Affiliate Eco Blog

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The team at AffiliateEco are pleased to announce that Mimi Myne has exclusively launched on the AffiliateEco Network.

Mimimyne is the brain child of Tabitha Potts, a mother of two small boys who worked previously as a TV researcher, web content editor and author (she co-wrote Bringing Up Baby; The New Mother’s Companion with Daisy Goodwin). Tabitha has had a life-long interest in the environment as she was brought up by hippy parents who recycled, grew their own vegetables and made their own cheese way before it was considered fashionable to be ‘green’.

She has been fascinated by design for years and started Me Me Mine Ltd when she noticed that there was a lack of eco shops catering to parents who were interested in buying modern, designer-made products for their children which were created with sustainability in mind. She and her family are now ‘growing up green’ in East London.

Me Me Mine Ltd was set up with the express intention of promoting sustainably produced and environmentally aware modern design for children in the UK and Europe.All their products are either handmade in the UK by designer-makers (this cuts down on the carbon footprint of products and encourages local craft and design), produced from a sustainable source (eg FSC forestry products), created from recycled materials (recycled vintage fabric is used by several of their designers), made of organic materials (eg organic cotton) or Fair Trade (providing a fair living wage for workers in the country of manufacture).

They have tried to consider the environment at every step when sourcing these products, and they hope you – and the planet – will breathe a sigh of relief when you and your children use them!

Affiliate Partners will earn 7% commission on each sale they generate.

November 20th, 2008 - Posted in Mimi Myne, New Merchant | | 0 Comments

Green Trading Offers

Green Trading who launched today on AffiliateEco have a whole host of offers for you. They are as follow;

Eco Shopping Offers

November 18th, 2008 - Posted in Merchant offers, green trading | | 0 Comments

Green Trading launches on AffilliateEco

At Green Trading, they believe that you do not have to sacrifice style or luxury when you switch to a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle. You can still enjoy the finer things in life if you live responsibly.

They offer fine organic and ethical goods. These include stylish clothing for men, women, and children as well as luxury beauty and household products. They source only products of the highest quality, products that we would be happy to use ourselves.

They offer competitively-priced, quality brands that are fairly traded and/or ethically made. They are fully committed to sourcing products made from organic or environmentally-friendly materials. As part of their business ethos they;

Only environmentally-friendly packaging where possible
Do their best to keep their delivery charges competitive.
Take customer service very seriously.
Do care that you are happy with your shopping experience and the goods that you buy from them.
Hope you will enjoy shopping with them as much as they have enjoyed selecting these products for you.

Affiliate Partner will earn 7% commission on each sale they generate.

November 18th, 2008 - Posted in New Merchant, green trading | | 0 Comments

Six Steps to Achieving Retail’s Holy Green Grail

Whether it’s offering your customers a greener (and cheaper) shipping option or re-routing and re-loading your shipping fleet, there are a handful of high-impact and relatively low-strain ways to make your deliveries as planet- and customer-friendly as possible.

Todd Mallett, Greenbiz.com, BusinessGreen, 13 Nov 2008

The urgency to “go green” has permeated the retail industry on everything from store lighting to packaging.

For instance, Tesco and other retailers are already working on carbon labelling that will record the amount of carbon dioxide emitted during the production, transport and consumption of the 70,000 products it sells.

But while the focus has been on energy conservation and recycling, retail’s elusive Holy Green Grail remains shipping. In the world of just-in-time delivery, the idea of offering green shipping options may seem to be anathema to a retailer’s traditional view of customer service. And it may even scare the wits out of inventory and transportation managers given the charge of making it happen.

But what if - instead of just offering overnight, two day or ground shipping - a retailer could offer green shipping that saves dozens or even hundreds of pounds of carbon emissions that won’t be released into the air? In today’s Inconvenient Truthworld, can you imagine the impact on the eco-friendly shopper buying products online who gets a message that says: “Your order is scheduled to arrive on Tuesday. However, if you want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 100 pounds of CO2, click here and your package will arrive on Thursday instead.”

There are a lot of shoppers out there who would click on that option in a heartbeat. This is a great way for a retailer to integrate customers and partners into its green decision making. And it doesn’t only have to be for online shoppers - it can also be used for special orders done in-store.

