Renewable World

Meet Sarah Farney of Renewable World. They are a charity that believe in tackling poverty through renewable energy.

Regular Pier readers will be aware how enthusiastic we are about the use of technology and smart thinking to help communities improve their own lives. Renewable World addresses those problems simply and directly. They use renewable energy sources like solar and biogas to transform the lives of those living in energy poverty. It means that children don't have to spend their day fetching water and fuel, and instead can go to school. It means that poor communities in countries like Mozambique, Tanzania and Nicaragua have a chance to live, rather than simply survive.

Renewable World are at Bio-Technology to raise awareness and to get people to sign a pledge to make a difference to energy access and renewable sources. They're running an awareness campaign in Germany this weekend, for which Pier32 supplied the shirts. And Sarah's sporty green number is a Pier32 special too.

There's loads more about the good work Renewable World do on their website - do have a look.

Renewable World

 

Hubcap Creatures

Meet Ptolemy Elrington. He's the master and commander of Hubcap Creatures, a company that retasks one of our ugliest examples of urban waste into objects of real beauty.

His work takes the idea of recycling and uses it to talk about the nature of value - a process he calls redesigning. Hubcaps are carefully designed and well-thought out objects that abruptly lose their worth once they are separated from the car. Ptolemy gives those objects a new lease of life, a reassertion of value.

 

He gets his hubcaps from donations after years of kerb-surfing, including a recent gift of 1000 from the Eden Project. He also works in scrap metal, providing some striking objects for the show that are already photo-opportunity favourites.

 

Ptolemy is a lovely chap with a real sense of what's important in the workplace. His enthusiasm for the craft is absolutely infectious. You might notice that he's wearing a Pier32 top as well. We believe in sharing the love around.

For more, including details on how Ptolemy could make your own commissioned hubcap creature, check out his website.

Hubcap Creatures

 

Eco-Technology Show - Day 2

Good morning from Brighton, and the public day of the Eco-Technology Show.

The show has just been opened by the Mayor of Brighton, who made the salient point that where 5 years ago, a show like this would have been on the margins, it's now very mainstream. The green sector is a job creator, helping to save energy and money for families whose finances are being squeezed more than ever.

Lots to come from the blog today as we highlight some of the more interesting people at the show. As ever, if you're at the Amex Stadium, come down and see us!

The Fast And The Virtuous

The Lifestyle Area at the Eco-Technology Show is stuffed with
rather cool electric cars. I'm no petrolhead (in fact you can tag me as a two-wheels-and-pedals kind of guy) but there's something kind of intriguing about a plug-and-play ride.




This is the Tesla, the world's fastest production electric car. 0-60 in 3.7 seconds. Scary quick.



This is the Lightning GT, a British made all-electric super car. There's a distinct Jaguar-esque vibe to this one. If James Bond went green, this is the car he'd drive.



Two wheels good. This little beauty, from Weald EVT is at the show to help support their effort to break the world drag-race record for electric cycles. Which currently stands at 201mph.



Then there's this. The Renault Z.E. is a two-seater runabout (yes it is, the passenger sits behind the driver) that's very much on the low-cost, tiny emission end of the spectrum. I don't fancy it's chances on the M6 at rush hour, but as a quick, nippy city car it has a certain attraction.

I can see the Top Gear guys would hate the Z.E. All the more reason to support it.

Going Live At The Eco-Technology Show

We're set up, we're here and we're ready. Good afternoon, all. Pier32 is live at the Eco-Technology Show in "sunny" (yes, alright, spitty rainy Brighton with occasional glimpses of watery light).

Today is business day. We're getting interest from companies looking for ethical solutions to their promotional clothing needs. And there are plenty of businesses here. Everything from solar and renewable energy to organic food and drink. A broad spread that shows just how wide-ranging the ethical and sustainable field has become.

And this is before we look at the electric car test track. Footage from that later in the weekend.

If you're at the show, you can find us next door to the seminar arena - stand E1 and E2. Come and say hi. We have sweets, and a prize draw with a chance to win a goodie bag.

 

A Weekend Away

I know it might seem a little early to start thinking about the weekend, but that's exactly what we're doing here at The Pier. No, we're not slacking. You see, the Eco-Technology Show is on in Brighton this weekend, and Pier32 will be there.

It's your chance to meet Guru Ian and I, and see our ethical take on the promotional clothing scene. We're proud to be a part of this national showcase for green technology and innovation. It promises a unique mix of business, decision makers, subject specialists, policy makers and buyers over a two-day event that's guaranteed to inspire and excite you! There's free workshops, a sustainable food market and lots more.

It's on at the Amex Stadium in Brighton on Friday and Saturday. You can find us at Stands E1-E2 in the Information, Education & Lifestyle Zone in the East Stand, and we'd love you to come and say hi. Let us entice you with our special offers and rates for the show. And don't forget, we're still offering free tickets (normally a fiver) if you book through the Pier32 website.

