Who are you and what is your business called?

I’m Sally, animal lover, allotment wanter, a city girl who covets the country idyll (but actually lives in the burbs so that I’m never too far away if I need to get my London fix of hustle, bustle and pollution!)  My business is called Aroma Candles.

Tell us about your business – what do you do/make/sell?

I set up Aroma Candles in 2009 selling completely natural scented candles which I hand make using soy wax and scent with essential oils.  Soy wax is a vegetable wax made from the oil of soy beans.  It’s vegan friendly, biodegradable, comes from renewable sustainable sources and does not give off any toxic fumes when burned, unlike traditional paraffin wax.  All the essential oils I use are sustainably sourced as well.  Aroma Candles has evolved since it started and I now make home fragrance products such as reed diffusers and linen sprays.  I have also just launched a range of soaps and bath products too which follow the same philosophy, being made from pure vegetable oils and scented with essential oils.

Aroma Candles Soaps - Orange and Geranium Loaf

Your business has an element of being Fairtrade/ethical/eco-friendly. Why is that important?

For my products, I think it’s essential that they are eco-friendly.  If I bring something into my home or put something onto my skin I want to know that it’s not going to potentially harm me or the environment.  I don’t want to breathe toxic fumes from a candle made with paraffin wax or put products on my skin that contain ingredients with names I can’t even pronounce!  I want to know what’s in the products I use and that’s what I offer my customers.  All my products are made with natural ingredients that people recognise such as olive oil, cocoa butter and essential oils.   No petrochemicals, no synthetic ingredients and nothing is tested on animals. 

Does your passion for running an eco-friendly business influence your personal life too or is it not as important in your day-to-day living?

My eco-friendly business was borne out of my passion for eco-friendly day-to-day living.  I’ve always loved candles but struggled to find any where it was clear what they were made of, which is why I started making my own.  I also hate waste of any kind and have always recycled and reused.  I try and incorporate this into my business wherever possible, for instance, reusing the mountain of packaging materials that I receive.  Being a small business owner I always try and support other small businesses which have similar values to my own, both in my personal spending and business buying.   

Aroma Candles - Lemon & Bergamot Candles

Society is far more aware of eco issues than it was decades ago, with even national/global brands trying to get in on the act. What do you think is the future of Fairtrade/organic etc – a passing fad or more to it than that?

I think the future looks good and eco-awareness is here to stay.  I certainly hope so anyway!  In a strange way I think the current economic climate has helped because it has made us all more aware of how and where we spend.  As money is tight for all of us at the moment it’s forcing us to think more about our purchases rather than just spending for the sake of it.  We don’t want to waste our hard earned cash so are much more discerning in our spending.  I think as consumers we are asking more questions and want to know that products we purchase have come from companies with similar values to our own.

Give us your best tip for living a more eco-friendly life!

Think before you throw anything away – can it be reused, recycled, upcycled!

Thank you so much to Aroma Candles for agreeing to be profiled. To find out more, you can visit their website, and like them on Facebook.

Follow DaisychainBaby on Facebook and Twitter. If you want to guestpost for us, email linsATdaisychainbabyDOTcoDOTuk. Our clearance section lives here

Who are you and what is your business called?

We (Howard and Allyson) set up Gifts from Nature approx 18 months ago to promote the use of recycled and organic products.  We have recently launched a new website to give a more user-friendly buying experience and one which encourages the use of recycled material for daily living – www.theecolife.co.uk

Go on – tell us about it!

A children's backpack available through Gifts from Nature

We want to help to change the present day attitude to everything being “disposable” and to encourage the use of reducing waste, reusing items wherever possible and recycling anything it’s possible to recycle!

Does your passion for running an eco-friendly business influence your personal life too or is it not as important in your day-to-day living?

Our personal wish to recycle and reduce waste and encourage others to do the same, led us to set up our business, Gifts from Nature.