In an ultra-competitive market like retail, the ability to leverage green shipping can help to not only gain the trust and loyalty of green-focused customers and partners - it can also significantly impact the P&L ledger. However, it presents uncharted waters for inventory and transportation managers at companies that decide to take on a green shipping initiative.

The reality is that most customers and businesses have some flexibility when it comes to receiving shipments, such as First Thing in the Morning, 10 am, and Second Day Delivery options. However, there also is a rapidly growing awareness of the need to minimise the environmental impact of shipping.

The first retailers who can incorporate environmentally conscious shipping choices - both to consumers, and upstream to their supplier base - will not only reduce the costs of bringing a product to market. They will differentiate themselves to consumers, strategic partners, and yes, even investors, in a way that could provide a significant competitive advantage in the marketplace.

So what should retailers do to shape an effective green shipping strategy? Here are six key factors that can make the difference in the success or failure of green shipping strategies:

1. Metrics rule - Both consumers and partners will want to understand the environmental impact of all available shipping options at the time an order is placed. That means that retailers will need to clearly calculate the carbon impact in the order entry process. Will a shipment save 90 pounds or 190 pounds of carbon using the green shipping option?

CEOs and CFOs are focused on metrics, and so the person responsible for driving a green shipping strategy will need to provide rigorous measurements for the carbon emissions. This data will also put a retailer far ahead of other companies who do not track carbon emissions by shipment.

2. Disciplined load planning - Because green shipping options require a disciplined approach to load planning, retailers can significantly reduce capacity excess throughout your business. One of the biggest challenges facing retailers and their supply chain partners is getting the most out of their truckloads. That’s why an industry-wide goal has been to minimise or even eliminate un-utilised space within shipping containers.

The norm today is for trucks to hit the road with 50 per cent or more capacity to meet projected delivery timeframes. In some cases, these half-full trucks are sent out because of customer or business delivery demands. But many times, those factors don’t come into play in the customer’s mind.

A balance needs to be struck on meeting service levels and on-time orders, but there is still room for order flexibility for environmentally-conscious buyers. Sure, many businesses could not afford to run with broad delivery timeframes. But many other businesses would probably consider alternatives that extend delivery options by as little as several hours if presented with the cost benefits of doing so.

3. Visibility - Idle waste government regulations that aim to reduce engine idle time during the pickup and delivery process are all the rage across the country. One of the side benefits of taking a green approach that tracks carbon emissions throughout the entire shipping process is that retailers and their supply chain partners will have a better view of idling time.

Our research has found that companies that implement some form of anti-idling software, such as that found in fleet management software, can reduce idling time by up to 30 per cent.

4. Making the Right Turns - One of the biggest hidden costs in any supply chain comes from inefficient route planning that results in trucks sitting in traffic with profits leaking right out of the gas tank. Newth Morris, president of the Telogis’ GeoBase Group, which provides mapping, routing and geocoding software for transportation companies, points out that routes that are designed to avoid left turns can greatly reduce idling, and thus fuel costs. Right turns at intersections are also faster than left turns, due to ” right-on-red” laws and the fact that drivers only have to turn into just one lane of traffic when making a right turn.

Retailers and their supply chain partners can also help reduce fuel consumption by pre-loading vehicles in the morning; routing drivers according to volume; considering alternate pick-up and delivery times to avoid congestion; and using the communications tools available in fleet management solutions to immediately re-route drivers stuck in congested areas.

5. Alternate Modes - Studies have shown that truck deliveries are the most expensive form of transportation and distribution, and that cost is only going to go up as the cost of fuel continues to spiral out of control. Companies that can consider alternative modes of transportation and distribution, such as rail or ocean, can substantially reduce their environmental impact, and incorporate those savings into the green shipping option for customers.

6. Flex Those Schedules - As cited in the example given at the start of this story, it has already been proven by the likes of FedEx, UPS, Amazon and others that customers are willing to examine cost trade-offs when it comes to delivery times. The visionary company that figures out the vast amount of brand capital it could generate by offering green trade-offs for flexible delivery times will be hailed as a conquering hero by green shoppers around the world.

This may involve bundling deliveries in the same area at the same time, or making deliveries during off-peak traffic hours. Either way, the cost savings to the customer and the retailer, and the transportation company making the delivery will benefit everyone involved. The customer will feel she has done something for the environment. The retailer will benefit from the brand loyalty with that customer because of the green shipping approach. And the transportation company will save on fuel costs.

