Eat!

Eat! Ekostore is a fantastic little store in the centre of Stockholm that has everything you need, just as your regular supermarket. You can find milk, meat, juice, vegetables and grains. They have a selection of schampoos, detergents, baby-products and sunscreens as well as chocolate, candies, nuts and much much more. So there is nothing you can't find in here. It feels good to know that you don't have to check for the organic labels, instead you just buy what you need and you'll know it's not harmful in any way. They are open 7 days a week with really generous opening hours, so there's no reason to shop anywhere else. It's also nice to support the local community and to make sure we keep wonderful places like this one open.

If you're a company they're able to deliver fruit to the office; a nice and easy way to care about your employees. They will even bring coffee, milk or other products if you want to. Of course your shopping will be delivered in a car that runs on biogas.

As an ECOmmunity member you'll get special deals and invitations to events, and if you're on Twitter or Facebook you'll get all the latest news and offers. Also, check out their website were you can read their blog and find some delicious dinner inspiration in the recipes section.

Bile Soap

Bile Soap is exactly what it sounds like. Soap made of ox bile. This may sound really weird, but the fact is that this is a fantastic product for stain removal. It works on almost any stains and any material. We use it for tough stains on clothes and carpets, but it can be used in the kitchen and in the bathroom too. People use it instead of schampoo to clean their animals. It comes as a soap bar or in liquid form.

Bile soap is completely organic and biodegradable. Every ingredient is organically grown and they are Fair Trade certified.

More information in Swedish; www.galltval.se. For information in English; Sonett. In Sweden it can be found in well-stocked supermarkets, stores for outdoor living or in health food stores.

Organic silverpolish

I read an interesting thing today that I had to try.

Line a ceramic or glass container with aluminium foil (or use an aluminium pan). Fill it up with boiling water and and add one tablespoon of baking soda and one tablespoon of salt. Drop in your silver pieces and make sure they touch both the foil and each other. Then just sit back and watch it work. When they are bright and shiny again (takes just a minute), fish them out, rinse them off and dry with a clean soft cloth.

Some of my napkin-rings were really black and not everything went away. To finish those last black parts I mixed baking soda with a little bit of water to a paste and just rubbed it for a few seconds. Now they're all shiny. Really easy and cheap and no chemicals!

Neutral

Neutral is a Swedish brand approved by the Swedish Asthma and Allergy foundation. They have a lot of different products from skincare to laundry detergent. There are also special products for children and infants.

All products are free from perfume, synthetic dyes and unnecessary additives and some products are marked with Svanen ecolabel (the Swan).

On their web-page you can find good tips on how to prevent allergies.

You can find Neutral in your regular supermarket.

Dishcloths

I found at least one brand that has 100% biodegradable dishcloths.
They are cheap, work well, and you can wash them in your regular washing-machine.
When you're done with them you can put them on your compost and they will be made into soil after about two months.

Read more here.

Ladybirds

Ladybirds are a good way to keep your garden organic and at the same time free from pests. Both larvae and adults eat different types of pests such as aphids and scale, and one type of ladybird feeds on fungus.

A ladybird which lives for one year can eat more than 5,000 aphids, so by not using pesticides you are actully feeding your ladybirds. Even if a plant is infested with aphids, when the ladybirds find the plant they will eat them quickly and the plant should recover just as fast as if you’d sprayed it.

If a ladybird gets plenty of aphids to eat, they can lay up to 2,000 eggs in a year which will improve your garden even more. Most people know what adult ladybirds look like but ladybird larvae are strange looking and many confuse them with pests. As a result many of them are killed by pesticides, including organic sprays, and a when there are fewer ladybirds there will usually be a pest outbreak. Learn what they look like before you spray so don't kill your garden protectors.

A garden full of ladybirds is a happy garden.

Whole Foods - Whole People - Whole Planet

Whole Foods Market started their first store in 1980 in Texas. Today, there are 310 stores in North America and the U.K and WFM are the world leading retailer when it comes to natural and organic food.

Apart from the actual stores they also contribute in spreading the message of a sustainable future. Among other things, they work together with farmers to get meat free from antibiotics and to reduce the use of pesticides in the fields.
WFM take great pride in not only caring for the animals and the planet but also to educate their customers in ways to reduce their impact on the environment. That includes discussions about animal cruelty, sustainable agriculture and why we should use environmentally-friendly cleaning materials etc. There is an extensive program designed to educate children, teachers and parents about healthy eating and to give children access to nutritious food.

They have also started a foundation, Whole Planet, that deals with micro-lending operations and sponsoring af neighborhood events to support organic farmers and expand the market for organic produce.

Whole Foods Market's vision is a sustainable and holistic future where we all work together with an in-depth knowledge of the environment and that we all are connected to each other. A future where everybody accepts resonsibility.

They see this vision as something that's going to seep through every company, organisation and individual and they lead by example through sustainable and ethical business practices.

It's a grand vision, and one for all of us to believe in to make it happen.

Read more; Wholefoodsmarket