Society is far more aware of eco issues than it was decades ago, with even national/global brands trying to get in on the act. What do you think is the future of Fairtrade/organic etc – a passing fad or more to it than that?

Definitely not a passing fad!  It is essential to raise awareness of the benefits of Fairtrade, sustainably sourced, organic and recycled goods to ensure that future generations enjoy the same environmental climate as we do currently.

Give us your best tip for living a more eco-friendly life!

Everyone doing a little will always be better than one person doing a lot!

Thank you so much to Gifts from Nature for agreeing to be profiled during Fairtrade Fortnight. To find out more, you can visit their website, like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter!

Follow DaisychainBaby on Facebook and Twitter. If you want to guestpost for us, email linsATdaisychainbabyDOTcoDOTuk. Our clearance section lives here

Who are you and what is your business called?

My name is Emma Weatherall and I am organising the first natural living fair for families in Bath called So Natural Baby

Go on – tell us about it!

So Natural Baby is a single day fair and festival celebrating all aspects of natural family life, from parental experience to pre-birth and pregnancy through to childhood. A re-invention of the traditional baby fair, So Natural Baby will be a great day out for the whole family!  By partnering with local businesses to reinvent the traditional baby fair by focusing awareness on natural supports and holistic health from before your baby is born all the way through childhood, we hope to provide families with the opportunity to learn about the variety of natural and ethically-sourced products, services, information and support that is available to them in the Bath area. Parents, practitioners, experts and families are welcomed to explore and discover everything on offer to help you to create a natural environment for your family.  We will be offering workshops and demonstrations especially tailored to new parents and parents-to-be, open to the public absolutely FREE.

So Natural Baby - eco-friendly baby shows in Bath

Your business has an element of being Fairtrade/ethical/eco-friendly. Why is that important?

Natural, environmentally friendly products are kinder to our health. It’s as simple as that.  We all are children of the chemical age and man-made chemicals are found everywhere, which profoundly affects us all, often without us realising.  And when babies and little children are involved, we all want to give them the best start in life and offer them the best that we can provide. Natural and “eco-friendly” or ethically-sourced, means that the ingredients and materials used in the product you are buying have been grown with respect for the earth, the soil, the farmers and you, the consumer.  It is commonly accepted that skin allergies are often triggered by chemical-based household and personal care products; organic foods and fibres are spared the application of toxic and persistent insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and fertilizers.  The benefits of choosing organic personal care products are numerous as well as with organic food, organic personal care products enable you to avoid exposure to harmful synthetic pesticides.  It’s all about care of our bodies and our planet.

Does your passion for running an eco-friendly business influence your personal life too or is it not as important in your day-to-day living?

It does affect my day-to-day life.  I don’t like the idea of ingesting harmful chemicals into my body when it is not necessary and when my little boy was born, I spent a lot of time searching for products that would do what I needed them to, without the involvement of substances that may negatively affect his beautiful new body.  I try to buy second-hand and re-use and mend things in the house as much as possible to reduce wastage, we use cloth nappies and all my cleaning products are home-made or from brands that use natural ingredients.  I think that sometimes people forget that the “environment” when we refer to being environmentally and eco-friendly is not just about looking after the wider environment of our planet (which whilst very important, can seem like a daunting prospect!), but that it also refers to our own personal environment of the home and of ourselves.

Society is far more aware of eco issues than it was decades ago, with even national/global brands trying to get in on the act. What do you think is the future of Fairtrade/organic etc – a passing fad or more to it than that?

I don’t think it is a fad.  Over the past few decades, the global population has become increasingly aware of some of the mistakes that we made as science and industry expanded and developed new, and at the time, exciting, chemicals and processes.  More and more deadly chemicals are being banned, while others are widely frowned upon and many of us have become much more conscious of what we’re putting into our bodies, and how we are treating the earth that we live from.  The market for organic food and fair-trade products has grown 20% – 24% annually since the 1990s and the adoption of national standards for certification is expected to open up new markets for producers and help consumers to know exactly what is inside the products that they are purchasing. I think that as more people become aware of and understand the impact that buying organic and fairtrade has on our own, individual quality of life, as well as that of the earth as a whole, hopefully the Natural way of life will soon become the “norm”.