How to Get Started

Since the concept of Green Shipping is relatively new to the industry, here is some concluding advice on steps retailers and their supply chain partners can take to go green when it comes to shipping: In order for green shipping to be successful, the transportation management system (TMS) should have load optimisation capabilities that link directly with a fleet management system. Think of load optimisation as the Rubik’s cube of TMS. It takes pieces of different shapes and sizes and fills them in a truck with no leftover space. In order to implement a green shipping option, this capability is critical because it helps maximise fuel usage and shipments.

The TMS has to be outfitted with a carbon emission dashboard that calculates carbon output by measuring a number of factors, including but not limited to the type of truck executing the delivery, the number of miles travelled, and the type of fuel used.

Many retailers are also looking to give the consumer visibility into the carbon emitted to create the product. That means retailers need enterprise-wide visibility into the environmental cost of producing and transporting the goods, and they have to be able to segment those costs out on a per purchase basis.

Finally, it’s important for retailers to work with any delivery partners throughout the supply chain - whether it is a third party logistics (3PL) company or a parcel delivery service. These partners need to not only be able to measure carbon output, but also have to work hand-in-hand with the retailer to make the green shipping option viable and desirable for customers.

Todd Mallett has been providing technology-based solutions for complex distribution networks for the past 10 years atRedPrairie. Previously, he worked in Operations Management with Caliber Systems and FedEx’s Supply Chain Solutions division.

November 17th, 2008 - Posted in News, Tips | | 0 Comments

AffiliateEco Christmas Wish List

After having a busy year the team at AffiliateEco have decided to produce a Christmas Present List in conjunction with Eco Trend Spotter.

Maybe somebody in the office will know what I want for Christmas now.

So here they are;-

Botanical Paperworks Plantable Eco Calendar

The Red Robot ‘Roboto’ Organic Cotton T-Shirt

Move Eco Plus DAB Radio By Pure

Wind Up Penguin Torch

Cardboard Boombox Wants To Be Your Eco IPod Speaker Dock

Alpaca Fair Trade Slippers

Sun And Moon Jar - Free Sunlight Forever

The Book Of Rubbish Ideas By Tracey Smith

November 12th, 2008 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments

Organise The Perfect Green Christmas with AffiliateEco

Organise the perfect green Christmas this year and save money with our guide; reduce your carbon footprint and have a more eco friendly and sustainable holiday season.

1. Serve local, healthy and seasonal December foods at your events and xmas parties.

Choose vegetables that are in season and do not have to be flown in from abroad. Broccoli, cabbage and onions can all be grown without the aid of harsh chemicals so you can spend your organic pounds elsewhere. Buy loose vegetables rather than packaged from a farmers market or try a vegetable box from Abel & Cole which are packed with the season’s best foodstuffs. Choose an organic Turkey or Goose. If you are a vegetarian or vegan go for a substitute from www.Ecotopia.co.uk or www.ecoutlet.com Check out www.freerangereview.com to find local food to you! Click here for all foods that are in season. (located at the end of this post)

2. Decorating your house can be one of the most enjoyable parts of Xmas.

Go for ethically made and traded decorations. Natural Collection, Big Green Smile, Nigel’s Eco Store and Vita Etica all have a great range. Kids really enjoy making their own green decorations out of old scraps of material and leftovers. Try popcorn garlands – which are really fun and cheap to make and scour a woodland floor for fallen pinecones and twigs that are great for decorations!

3. E-mail party invites and Christmas cards rather than post them.

There are loads of free Xmas themed party invite e-cards around or alternatively make your own out of scrap and recycled products. If you really want to send cards, choose charity ones or check out these really funky recycled ones. After the big day, make sure your Christmas cards don’t go to waste – take them to a Woodland Trust recycling point.

4. Christmas heating and lighting bills can be huge!

Save cash and protect the environment by using energy saving devices such as standby busters and radiator boosters. Don’t forget to turn off the tree lights or better still try these solar powered ones.

5. Use recycled paper, gift bags or even colorful cloth to wrap the Christmas presents and instead of tape, use colorful ribbon to tie up the gifts.

6. Make a green statement this xmas!

Send a message to the manufacturers of consumer goods by shopping for & buying only natural, non toxic, eco friendly, organic presents this year. Shop through www.moreeco.com for the largest selection of green retailers on one site and earn rewards and offset carbon at the same time.

