Your green promises:

Re-use plastic bags when shopping, Oliver Marcus, London >> Stop wasting resources, Ness Backs, New York >> Consume more plant-based foods, Chana Tzi, L.A., Ca., USA >> Start growing my own herbs and vegetables, Holly Weisfeld, Herts >> Cycle one a day if not more, Jamie Cooper, Harts >> Visit a lot of eco-sites, Maria Kamutzki, Berlin >> I won't litter, Joel Austin, Pinner >> Be more eco friendly, Connor Buchalter, Hatch End >> Re-use water bottles so less waste, David, Middx >> I won't waste water anymore, Ben Green, Hach End >> Help my dad recycle everyday, Phoebe Decker, Northwood >> Turn electrical things off when I have finished using them, Talia Austin, Pinner >> Not to waste food, Joshua Roson, Rickmansworth >> Eat fairtrade chocolate, Josie Sacks, Pinner >> Bike/walk to places not to far away, Zoe Buchalter, Hatch End >> Recycle plastic bags when I go shopping, Sophie Scholl, Moor Park >> Take and re-use our own plastic bags when we go shopping, Cass Family, Harrow >> Not waste paper, Jed Gaffin, Northwood >> Walk to school more, Lea Abrahams, Pinner >> To be more careful with water, Max Abrahams, Pinner >> Turn the tap off when I brush my teeth, Ellie Roston, Rickmansworth >> Try and ride my bike as much as I can, Zack Bluestone, Stanmore >> Walk to from school everyday, Meiron Avidan, Stanmore >> Use tap water instead of bottled, Rianna Roston, Earth >> Turn everything off, not leave it on standby, Lewis Decker, Northwood >> Put my rubbish in the bin, Aron Bhalla, Harrow >> I will put my rubbish in the bin, Seth Bhalla, Harrow >> I will not watch the same thing as my brother on a different TV, Ilana Braham, Northwood >> Our family will walk to places if it is less than 2miles, the Garland family, Pinner >> Don't use sandwich bags for packed lunch, David Braham, Northwood >> Switch off lights when I am not using them, Matthew Rodin, London >> To walk and get the train more, Steph Leigh, Watford >> Not to litter and put rubbish in the bin, Jacob Lauder, Harrow >> Help put out the recycling more, Rachel Bard, Hertfordshire >> To put my cans in a recycle bin, Hannah Hyman, Borehamwood, Herts >> Walk to the bus stop, Matti Brooks, Borehamwood >> Re-use plastic bags when shopping, Gemma Black 5B, Hertfordshire >> I pledge to water my plants with a watering can and not waste water, Gemma Black 5B, Hertfordshire >> Make more things e.g sculptures instead of just putting them in the bin, Minnie Diamond, Bushey >> I shall turn off lights and T.V. when not needed on, Harrry Rubin, Hertfordshire >> Turn the TV off and not leave it on standby, Harry Rubin 5 Beech, Herts, London >> Turn lights off when I leave a room, Katie Moss, Radlett >> Only flush the chain when I need to, Hannah Hyman, Borehamwood, Herts >> Cycle one a day if not more, Jamie Cooper, Harts >> Ride on my bike at least once a day, Sophie Pollock, Borehamwood, Herts >> Grow my own fruit and vegetables in the garden, Isabelle Copeland, Bushey >> Don't leave lights on, Rebecca A, Herts >> Use energy efficent light bulbs!, Dov Colman, Borhamwood >> Not use the car for short journeys, Josh Zucker, Hertfordshire >> Turn the TV off and not leave it on standby, Jake Murray, Borehamwood >> To not leave the shower running!, Lauren Seres, Herts >> Turn lights off when I leave a room, Tyler Freedman, Bushey >> Do more recycling and help my mum sort out the waste, Maddie Freedman, Bushey >> Turn the TV off and not leave it on standby, Joseph White, Radlett, Herts >> Turn lights off when I leave a room, Zoe Klein, Hertfordshire >> turn off the plugs in my bedroom, Oliver Rothstein, Adlenham, herts >> Turn lights off when I leave a room, Nina Freedman, Borehamwood >> Take showers instead of baths, Harry Singler, Bushey >> Recycle my household waste, Harry Black, Bushey >> Recycle my household waste, Mrs Myers, Borehamwood >> Re-use plastic bags when shopping, Daniel Simmons, Radlett >> Not to turn lights on if it is not neeeded, Etienne Dean, Borehamwood >> Not use the car for short journeys, Leah Gorb, Bushey >> Use bits of junk around the house to make something & to not throw it in the bin, Sophie Pollock >> Turn the tap off when I brush my teeth, Natalie Maurer, Hertfordshire >> Turn the TV off and not leave it on standby, Rebecca Selt, Radlett >> Turn the TV off and not leave it on standby, Avital Cohen, Borehamwood >> Recycle my household waste, Max Bean, Bushey >> Start growing my own herbs and vegetable, Talia N, Hertfordshire >> Recycle my household waste, Leanne Rosner, Radlett >> Turn lights off when I leave a room, Leanne Rosner, Radlett >> Turn lights off when I leave a room, Kezia Blakeley, Hertfordshire >> Don't buy herbs if you can grow them, Emily Sterman, Hertfordshire >> Re-use plastic bags when shopping, Joshua Silver, Radlett >> Turn lights off when I leave a room, Ella Kosmin, St Albans >> Turn lights off when I leave a room, Ella Green, Borehamwood >> Replace two light bulbs in my house with energy efficient light bulbs, Jacqueline Sefton, Bushey >> Take showers instead of baths, Sophie Hyman, Borehamwood, Herts >> Turn the tap off when I brush my teeth, Joshua, Herts >> Turn the tap off when I brush my teeth, Benjamin Isaac, Herts >> Turn the TV off and not leave it on standby, Abby Rosen, Elstree >> Replace two light bulbs in my house with energy efficient light bulbs, Amanda Finestone, Borehamwood >> Try to have a shower instead of a bath and will not sing in the shower for too long, Sadie, Hertfordshire >> Cycle at least once a day, Jamie Cooper, Borehamwood >> Re-use plastic bags when shopping, holly, herts >> Turn lights off when I leave a room, Michelle Hertz, Stanmore >> Start growing my own herbs and vegetable, nicola weisfeld, hertfordshire >> Turn the TV off and not leave it on standby, Jack Glazer, Bushey >> Turn lights off when I leave a room, Jack Glazer, Bushey >> Turn the tap off when I brush my teeth, Holly Weisfeld, Hertfortshire >> Turn the TV off and not leave it on standby, Joshua Collins, Hertfordshire >> Eat less meat, Stephen Scott, London >> Turn the tap off when I brush my teeth, Hannah, London >> Continue to educate myself and others in ways of taking care of our earth, Raven Moon, Connecticut >> Try to live on less and take pleasure in the effort, Erich Connell, Greenville, NC >> I will be a vegertarian on a weekly basis, Lee-Ann, Tauyuan, Taiwan >> I promise to make sure all recyclable items go in the recycling and not in the bin, Lara Gordon, London >> I will try to keep recycling my clothes and not buy too many new ones, L.Bratter, North London >> I promise to recycle by altering my clothes, Anita Lancet, London >>