Give us your best tip for living a more eco-friendly life!

Think about what a product is made from and how or where it has been manufactured before you buy it.  As a general guide, the fewer processes it has been through and the more ingredients or material names that you can recognise, the better!  I always look for products where the ingredients listed are simple to understand and recognisable. Look for the Soil Association logo, Fairtrade mark or similar UK certification standards and try to buy local and handmade first, as that supports individuals within your local community making a living.

Thank you so much to So Natural Baby for agreeing to be profiled during Fairtrade Fortnight. To find out more, you can visit their website, like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter!

Follow DaisychainBaby on Facebook and Twitter. If you want to guestpost for us, email linsATdaisychainbabyDOTcoDOTuk. Our clearance section lives here

Who are you and what is your business called?

My name is Brenda Cuby and I run a natural living blog called The Green Familia

Go on – tell us about it!

We blog about ethical, eco-friendly products, companies and events.  We try and feature as many UK based businesses as possible and help new companies to utilise our audience to promote their green ideas/products.

Your business has an element of being Fairtrade/ethical/eco-friendly. Why is that important?

It is really important to us, as we feel that being Fairtrade or ethical or eco-friendly will help our planet exist in a better way.  Plus so many of these companies are small businesses run by somebody who is passionate about it which is what we are with the TGF blog.

The Green Familia offer a wealth of tips and hints for living a greener life

Does your passion for running an eco-friendly business influence your personal life too or is it not as important in your day-to-day living?

It is important to me and it has helped me change my family and sceptic friends to being more eco-friendly with their day-to-day living and buying.  Although it is a slow and long process, but thankfully I have oodles of patience and each little step they take makes me happy.

Society is far more aware of eco issues than it was decades ago, with even national/global brands trying to get in on the act. What do you think is the future of Fairtrade/organic etc – a passing fad or more to it than that?

It definitely is here to stay and is far more than a passing fad.  I think that the future will see more Fairtrade/organic products available and I do think that the recession has made people more aware of what they are spending their money on and so that they realise that quality not quantity is a key factor.  But you will always need passionate people to lead the eco drive otherwise it could stagnate.

Give us your best tip for living a more eco-friendly life!

Make a small change every day or every week.  The power of changing one thing at a time is immense.  It is impossible to expect people to change overnight, but maybe next time you are shopping you buy organic meat rather than ordinary.  Or you buy from your local greengrocer than the big supermarket.  Buy an organic cotton baby gift rather than a piece of plastic.  The ways to change are endless, but we must remember if we each make a small change the big change will eventually happen.

Thank you so much to The Green Familia for agreeing to be profiled during Fairtrade Fortnight. To find out more, you can visit their website, like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter!

Follow DaisychainBaby on Facebook and Twitter. If you want to guestpost for us, email linsATdaisychainbabyDOTcoDOTuk. Our clearance section lives here

Who are you and what is your business called?

We are two sisters Camilla & Emily (aka the Lovelies), who run a business called Lovely & Lovely

Go on – tell us about it!

We have an eclectic range of lovely products from baby vests, t-shirts & bags that we print ourselves; to handmade baby dresses, adult skirts & handbags; to beautiful fair trade dresses, lanterns, blankets & felt flower hats; to really funky British designed retro board games & wind-up ladybird, bee & butterfly torches!

Click here to see some of the Lovelies' lovely items!

Your business has an element of being Fairtrade/ethical/eco-friendly. Why is that important?

