A JETSETTER’S GUIDE TO…EARNING HOLIDAY KARMA POINTS.
A Jetsetter’s Guide to Earning Holiday Karma
Green - it’s so your colour. Penny Langton shares some tips on eco-travel for the quietly clueless
by Penny Langton - Illustration: Karine Faou
How on earth does an eco-virgin go about travelling in the right way? If you travel with your conscience then don’t worry, there are things you can do before you leave and while you’re away to make your self feel like a regular.
Make yourself scarce
Since being a mindful eco-tourist involves leaving as little a mark as possible, a clever thing to do before you go is to remove all excess packaging from your person and luggage. If you’ve treated yourself to a new travel-sized facial product or perhaps a flash new camera, respect your holiday beauty spot by ditching all the packaging before you leave home. Same goes for any duty-free bargains purchased at the airport – divest them of all the wrapping and dump it in the airport bin. You don’t want to leave much evidence you were ever at your destination, let alone a hotel dustbin full of planet-choking packaging. Better yet, as part of your packing process, decant all your regular lotions and creams into reusable, travel-sized containers, ideally made from recycled materials – Space NK [WWW.SPACENK.CO.UK] does a set of four easy-clean travel-sized bottles for £12, handy adhesive labels included. And Muji stores
[WWW.MUJI.EU] has loads of different sized travel containers – even atomisers and pump-dispenser bottles – starting from 95p each. If you’re the adventurous sort and decide to take yourself hiking or biking, the trick is to pretend you never existed, but don’t try to cover your tracks by burying your old water bottles. Lonelyplanet.com says discarded plastic water bottles are shaping up to be the ‘scourge of the 21st century’. If you’re camping, it’s recommended that you safely burn what evidence you can – it sounds counter-intuitive to what little green instincts I have, but apparently you really should burn your used loo roll instead of burying it. Oddly enough, that cigarette lighter could be your little green helper. Use one to burn your loo roll or newspapers when you’re deep in the wilderness.
Don’t go to waste
Know anyone who recycles on holiday? Nope, not even your friends who are on solar power and have a rainwater tank? Didn’t think so. But with climate change and pollution well and truly out of control, it’s time we all made recycling and energy conservation part of our holiday mode. Of course you should let your hair down on your hols, just don’t burn through your host community’s natural resources while you’re at it. Simple things are key. Lights off when you’re not in the room, and your villa doesn’t need to be air-conditioned like a meat locker. Remember, you’re just in another country, not on another planet. Resources are not up for grabs in the same way as hotel shampoo and pillow mints. Nowhere on earth is electricity or water limitless. Recycle as you would at home – any accommodation worth its salt will have the facilities. And consider the fauna as well as the flora. McDilda says you should think carefully about the kind of souvenirs you buy – you may think you’re pumping money into your host economy and doing good, but your trinkets might be made from native animal products like shell and bone. Buying into this sort of stuff just encourages people to make a living out of the degradation of natural resources.
Acquaint yourself with local public transport…
Before you leave, you can start by planning your itinerary so you do as few journeys as possible – this is always good news for the planet. Once you’re out of England, it’s tempting to hop in and out of cabs just for the convenience of it, but make an effort to catch a train/bus/tram or, better yet, a (push) bike where possible. You’ll save money and your environment will thank you. Besides, it’s part of the culture to do as the natives do. How can you go to New York without taking the subway? Or to Thailand without a ride on a rickshaw? Plus, so many places in Europe – Madrid and Budapest for example – are best explored on foot. If you’re public transport phobic, or for some reason must travel exclusively in the company of your companions, hire a bike instead of a car.
