Top Ten Greenest Brands

Marketing week carried out a survey recently and here are the results!

A lot of this is obviously to do with image, with M&S recently charging for plastic carrier bags.

10 Greenest Brands

1. Marks & Spencer
2. The Body Shop
3. Innocent
4. Co-Op
5. Ecover
6. Honda
7. Waitrose
8. Tesco
9. BP
10. Greenpeace

10 Worst Brands

McDonalds has starting converting old chip fat into biodiesel to power its lorries, but this failed to improve it's un-green image. Probably all the chavs leaving smelly rubbish on the tube don't help.

1. Shell
2. Exxon Esso
3. McDonalds
4. BP
5. BA
6. Ryanair
7. BAA
9. Coca-Cola
9. E.on
10. British Gas

Virgin Money Launch The Virgin Climate Change Fund

Ever want to Invest Your money into the greenest companies? Virgin are now offering a green investment fund which looks to invest into environmental leaders in their industry. Apparently these greener companies are performing better than heavy polluters so hopefully these bad-boys will take note now, and go green themselves :)

The Virgin Climate Change Fund is an environmental fund with a difference, investing in businesses who are driving outstanding profit growth and are environmental leaders in their industry.

Unlike most green funds, the Virgin Climate Change Fund can invest in oil, transport, and every other sector, cherry-picking the environmental leaders in each who can offer the highest returns.

These businesses are starting to outperform the worst polluters. Customers prefer them, and they’re not saddled with green taxes and penalties. The net result for investors? A better return on their money.

Apply to the Virgin Climate Change fund Online

Eurostar - The Environmentally Friendly Option

Eurostar is bigging up its green credentials to attract some of the short haul fliers who are worried about their carbon emissions.

You will already be aware that Eurostar's 186 mph high-speed train service has become the number one choice for travellers between London, Ebbsfleet, Ashford, Paris, Brussels, Lille, Calais, Disneyland Resort Paris, Avignon and the French Alps. But that's not all - don't forget that Eurostar is also a more environmentally friendly option.

Flying between London, Paris and Brussels generates ten times more emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) per traveller than going by Eurostar.
Eurostar is also committed to generating even less carbon dioxide emissions per traveller in future years and has pledged to achieve a reduction of 25% per traveller journey by 2012 (compared to 2006).

Taking the train is now a truly attractive greener alternative to flying.

I have never took eurostar, but I would gladly give it a go. Especially as now I don't drive! Have you used Eurostar before?

Ecoballs - The Eco Wash Balls

Ecoballs are designed as an environmentally friendly alternative to washing powder in washing machines.

The price works out to about 3p a wash and an ecoball will last for around 1000 washes. They are also refillable.

So what do you do with your ecoball for an eco wash?
Simply place 3 ecoballs inside the machine instead of detergent. There are no harsh chemicals to filer through to the environment with ecoballs! You can also reduce the amount of water you use with a reduced rinse cycle, which also saves electricity - YES!



More benefits of ecoballs:
- Eco Balls will not fade bright colours
- Ecoballs willnot damage clothing fibres
- Ecoballs are Hypoallergenic so suitable for sensitive skins/eczema (including babies and children)
- Ecoballs® softens clothes even in hard water. As your clothes will be softer no fabric conditioner is necessary.
- Ecoballs® are also anti-bacterial and kills Escherichia Coli and Staphylococcus Aureus.

Save £10 with Eddiesessentials!
Was £34.99, now £24.99
What you get:
- 3 ecoballs
- ecoball refill
- Stain Remover
- 30 day moneyback guarantee

These seem a great idea to me for busy households, and the ecoballs can also be combined with limescale reducing Magnoballs for an even greener wash!


if you tumble dry clothes then use tumble dryer balls for faster drying and for softening clothes.

Carbon Neutral Car Insurance Quotes

I am trying to sell my car at the moment but if I did buy another one in the future I would try to go green with my car insurance!

There are a few 'Green' car insurance companies out there at the moment. A lot of people with cars probably feel a bit guilty about emissions, and rightly so. Going to a carbon neutral car insurance company makes a lot of sense these days, even for that warm smug feeling. If you can save any money at the same time then thats a bonus!

1. The Green Car Insurance Company

This insurance company offer a 100% offset of your car's emissions! You also get a 5% discount if you drive a low emission vehicle or do a low mileage each year. 5% of claims are also donated to charity which is also rather nice. We at jolly green blogger love incentives to invest in a more eco-friendly vehicle!
Get a Car Insurance Quote from the Green Car Insurance Company

2. iBuyEco

This insurance company provide a similar service to the green car insurance company listed above, where they offset your motor's CO2 emissions each year. At the moment they have a special offer where they pay out the money themselve sto offset your emissions, so its a pretty good deal!
Get a Car Insurance Quote from iBuyEco

Lets just hope these companies do not spoil it all by mailing a tonnage of paper to each customer!

Do you use any of these car insurance companies? I would love to hear from people who do. As for me, I am giving up the car so I no longer have to pay for insurance. Ahh!

Wayne Hemingway's Large Butt

Would you place a giant bum in your garden?

In all fairness, there usually are large bottoms in many of the UK's gardens already, so im sure one more would not hurt at all. We here at Jolly Green Blogger are all for innovative products which can help the environment, especially when they are as cheeky as this!

These limited Water Butts are a limited edition and are designed by fashion guru Wayne Hemingway and his Wife as part of their new 'Shackup' Brand. They have also designed some sheds, but I don't think they can hope to be as interesting in a design sense as an odd water butt.

I don't think they are to everyone's taste, but to the more eccentric water savers out there these products will not hit a bum note. The Water Buts have a 215 litre capacity, have a tap to drain the fluid and can fit any standard size downpipe.

The product pictured is called the 'bottlebutt', and is available from Evengreener for £99.99. There are 3 colours to choose from: White, Black and Tanned.

Here is the 'Butt being looked at on the 'this morning' program, hosted by another ass, Richard Madeley.

More Recycling Bins!

I have just found some decent recycling bins on EvenGreener for £24.60 (Was £29, Save 15%). These are perfect for separating your recycling in your kitchen.



There are also some tough recycling bags which are pretty cheap - just £4.50 for 3.

Sun Jars are Eco Tastic

I bought my Mother a Sun Jar as a birthday gift, I think she liked it! It was strange as it worked streaight out of the box, without any charging at all. I took the photo above with some difficulty as it looked like the camera light kept turning it off!

It works well for a nightlight - I think she will be keeping it in the conservatory to ward off evil spirits too.

I got this from the Gadget Shop for about twenty quid. Unusual and eco-friendly gift! Hopefully the glass is recycled but im not sure if it is or not (probably not).

You can also get the Moon Jar from Firebox which gives out a cool blue light.

Recycled Cufflinks - Circuit Boards

Both stylish and eco friendly fine gentlemans circuit board cufflinks. These appeal to me, being both a nerd and an eco warrior. What better way to recycle old circuit boards than to convert them into a fashion accessory - GENIUS!

The cufflinks come in 4 different colours and are priced at a hefty £18.95 from boysstuff.

Blogger Buzz - Green Blogs

Check out bloggers list of superb green blogs: Enviromental Blog Roundup



They did this in aid of blog action day, which took place yesterday. I have been really busy of late but have researched many green products to write about so expect some writings soon!