fuel in Scotland; installing solar lighting systems in India and Sri Lanka; and micro-hydro systems in Bulgaria. 

And you can probably guess the type of projects that UK based Grow a Forest offset your carbon emmissions against!

Most offset company websites include calculators to work out and offset emissions from people?s home energy use, driving and flights or from your business, meaning that you can easily see just how much CO2 release that you are responsible for, and therefore how much it will cost to offset your emissions.

If you don?t live in the UK, you can still offset your carbon dioxide emissions:

Renewable Choice  are a US based and run wind power offsets for private individuals and businesses.  TerraPass funds go directly to carbon-reducing energy projects across the US.

Offsets made easy:

The World Land Trust has set up a text message CO2 offset service, so now you can offset the carbon dioxide emissions that you are responsible for on the move, with your mobile phone.  Every  text will offset 140kgs of CO2 with the World Land Trust's Carbon Balanced Programme. 

NEW: Offset your visit to our website

• Create a user account to add your own green articles and ethical product news. It's fast, free and your personal information will not be shared. For every published article you send you'll offset a whopping 20kg of CO2!
  
• Submit your green, ethical or fairtrade website links to the Ecotivity Directory and offset 2kg of CO2. 
• Subscribe to the ecotivity newsletter and offset a full 1kg of CO2.

*Carbon offsets to be provided by Climate Care. All links and articles subject to approval by our editors. For verification of offsets , please contact us.

Going green doesn?t mean that you have to grow a beard, change you name to Sunburst or Flowerdew and wear a kaftan (although it may help) .  Just follow our 10 top tips to going green.  Simple things that everyone can fit into their everyday lives?.

1. Recycle waste cans, bottles, jars, plastics and newspapers.  Most local authorities run schemes to recycle this sort of waste.  If your local authority runs a scheme use it!  Cancel junk mail ? in the UK you can stop junk mail by registering with the Mailing Preference Service.  In the USA, register with the Direct Marketing Association to stop 75% of junk mail.
    
2. Where you can, avoid supermarkets.  Most of the food has travelled many hundreds and often thousands of miles before it gets to the supermarket shelf.   Try to buy seasonal locally produced food. Check out farmers' markets and farm shops and even local, independent stores.  Think of the food miles that are saved.  Find your local farmers' market in the UK or USA.
    
3. Save energy.  Not only will this reduce the CO2 output from power stations it will also save you money.  Switch things off when they're not being used. Only run your dishwasher or washing machine when it is full.  Fit thermostats on radiators and turn the heating.  Turning down your heating by just 1 degree can save 10% off your heating bill!  Draught-proof windows and doors and insulate loft and cavity walls.  If you use air conditioning to keep cool, turn the thermostat up a little.  Switch to low energy light bulbs.   You could also switch energy supplier to one that supplies electricity that is generated by wind power or hydro - look for the green energy taffifs.
    
4. If you want to get rid of something that you no-longer use,  Freecycle it.  The Freecycle Network  is made up of many individual groups across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely non-profit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns.
    
5. Save water. Have showers instead of baths. Don't use sprinklers or water hoses. Always turn the tap off when brushing your teeth!
    
6. Use your car less. For short trips, walk or cycle instead.  For longer journeys, use the bus or train.
    
7. Say no to carrier bags in shops. Cotton or string bags are very cheap ? use them instead.
    
8. If you have space for a compost bin, compost all organic waste. In the UK many councils run a scheme where you can buy a compost bin at a reduced price.
    
9. Start using rechargeable batteries. The average household uses 21 batteries a year. The UK generates 20,000 - 30,000 tonnes of waste general purpose batteries every year, but less than 1,000 tonnes are recycled.
   
   
10. Use eco-friendly cleaning products and toiletries.