7. Which makes a better tree? Artificial or a real one?

Simply real ones are as they are great for the environment and can be replanted after use. If replanting isn’t an option, most local councils run Christmas tree recycling schemes. Contact yours or go to http://www.letsrecycle.com. If you need to use an artificial one avoid those made in China or Tawian which have transport costs associated with them. They also can be made with nasty chemicals, metals and plastics which can emit into our homes. Adorn with fair trade and ethical traded decorations or again make your own.

8. How do we give children what they desire but without poisoning our planet?

Take electronic toys for instance. There are 900 million batteries used each year in the UK alone and many are in toys. But only 2% of batteries are currently recycled - the rest end up in landfill sites and are poisoning our planet! So what do you do? Choose an eco toy. Green and eco-friendly toys shouldn’t cost the earth so choose from a great selection here that don’t require batteries. Alternatively go for rechargeable batteries which will save you pounds throughout the year.

9. Recycle your unwanted presents.

Unfortunately everyone receives at least one unwanted gift at Christmas. Many recycle their unwanted presents to charities. Local hospitals and hospices are often very pleased to receive unwanted smellies to give to patients. Or you could try Nigels Eco Store’s regifting forum or www.freecycle.org and swap them for other people’s unwanted gifts.

10. Don’t go overboard especially in the current climate and remember - reduce, reuse and recycle.

November 12th, 2008 - Posted in Tips | | 2 Comments

ECOutlet joins AffiliateEco

The team at AffiliateEco would like to announce that ECOutlet has launched its affiliate marketing program today.

ECOutlet promise that all their products conform to one or more of the following eco standards: made from recycled materials or recyclable, energy efficient and will save you energy or water, biodegradable, made under fair trade conditions, made using natural or organic ingredients free from any harsh chemicals, promotes sustainable living or made from sustainable materials, not tested on animals and made in the UK.

They want to make it as easy as possible to see why their eco friendly products are classified as environmentally friendly and how they can help you make a difference. Every item listed in the eco shop has a number of eco icons associated with it so you can see at a glance the benefits and exactly why they are environmentally friendly.

AffiliateEco Affiliate partners can earn 7% on each sale made via their site.

November 12th, 2008 - Posted in ECOutlet, New Merchant | | 0 Comments

Winterproof your home

It’s November and it’s cold. Take comfort though in AffiliatEco credit crunching tips to help you winterise your home - protecting you and your investment.

1. Beat the drafts

Worried about the draft? Drafts can waste 5 to 30% of your energy use. Start simple and adopt that old fashioned fixture – the excluder. Place a rolled bath towel, a draught excluder or custom-made “snake” across the bottom of leaky doors and windows. Seal all the draughts around windows and doors will keep you warmer and lower the cost of your bills. Your letterbox can let in a nasty draught so fit a nylon brush seal or spring flap.

2. Turn down your water heater

Reduce hot water temperature - Set your water heater to the “normal” setting, unless the owner’s manual for your dishwasher requires a higher setting. Savings are 7-11 percent of water heating costs. Insulate the first five feet of pipe coming out of the top of your water heater or the whole length until the pipe goes into the wall if that is less than five feet. Pipe insulation is available from your hardware store. You can also save money by insulating pipes.

3. Insulate, insulate and insulate

It may not be sexy but insulating your home can save you hundreds of pounds. Half of typical home heat loss is via walls, floors and lofts so make sure you insulate these key areas.

4. Reduce your thermostat

Turn down your thermostat - For every degree you lower your heat you’ll save up to 5 percent on heating costs. Wear warm clothing like a sweater and set your thermostat lower during the day and evening, health permitting. Set the thermostat back to its normal position or off at night or when leaving home for an extended time saving 5-20 percent of your heating costs.

5. Give your Boiler an MOT

You give your car a regular service and so you should your boiler. Now is the time to get your boiler ready for winter; book a service with a qualified and reputable heating engineer so you can sort out any small faults before they cause a breakdown which can cost thousands. A serviced boiler will also work more efficiently, which can save you energy and money.

6. Think curtains

Open windows on the sunny side of the house when the sun is up so that the sun can warm the rooms. Close all curtains when it gets dark. Do not have furniture close to or in front of radiators. If you have deep windowsills, curtains should sit neatly on top of them and not cover the radiator. Use lined curtains to keep the cold out and warm in.