It probably sounds corny but we believe that we have to live up to the Lovely part of our name & being ethical, trading fairly & having a strong eco-friendly policy is a big part of that. What is the pleasure in owning something that has been produced in poor conditions by children forced out to work because their families are starving? We do our utmost to only deal with companies with a clear ethical & eco-friendly policy & choose fair trade wherever possible. By supporting these organisations we feel that we can in a small way help towards changing things for the better! In addition we feel that it’s important to support local businesses & our own economy too, so we do also try to support local, ethical & eco-friendly British companies & British designed & made products too, even if that can make things a little more expensive sometimes.

Does your passion for running an eco-friendly business influence your personal life too or is it not as important in your day-to-day living?

It is absolutely as important in our day-to-day lives! We’re not perfect, far from it but we try to apply the same principles to our daily lives as we do to our business practices, I don’t think it would be possible to sustain a believable eco-friendly business otherwise, it would be rather like being a healthy living adviser & living off hamburgers & chips…

Purple Fairy Hat by Lovely & Lovely

Society is far more aware of eco issues than it was decades ago, with even national/global brands trying to get in on the act. What do you think is the future of Fairtrade/organic etc – a passing fad or more to it than that?

We think that now that these issues are in the public consciousness they are here to stay. It might take a while but if we all play our part eventually it will be unthinkable to buy & sell in a way that doesn’t take all the eco & ethical considerations into account. After all not all that long ago it would have been unthinkable for two unmarried sisters to be running their own business without a male family member to deal with all the financial & legal matters!

Give us your best tip for living a more eco-friendly life!

Always take a shopping bag with you – no more plastic bags!

Thank you so much to Lovely & Lovely for agreeing to be profiled during Fairtrade Fortnight. To find out more, you can visit their website and like them on Facebook!

Follow DaisychainBaby on Facebook and Twitter. If you want to guestpost for us, email linsATdaisychainbabyDOTcoDOTuk. Our clearance section lives here

Fairtrade Fortnight's 2012 campaign "Take a Step"

To celebrate events this year, we are running a lovely 10% discount off our entire range throughout the fortnight. To claim your 10%, simply quote DCB200 at checkout and your money off will automatically be calculated – yippee! Whilst all of our brands are ethically sourced and/or using organic cotton, one of our fave brands Little Green Radicals is actually certified Fairtrade which means we love them all the more, and their Spring/Summer 2012 collection is right around the corner – delivery any day now!

We’ll also be showcasing profiles of other fab eco-friendly businesses, asking them a series of questions about what it means to them to be running an earth-conscious venture and whether they think it’s just a passing fad. This starts tomorrow with our fellow marketeers, Lovely & Lovely.

Aside from that, some interesting little projects in the pipeline, including me trying to get to grips with some baking of the Fairtrade kind…my kitchen may well up resembling a catastrophe! So watch this space, and in the meantime, why not tell us what you’ve got planned for the next couple of weeks?

Follow DaisychainBaby on Facebook and Twitter. If you want to guestpost for us, email linsATdaisychainbabyDOTcoDOTuk. Our clearance section lives here

Blue Stripe Wrap Jacket by Little Green Radicals, reduced from £26 to £15

I also really enjoy working with the team behind the brand – they are passionate, supportive and have a small base reaching out to a global audience. Despite great expansion in the past couple of years, they haven’t forgotten the little businesses (like DCB!) and I always enjoy meeting up with them at tradeshows and keeping in touch via email. I never set out to be hard-nosed business woman and although of course it’s important to be successful, I truly believe that there are ways to do this without treating people badly, and my ethical ideals have always extended to anyone I come into contact with on a business basis. Little Shrimp have always spoken honestly about the tough times of the economy and made me feel that there is a genuinely good relationship in place.

Candy Stripe Trousers by Little Shrimp reduced from £15 to £8

With that, we are hoping for a new collection to be in production later in 2012 and I can’t wait to see it! In the meantime, some of the current range where we have only limited stock left in the baby section has been placed on sale. So in my humble opinion, you really should snap something up and see for yourself what I’m talking about!

