The chemicals in the detergents also get washed away to be dealt with by the water treatment plants so that it can then be used again. However, some of the water ends up in water courses where the chemicals cause many problems such as death of aquatic life or the over production of algae. Sometimes the water is not completely purged of all the chemicals, so it comes back to us with traces of the chemicals still in.

There are many options now available to you that get your clothes clean and don’t harm anyone along the way, such as the Bio D range of products that are biodegradable and are totally harmless even if they do make it into the waterways. Or try our Soap nuts – so natural that they actually grow on trees! Please also investigate the Biowashball which will do around 1000 washes for under £25.

All are better for the environment, you, and your purse. The cooler you are able to wash your clothes the less energy you are using for the wash, so the less CO2 you are producing and the lower your energy bills will be. Most detergents – eco –friendly or other wise are now designed to be effective on cooler washes, so there is no excuse! Just get into the habit, and you will be pleasantly surprised.

There are loads of great cleaning products available that are not only wonderfully effective but are also kind to you, your children, your pets, and the environment. After all – where do the majority of our cleaning products end up? Exactly – down the sink!

Here’s a simple test to see how dreadful the cleaning products are that you use: Go to the place where you keep your cleaning products. Take out the bottles, and read the labels to find out how many hazardous, or extremely lethal chemicals you are keeping in one place in your home (You can stop at 12, because by then you will get the general idea).

Have a look in the cleaning section of the shop for some examples of the amazing range of ecofriendly products available to you, most of which are designed to perform several functions. Products like the Pink Stuff or the Eco Buddy, or even the magic eraser or the micro fibre cloths that require nothing but water, thereby saving you a small fortune at the same time. We also do refills, which save you money, and reduce the amount of plastic going into landfills

There are often several children going to school who live in the same area who are individually driven to school. Not only would this save you money on petrol but lots of time in the mornings and afternoons too! Consider fitting your car with a fuel saver, which reduces the amount of fuel your car uses to run, so that even the trips you do have to make are cheaper and healthier!

These chemicals have been found in peoples fatty tissue, breast tissue, and even the brain. What is worse is that many companies make their products drying and harmful to our skin by including chemicals that are also used as industrial de-greasers. They then take out the product’s natural moisturising properties (usually glycerine) and then sell it to you in another product! Consider this.

A car’s antifreeze is 40% propylene glycol. Many underarm deodorants are 60% propylene glycol. Have a look and see whether any of these chemical nasties are in your shampoo, soap, shower gel, shaving foam, moisturiser, foundation, toothpaste, perfume, etc etc: Sodium Laural sulphate (SLS) Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLES) Parabens Propyl, Methyl, Butyl, or Ethyl, TEA, Triclosan, DEA, parfum, mineral oil, to name but a few.

Luckily there are some wonderful personal care products that use only natural ingredients, and in may cases totally organic ingredients. In many cases, after a short time of switching to using these products, people find that the condition of their hair and skin actually improves, and they have to buy fewer products. Take a look in the Wikaniko shop to see the great range of personal care products available, and check out the Wikaniko forum for recommendations and reviews!

Energy saving light bulbs or rechargeable batteries may seem more expensive initially, but they save you fortunes in the long run. Items that are ‘Fair Trade’ mean that the people who put the work into producing your product, whether it is coffee, bananas or a fruit bowl are getting paid fairly for the work they have done, just as you would expect to be. So your purchase can benefit others. Purchasing organic, sustainable, or recycled materials means that in the long term, you will not only be benefiting your own health but also benefiting bio-diversity, sustainability, and the more of us that purchase these products, the more mainstream they will become.

Alternatively there are ‘battery regenerators’ available from Wikaniko. These bring your single use batteries back to life for the cost of about 1p.

They do this by safely cleaning the dirty electrodes inside the battery, enabling you to be able to use them again. Of course, rechargeable batteries are possibly the best way to go. Although the initial outlay is more expensive, they work out much cheaper in the long run as you can keep re-using them, and they only cost a couple of pence to recharge.

Heading the campaign, Huw Kingston confirmed that the new proposal recently discussed at a public meeting, is backed by local retailers and would aim to switch the sale of delivered commercial bottled water for local filtered spring water packaged in reusable bottles. He also declared that they do not wish to save the world or ban the sale of bottled water everywhere; they are just trying to ensure the sustainability of their town.