Colour your holiday wardrobe…green
When you stock up on summery cotton T-shirts and vests, lean towards organically grown cotton and eco-friendly fashion labels. It sounds unlikely, but even the clothes on your back affect the environment. This is 2008, so green alternatives aren’t hard to lay your hands on – half the high street has an organic line now. Even Primark does organic cotton basic tees in black and white. Green fashion has come a long way too, so banish any visions of burlap sacks and hemp right now. As on-trend as they are ozone-safe, the new environmentally sound clothes aren’t at all brown and dumpy. Great eco-fashion labels doing their bit are Ciel
[WWW.CIEL.LTD.UK], which won the Ethical Fashion Award at last year’s UK Fashion Export Awards; Katherine Hamnett [WWW.KATHERINEHAMNETT.COM], which does the coolest organic cotton slogan tees and hoodies in the best colours; and Enamore [WWW.ENAMORE.CO.UK], which does designer-esque clothing, lingerie and accessories made from organic and sustainable fabrics like soya, cotton, silk and hand-selected vintage fabrics. While you’re away, don’t take advantage of your hotel’s dry-cleaning service. It’s true that even how you wash and care for your clothes impacts the planet, and traditional dry-cleaning in particular is murder on the environment. McDilda says this is because the process uses solvents with a little water to clean clothes. The solvent most often used is perchloroethylene, which doubles as a nasty air pollutant.
Beware fake green-travel scammers!
Not all so-called eco tour operators are built the same or do what they say. McDilda says that because of the increased interest in eco-tourism, some unscrupulous operators will use the label for tourism that doesn’t actually meet the eco-criteria. Flying the green flag is a clever marketing ploy these days. Visit WWW.ECOTOURISMCESD.ORG for a list of travel agents that are legit. WWW.ECOTRAVEL.COM has a great directory featuring tour operators and places to stay in Western Europe, as well as Krakow and Budapest. All tour operators listed have to pass a test where they answer questions about environmental protections and how they work with their local community. The fact is, travel requires the use of cars, planes and other vehicles that burn fossil fuels. It’s unavoidable if you’re looking to escape. But minimising the negatives and giving back where you can, can make sure the only footprints you leave are those in the sand.
Green Living (Everything You Need to Know About…) by Diane Gow McDilda, David & Charles Books, £6.59 from WWW.AMAZON.CO.UK
CUTTING CARBS
Here’s the heads-up on carbon-offsetting and how you can do it
There are several companies on the web that will carbon-offset on your behalf – for a fee – through environmentally positive actions. One such example is the Carbon Neutral Company [WWW.CARBONNEUTRAL.COM], which states that a short-haul flight – approximately a return journey between the UK and Spain – produces around 0.6 tonnes of C02. From as little as £4.50, you can carbon-neutralize this emission by purchasing a package that makes up for that amount of damage via investing in reforestation or projects in developing countries that will save the same amount of C02 as your travel produces.
If you’re curious about your overall carbon footprint and what you can do to reduce it, carbon calculators abound on the net – but some are complicated and involve tracking down old bills and statements. There’s an easier, multiple-choice, Government-accredited one at HTTP://WWW.ACTONCO2.DIRECT.GOV.UK/INDEX.HTML where you answer questions about your home, your appliances and travel habits.
If you get a bad score, don’t worry – it can’t possibly be as shameful as eco-activist Sting’s. His private-jet chartering, stadium-playing band, The Police, were named the least-green outfit in music, thanks to their excessive carbon footprint. Radiohead were named the greenest.
Green gadgets
Sun Sounds
SOLAR-POWERED HEADPHONE RADIO Automatically recharges in light, even while listening. Powerful inbuilt antenna. [£24.99] WWW.ECOTOPIA.CO.UK
Ring in Changes
WIND-UP MOBILE PHONE CHARGER No need for a power supply. Works with all the latest phones and even has iPod compatibility (iPod connector, £1.50). [£4.95] WWW.PARAMOUNTZONE.COM
Shave and Save
SOLAR-POWERED TRAVEL RAZOR Charges up in the sun so you can help the environment while you tan. Now there’s no excuse not to shave on hols. [£29.99] WWW.SELECTSOLAR.CO.UK
Lap It Up
APPLE MACBOOK AIR Its casing is 100% recyclable and features Apple’s first mercury-free, arsenic-free display. Box includes half the packaging of the current Apple laptop line. from [£1199] WWW.APPLESTORE.CO.UKWould you like to leave a comment ?
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