Follow DaisychainBaby on Facebook and Twitter. If you want to guestpost for us, email linsATdaisychainbabyDOTcoDOTuk. Our clearance section lives here

It quickly became apparent that they were arguing about money, or rather he was shouting and she was trying to respond in a calm and quiet manner. He was asking her to give him the f***ing money, calling her the word that we all hate as well as every other name under the sun and went so far as to actually spit at her through the fence. Aside from wondering what on earth she was even doing talking to him and not walking away, the thought that was going through my head was: do I do anything? He kept screaming that she owed him this money and he wanted the card as well and if she touched anything of his again he would f***ing kill her. All the time he was trying to lunge through the fence at her, fortunately she was standing far enough back that he couldn’t reach. After about 5 minutes of him threatening to come into the station, she gave him what he wanted, he disappeared with one last ‘c’ word and she went up and over the tracks to the opposite platform.

Should we mind our own business?

It’s stayed with me for most of the day for many reasons: thankfully I don’t see this kind of thing too often so it shocks me when I do; it made me realise how DAMN lucky I am to have a loving and supportive husband, friends and family and to not find myself caught up in any situations where anyone would even speak to me like that that I actually knew; and mainly, because I couldn’t help wondering what I would have done if it had got worse.

My thoughts were that from our side there was definitely safety in numbers – the station was manned by TFL bods, as well as some burly looking maintenance guys fixing the signs and several passengers. Would I have been brave enough to intervene by myself if it had continued, and not just in this situation but in any where someone is under attack? I always like to think I would, because I’d want someone else to come my help if I needed it, but when push comes to shove would I protect a stranger over myself? Are our reactions different when a woman is involved versus two men? What would YOU do?

Follow DaisychainBaby on Facebook and Twitter. If you want to guestpost for us, email linsATdaisychainbabyDOTcoDOTuk. Our clearance section lives here

SO! To the goodies! I wanted to let everyone know what is in the prize and there just isn’t enough space on Facebook to right it all down. Before I start, I should add that everything we have is either organic cotton or ethically sourced. It should all last really well so long as they still fit of course! Also, I like colour as a rule. I consider some things unisex that the rest of you may not, but I don’t really do SAFE! So enjoy, here it is!

Our bumper unisex baby giveaway!

-Turquoise pixie style hat by Pili Pala. Size 6-12 months.

-Red & White striped bandana bib by Little Green Radicals. One size

-Citrus Spot bandana bib by HipHipBaby. One size

-Handknitted green shoes by Daisy Dumpling. Size 0-3 months

-Handknitted green hat by Daisy Dumpling. Size 6-12 months

-Handknitted green mittens by Daisy Dumpling. Size 6-12 months

-Muslin with turquoise elphant print by Aden & Anais. This is HUGE!

-Red short-sleeved tshirt by Pili Pala. Size 6-12 months

-Red & navy leggings with yellow trim by Pili Pala. Size 6-12 months

-Turquoise trousers with turn-over cuffs by Pili Pala. Size 3-6 months

-Moomin tshirt by Green Eyed Monster. 0-6 months

-Purple leggings by Little Green Radicals. 0-6 months

-Denim shorts by Green Cotton. Size 3 months

-Sleeveless blue star print vest by Green Cotton. Size newborn

-Sleeveless green stripe vest by Green Cotton. Size 3 months

-Orange & purple vest by Green Cotton. Size 6 months

Well that’s it! To enter, you need to go to our Facebook fanpage and find the original note I wrote about the giveaway on the wall. It should be the one that has all the comments. All you need to do is LIKE the page, then once you find my wall entry, LIKE IT, SHARE IT, and LEAVE A COMMENT ON IT!

The winner will be picked by one of those good randomiser thingies on Thursday evening at 8pm! ENJOY! x

Follow DaisychainBaby on Facebook and Twitter. If you want to guestpost for us, email linsATdaisychainbabyDOTcoDOTuk. Our clearance section lives here