Ethical Update

View online	August 2016
	Everyday choices to change your world

The high cost of animal products

This month's Ethical Shopper action calendar theme is 'eat less meat' - focusing on how reducing your meat consumption or committing to a vegetarian or vegan diet can make a difference for the environment, animal welfare and your own health.

'Let us remember that animals are not mere resources for human consumption. They are splendid beings in their own right, who have evolved alongside us as co-inheritors of all the beauty and abundance of life on this planet' ~ Marc Bekoff >>

Meat Free Mondays

We've just had Meat Free Week (1-8 August) where participants are challenged to give up meat for seven days and raise money money for Bowel Cancer Australia. Meat Free Mondays is another initiative to help you reduce the meat meals you eat and make real change. See more at their Facebook page . "The average Aussie eats 116kg of meat a year - 9 times the recommended weekly amount."

Fish stocks decline as seafood consumption increases

A new UN report has shown that global fish consumption is at an all-time high. While much of this demand is being met by fish farming, wild fish stocks continue to be over-exploited. “... almost a third of commercial fish stocks are now fished at biologically unsustainable levels, triple the level of 1974." For best fish choices, see guides for Canned Tuna and Sustainable Seafood .

Special Feature

Be inspired: eat less meat

There are many reasons to make the choice to eat less meat.
This month's Be Inspired page has links to resources on why reducing meat is a good thing, and features Edgar's Mission Farm Sanctuary, animal rights advocate Lauren Ornelas, and Treehugger founder Graham Hill. Whether you're a committed vegan, an omnivore who wants to reduce their meat consumption, or somewhere in between, these videos and interviews will help inform and galvanise your journey.

International Orangutan Day (19th August)

Palm oil production continues to have a devastating impact on the habitat of orangutans and other threatened species. Palm oil is in 50 per cent of all packaged products in supermarkets but can be difficult to identify as it's allowed to be labelled as ‘vegetable oil’. See Greenpeace's company scorecard (March 2016). Learn how to avoid palm oil and other ways to take action at Shop Ethical! Palm oil .

How close are we to eliminating microbeads?

Microbeads are tiny pieces of plastic commonly found in scrubs, toothpaste and soaps. These wreak havoc on marine ecosytems (see video ). There is a global movement to ban microbeads but how close are we to achieving this? Greenpeace has ranked the top personal care companies on their commitment to removing microbeads. Find plastic-free facial products at Good Scrub Guide .

Shop Feature

Shop Ethical! app update

New features include 'Alternatives beyond the mainstream' allowing you to see product type best buys (Android only... coming to iOS very soon); New 'appliances' category; 80 new company profiles; 300 new brand listings; 9,000 additional barcodes (over 76,000 in total); Major clothing data update with new Behind the Barcode and Fashion Transparency Index data. >> Be Informed, whenever you shop! More

Quick Bites

$image\$ Unilever Australia and Smith's Snackfoods have been fined by the ACCC for misleading health claims on Paddle Pop and Sakata products. SMH

$image\$ Two years after its promise to go deforestation-free, Krispy Kreme is still sourcing palm oil from ravaged Asian rainforests - take action! Sum of Us

$image\$ Give your local op shop some love. Donate what you no longer need or buy second-hand during National Op Shop Week (August 23-30) Do Something

$image\$ France has banned plastic shopping bags, making the environmentally-friendly shift to only recyclable, reusable and biodegradable bags. France 24

$image\$ Top clothing brands are failing on cotton sustainability according to new Rank a Brand report. Rank a Brand

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