Mr Kingston also added that another motivation behind this green momentum is an ongoing battle with Sydney-based company Norlex Holdings Pty Ltd who planned to extract water from a local reservoir which would then, after being delivered by truck, be bottled in the city. Their project has been turned down by the authorities and Norlex is now appealing against the decision.

Bottled water is popular, with a 10 per cent sales growth on the previous year. According to Peter Stewart, the local newspaper store owner, he would lose an estimated A$1,600 a year if he stopped selling bottled water. However, in Bundanoon, with only 40 per cent of bottles sold recycled, the damage to the environment is far too important for apathy.

The water bottles production process is extremely harmful to the environment. This is mainly due to the fossil fuels needed to heat the raw plastic before the bottle moulding. The extra packaging, often plastic wrap and cardboard, is adding to the problem along with their transportation, burning more fossil fuel. After use, if not recycled, the bottles then pollute landfills for several hundred years and will generate harmful gases as they disintegrate, contributing to climate change.

While bottled water certainly has its appeal as a portable source of rehydration, the outstanding negative impact on the environment far outweighs the perceived health and taste benefits. Moreover, these concerns can easily be sorted with a home filtration system, which is believed to improve the taste and quality.  It is then recommended that the purified tap water should not be kept in disposable plastic bottles as they may leach toxic chemicals into the water as they degrade.

The water industry has a major carbon footprint, releasing huge amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, 60,000 metric tons in 2006 according to a study by the Australian state government. The increased awareness about environmental issues has encouraged people to take action.

In 2003 the Australian war on plastic started in Coles Bay (Tasmania), where offering plastic bags was banned in stores, this policy is now carried on with a state wide ban in South Australia. In September, if the community supports the proposal, Bundanoon could join them and ban the sale of commercial bottled water.

•           Application:

Apply on hair, face and body. It can be used on adults, babies, small children and pets.

•           Benefits:

100% natural, there are no chemicals, no perfumes, no added colours or other additives. It is good to you and it is good to the environment too.

Gentle on the skin, it is great to use if you have skin problems such as sensitive or allergic skin, dry or psoriatic skin, and eczema. It is gentle on babies’ skin too.

Good value, Aleppo Soap lasts for months due to its density and it is cost-effective as it can replace shampoo, conditioner, face soap, body soap and shaving cream.

•           Testimonials:

Mrs P: “We purchased a bar of the Aleppo soap to try. As we have a dog with very sensitive skin we decided to cut the bar in half, to use half to bath her. We left the half on the side, and our cat was rubbing herself against it. She loved it !!”

Trevor: “Personally, one of my favourite products is the Aleppo soap. Before I looked into the ‘green’ thing, I used every kind of toiletry imaginable. Shower gel, shampoo, shaving foam, etc. – there wasn’t any room in the shower cubicle for me as I had so much stuff in there! Then I found out about Aleppo soap. I tried it, and at first didn’t get on with it. Rubbing a block of soap on what’s left of your hair seems a bit alien, but after a couple of goes, the soap moulded into a better shape. Now I won’t use anything else! I dread to think of all those chemicals that used to go on me and down the plughole……”

• Retail:

WIKANIKO offers you a large 200gm bar for just £4. 99.

Try some today!

If you would like to go one step further, look for recycled paper products. This re-uses discarded paper to make new clean paper once again. More often than not there is no discernible difference between new and recycled, except that you have helped prevent the chopping down of a tree. Any paper that you do use, make sure you use it to its fullest. Don’t discard a piece of paper because you made a small mistake. Use it as scrap paper, perhaps near the telephone to take messages or to leave notes for your loved ones to do the dishes etc!

You can re-use envelopes using the envelope re-use labels available from the stationery section, and some recycled Post it Notes When your paper has been as useful as it can possibly be to you don’t just throw it away but make sure that you get it recycled. This way it can be useful to you or someone else once again. Check out all the products in the Stationary section. You will find a myriad of useful things. Oh – and use the free Wikaniko e-Kards (online greeting card service) to reduce the number of cards you have to send out in the post! It will save you a fortune too….