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Gabrielle Lobb

My name is Gabrielle Lobb. I run a community arts charity through which I engage with young people and adults from diverse communities. I'm married to Richard, a musician, and we became parents to our son, Eden, in July 2010. We are enjoying this new adventure and attempting to make environmentally-conscious parenting choices as we go. We grow a lot of vegetables in our garden and have recently taken on an allotment - this all helps with our choice to eat an organic, vegetarian diet. I bake and supply organic cakes to some local cafes. I love music and theatre, camping, cooking and entertaining.

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Parent Blog

Big Green Jewish would like to introduce Gabrielle Lobb, a Jewish Parent living in North London. Gabrielle will be sharing the joys and challenges of trying to raise children in an environmentally friendly way.

Click here to subscribe to Gabrielle's blog - just tick the 'parent blog' box.

Chanukah and Ethical Consumerism

The festival of Chanukah carries a message of sustainability - the miracle of a tiny amount of oil lasting eight days was surely a miracle of resource conservation and we can take the opportunity to bring our use of fuel and other resources into focus.

However, in contrast we also face a massive pressure at this time of year to buy, buy, buy, with gift-giving now a central part of many families' celebrations. Whilst it is easier than ever to seek out gifts bearing a myriad of 'ethical' labels - fairtrade, organic, recycled, locally produced, eco-friendly - I find the term 'ethical consumerism' rather a paradox. There is an inherent conflict between buying and the central demand of environmentalism - that we should consume less.

My first thought is to try to avoid buying anything new where possible, but at the same time, I recognise that we do live in a world of global interconnectedness. The idea that I can create influence and use my money to benefit the earth and others more vulnerable through my buying choices is a powerful thing. Chanukah represents the victory of an idealistic and courageous minority over the seemingly invincible power and dominant values of the surrounding society. Similarly, the consumer choices we make can have positive consequences for other people and the environment and, I believe, ultimately lead to large-scale change.

I have a list of questions I ask myself before making purchases:

1. Do I really need this?

2. Can I make it? Can I find it through eBay/freecyle/preloved?

3. If I have to buy new... can I find it made from a natural material? Sustainably sourced? Recycled?

4. Can I buy this from an ethical company? I prefer to choose independent producers/makers over big retailers/mass producers.

Once I've made the choice to buy something, the 'ethical' options can be bewildering. There is certainly a question of trust, and I like to check that the seller is genuine in their claims and isn't simply using an ethical tag to entice buyers by tapping into the green trend or playing on my conscience. I think it's also important to delve a bit deeper - just because a company sells some so-called ethical products, their wider policies may not match. Help is at hand through Ethical Consumer - a sort of ethical Which? guide. This independent site offers product guides, research, information & analysis. Companies are scored against 23 criteria in five main categories - animals, environment, people, politics, sustainability - you can customise the results so they are weighted towards those factors that are most meaningful to you.

For me, ethical consumerism has to be about more than just buying the right label. We must not fall into simply creating a parallel marketplace (ethical vs non-ethical) which in fact just continues to increase overall consumption. Rather, we should be thinking carefully about reducing overall consumption and campaigning for better practices across the board.

Traditionally, we light the chanukiah in the window, a very public display. This can be a prompt to turn our individual actions outward for the rest of the world to see, so this Chanukah, I will be...

- Using old newspaper rather than buying wrapping paper and upping the glamour-factor using ideas I have found in a couple of easy, step-by-step tutorials for making paper flowers and gift bows

- Burning natural beeswax candles (traditional paraffin candles are made from petroleum)

- Turning off the lights and enjoying the glow when the candles are lit

- Baking some of our gifts - home-made edible gifts always seem to be well-received!

Happy Chanukah everyone!

Click on link below to view previous entries

Lifting The Needy Up From The Dungheap - A Pesach Joke, or The Great Nappy Debate

A Look, a Book, and a Fluke

Shana Tova

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