For more on what to expect, the Eco-Technology Show website has all the news. See you there!

The Eco-Technology Show 2012

Wipe The Slate Clean

Upcycling or buying second-hand can be rewarding and economical. It can also be a little heartbreaking.

Say you've found the perfect top. Lovely fabric, just the right colour. But the designer has slapped a print over the top that puts you right off the purchase. A real shame.

But new inks developed by Dutch company Refinity could solve that dilemma. They can be removed from a garment, allowing it to be reprinted, extending the life of the piece. The inks, and the process used to remove them are non-harmful, while remaining machine washable.

Refinity are working on ways to refine the process, adapting the ink for different types of fabric, and, by shredding and re-weaving cleared garments into fresh threads, helping to create a cradle-to-cradle service for their goods.

Creating clothes that aren't stuck in a short trend cycle shows an innate understanding of green issues. Sustainability has to be about creating clothes that last, and Refinity have done just that.

For more on Refinity's Removable Prints, hit the link.

Refinity

Fact Fashion

It's important to get started early when you're working with ideas about ethical fashion. The youth market is big on cheap and disposable clothing. Just look at your average Primark on a Saturday afternoon. Get the idea into the youngun's heads that there are alternatives, and who knows what you can spark off?
Five young people from North Yorkshire have found that spark. The teens have put together Fact Fashion, an initiative that puts hard-hitting statistics about world poverty and injustice onto a range of clothes and accessories. The clothes are colourful, and assembled with a sharp eye for bold graphic design. I'm reminded of Katherine Hamnett's t-shirts back in the eighties. It's a great way to engage a large audience on ethical issues, and it's already seen some success, winning Fact Fashion the top prize in CAFOD's "Solutions For The Planet" competition and, last week, the Ecover Ethical Kids nod at the Observer Ethical Awards.
There's a long way to go yet, of course. The kids are looking for funding, and I hope they find suppliers and manufacturers that have a decent ethical background. But it's a great first step, and here at The Pier we wish them every success.
For more, have a look at an overview written by James, one of Fact Fashion's founders, or check out a short promo video at the Guardian. 

In Stroud, they say Pants To Poverty

As part of our campaign to stay as far away from Jubilee celebrations as possible, we took a trip out to rural Gloucestershire, and the pretty market town of Stroud. Stroud has a great reputation for food and a thriving market in sustainable, locally produced goods. I can heartily recommend Mill's Cafe, who do a fine bacon and mushroom quiche - baked by the life partner of the guy that runs an Aladdin's cave of a cookshop across the way.
But we're here to talk about fashion, and in particular, pants. A visit to the Stroud on Water festival, taking place on a refurbished stretch of the Stroudwater Navigation led us, almost by accident, to a stall staffed by two enterprising young lads called Sam and Moses.

They run a franchise of Pants To Poverty, an English company who specialise in ethical underwear. Their pants and socks are made from cotton farmed by a collective in Hyderabad, and manufactured in a factory nearby that prides itself on its low-impact environmental policies and close work with their workers and the community in general. PtP takes their mission, to get the best pants possible into the hands and onto the asses of people worldwide, very seriously.
The pants aren't cheap, but then they are extremely high quality. 95% organic cotton with a touch of elastene for support and stretch, they are very soft and very comfortable. I speak from experience. I'm wearing a pair as I write this. Here at The Pier, we believe in putting our money where our mouth is, and we weren't about to leave Sam and Moses hanging.

Pants For Poverty products are available online, and at many discerning independent outlets across the country. For more, check out the website.
Thanks to Sam and Moses for indulging the strange, excitable chap with the camera. Hope I didn't freak you out too much, lads.
Photos by Clare at Clarevision.
Pants To Poverty

Turn, Turn, Turn - at last, common sense prevails on charitable donations

There's been a little bit of good news for charities this week, as George Osborne quietly dropped plans to cap tax relief on charitable donations. If carried to law, this would have put a sizeable dent in the revenue stream of charities that are already struggling with a brutal regime of funding cuts.
As I mentioned when The View From The Pier first reported on the Chancellor's plans, inhibiting tax relief on donations in this way would have been the final straw for some charities, at a time when they were being asked to take up much more of an active role in community work. As well-off donors abandoned them, they simply wouldn't have been able to cope financially. But the plan was badly-thought out from the start, and targeting the wrong sector. Let's be clear, gift aid and the current rules on charitable donations are not tax dodging - tax payers don't make any money for themselves using the loophole. They are simply ensured that all their money is going to the right place.
One could be churlish and point out that there's never been any question of capping donations to political parties - who similarly depend on large contributions from a small number of wealthy donors. Wealthy donors who also put a lot of money into charities. But let's be (if you'll excuse the pun) charitable, and just be grateful that young George has seen sense.
In a week of U-turns, this has been a most welcome change of direction. Celebratory pasties for lunch all round.