7. Heat reflective foil behind radiators

Fit heat reflective foil behind radiators on outside walls to keep the heat inside your home, with the shiny side facing into the room.

8. Make your own fuel out of Junk Mail and Newspapers

Try a log maker to make your own fuel. A logmaker enables you to recycle your waste paper into fuel. Logs will burn as well as wood for up to an hour at a controlled rate in a fire grate or woodburning stove. Help conserve forests, reduce landfill and save on heating costs by using newspaper, junk mail, shredded paper, cardboard, wood chippings, and wrapping paper as fuel.

9. Fix any faults and do repairs on you home

December is usually one of the wettest months of the year, so it pays to ensure that your property is in good condition, fixing any loose roof tiles or putting flood prevention measures in place, if appropriate. Clear any gutters or drains.

10. Think Gardens

After the first frost, spread a layer of mulch on flower beds to protect the plants during freeze-thaw cycles. Clean tools to prevent rust. Leave appropriate leftovers for the birds and provide a warm bed for the night for any resident wildlife with a habitat.

November 10th, 2008 - Posted in Tips | | 0 Comments

BigGreenSmile - launches new service benefits

BigGreenSmile, one of MoreEco’s favourite shops, have just launched a carbon offsetting facility to their basket so people can choose to contribute to the carbon cost of their delivery. We have also launched a gift wrapping service in time for Christmas using paper from the Lokta tree - you can read more if you wish on the links below.

Gift Wrapping Service

Their gift wrapping service will deliver a wrapped present complete with a hand written gift message to your recipient. The invoice included with the package will omit the prices.

giftwrap

Your gift will come gift wrapped in a high quality, coloured paper made from Lokta paper. If you order more than one item then we will send them in a gift-wrapped box and the items inside will not be wrapped.

Wrapping paper - Lokta paper is made from the bark of the Lokta, or Daphne papyracea plant. Lokta grows in the Himalayas at altitudes in excess of 6500ft and is abundant in supply. Harvesting lokta helps preserve the fragile eco system in Nepal and gives regular fairly paid work to the people of the many mountain villages.

Card - The gift card is a simple design which will contain your specified message which will be hand written (by somebody with good hand writing). The gift card is made from 75% elephant dung and 25% recycled paper. The paper comes from a charity in Sri Lanka called Maximus Conservation Trust which is in the grounds of the Millennium Elephant Foundation. The MEF is a charity that takes care of sick and disabled elephants as well as promoting the plight of the Sri Lankan elephant. It is the ultimate in recycled paper!

Carbon Offsetting

BigGreenSmile consider the environment throughout our business from the products we source to their delivery. Although we don’t have large stores across the country and we keep our warehouse running in as environmentally friendly a fashion as possible we do recognise that carbon is released as a side-effect of us delivering orders to you.

Climate Care logo BigGreenSmile have teamed up with Climate Care to provide you, our customers, with the choice of contributing towards offsetting carbon released in the delivery of goods ordered from us. The service that BigGreenSmile.com offers with Climate Care is a CO2 offsetting service against customer deliveries that aims to help reduce the damage caused by global greenhouse emissions.

Climate Change is the most pressing global issue facing us all, with consequences for all communities, species and environments across the world. ClimateCare is an organisation that reduces global greenhouse gas emissions on behalf of companies and individuals.

These reductions are made through a range of projects around the world that not only make real reductions in carbon emissions, but also make a difference to people’s lives. 100% of the carbon offsetting payment goes to Climate Care. E

November 4th, 2008 - Posted in BigGreenSmile | | 0 Comments

Pure Design @ Christmas Eco-design Fair, Brick Lane, 13th & 14th Dec

Just a really quick note to let you know that Pure Design are delighted to be showcasing and selling work by their designers at this year’s Christmas eco-design fair in London. The event takes place Saturday and Sunday 13/14 Dec at the Old Truman Brewery gallery in Brick Lane. Why not combine an eco shopping trip to Pure Design, with a spicy curry in one of Brick Lanes famous curry restaurants, nothing like a curry to reinvigorate weary shoppers!

Click here to see where The Old Truman Brewery is.

It will be a wonderful chance to see our designers work firsthand, and to snap up some show bargains and beautiful unique eco gifts in time for Christmas.

October 26th, 2008 - Posted in Pure Design | | 0 Comments

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