ethical - Goodtrippers

Eco and Ethical Christmas Gift Guide – For Her

For mums, grandmas, aunts, sisters and friends…our pick of the best eco and ethical Christmas gifts for her.

Hygge gift set – £59 from Aerende, www.aerende.co.uk

It became one of the words of 2016, now you can spread a bit of Danish cosiness to the Scandi-lover in your life with this ‘hygge’ gift set. Featuring handmade cup and saucer for warming hot chocolates, a handmade organic cotton cushion to snuggle up to, and a (Danish essential) soy wax scented candle. All products are handmade by social enterprises and charities – the cup and saucer has been made by residents with learning disabilities at The Grange in Glocestershire; the cushion is handmade by refugees in Hertfordshire as part of a Refugee Council project; and the candle is made by staff with a range of additional needs at Beacons Creative in Wales. Browse the rest of the Aerende range for more brilliant handcrafted gifts from people facing a range of social challenges.

‘Samphire’ eau de toilette (100ml) – £60 from Laboratory Perfumes, www.laboratoryperfumes.com

This inventive British brand makes perfume the ‘old fashioned way’, taking inspiration from natural botanicals and using natural oils. We love this cool, fresh, coastal fragrance of verbena, juniper, lavender, citrus oils, basil and rosemary with base notes of oak moss and amber. Other fragrances in the range include Atlas, Amber, Gorse and Tonka – all unisex, they develop into something unique on every individual. All perfumes come in a stylish, minimalist cardboard tube. Matching scented candles are also available.

‘So Sleepy’ limited edition collection – £10 from Tropic Skin Care, www.tropicskincare.com

This brand new set from Tropic Skin Care is a perfect stocking filler. Including a travel-sized pillow mist and temple roll-on to help you nod off into a deep sleep. It smells gorgeous thanks to the essential oils rosewood, vanilla and lavender.

Artisan Sparkling Elderflower Wine Maker’s Kit – £40.99 from Yumbles, www.yumbles.com

This fun DIY kit includes everything you need to make your own sparkling elderflower wine (3 litres of it!). The ingredients are organic, vegetarian and gluten free, and the equipment is suitably ‘chemistry set’ fun and easy to use. Time for some bubbles!

Smoke & Musk travel candle – £16 from Museum of London shop, www.museumoflondonshop.co.uk

Handpoured in east London using eco-friendly soy wax, this scented candle smells like being in a cosy cabin in the woods. A bespoke blend of essential oils including green balsam fir, wood smoke and musky patchouli. This handy travel size makes a great stocking gift; it’s also available in a 3-wick 500ml size (for £50).

Butterfly Collection ‘Revive’ and ‘Indulge’ gift sets – £19.95 and £8.50 from Green People, www.greenpeople.co.uk

The new Butterfly Collection organic skincare and bodycare travel sets from Green People make good stocking fillers or tree presents. Beautifully packaged, a donation from each sale goes to Butterfly Conservation to help protect butterflies, moths and the environment. The ‘Revive’ body wash and lotion set is scented with uplifting lemongrass and ginger, while ‘Indulge’ is a special night-time facial treat.

‘Bird’ brass earrings – £15 from Danaqa, www.danaqa.com

We love these cute brass earrings from online boutique Danaqa. Handcrafted by a husband and wife team at their studio in Iran, these earrings also come in a variety of bird and tree designs – and at this price make lovely stocking fillers or tree presents. Browse more gift ideas on the Danaqa site – their homewares, jewellery and accessories are all ethically and fairly sourced, and support women-led businesses in developing countries.Aphrodite facial oil (30ml) – £20 from MOA (Magic Organic Apothecary), www.moa.london

This organic and vegan-friendly super-luxe facial oil rejuvenates and rehydrates party-worn and stressed-out skin. The delicately scented balm is packed full of organic yarrow essential oil, rosehip and damask rose oil (organic ‘hero herb’ yarrow, which is native to British hedgerows, and has been used for centuries to heal, repair and leave skin naturally glowing). It smells delicious and is non-greasy – just apply overnight and wake up with a glowing complexion!

Foxhole Gin – £40 from Foxhole Spirits, www.foxholespirits.com

This is a first, a gin distilled from unused English wine grapes picked in Sussex vineyards. In a typical harvest around 30-40% of grape material is unused and has to be thrown away – so this gin helps reduce waste and encourage sustainability. Velvet-textured with floral coriander and orris flavours, and balanced with grapefruit and lemon zests, this gin has a long finish of subtle bitter orange notes. Grab one of the 960 first-batch limited edition bottles.

Puressential Gentle Heat Diffuser – £18.67 from Cocoon Center, www.cocooncenter.co.uk

Aromatheraphy the clean, safe way – with no candle or flame, this essential oil ceramic diffuser can be placed on any surface as heat is only located at the top. Available in navy or white.

Dr Organic Lavender Oil Moisturising Gel Socks – £15 from Holland & Barrett, www.hollandandbarrett.com

Socks for Christmas? Yes, but these are no ordinary socks… Pop these on and create silky smooth feet after just 20 minutes of pampering a day. The socks are infused with lavender oil with a balanced blend of moisturising jojoba oil, olive oil and vitamin E, and an organic cocktail of essential oils including jasmine, patchouli, bergamot, ylang-ylang, sandalwood, vetiver root, cedarwood and emerald cypress oils.

Avalon Organics Intense Defense skincare collection – RRP £34.99 from www.avalonorganics.com (for stockists)

Perfect for keeping winter skin in tip-top condition, this set includes organic Cleansing Gel with pure botanical cleansers, Renewal Cream to encourage collagen production, and Antioxidant Oil to reinforce the skin’s natural lipid barrier. Enriched with vitamin C, lemon and white tea it’s got plenty of zing, and an attractive make-up bag to boot.

Coconut Collection beauty range – from £1.75 by Urtekram, www.urtekram.com (for stockists)

Coconut and Danish – not a yummy pastry but two of the trends of 2016, so what better gift than something from the new Coconut Collection by Danish organic beauty brand Urtekram? Featuring vegan and cruelty-free shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and body lotion, each product is infused with organic virgin coconut oil and organic coconut nectar from palm trees in the South Seas.

Eco and Ethical Christmas Gift Guide – For Kids

For babies, toddlers and little ones, here are some eco and ethical gift ideas to light-up little faces on Christmas morning…

Campervan walker toys – £62.50 from Jo & Co, www.joandcohome.com

These funky campervan walkers are made of wood from natural rubber trees that no longer produce latex. The lovely design means it’s a piece of kit that you don’t mind taking up space in the living room! Suitable for 12 months+, the walkers encourage early movement, but confident toddlers will also love pushing them around like trollies and using them as toy storage. Available in blue or pink.

Racoon Pyjamas Set – £20 from Rockin’ Baby, www.rockinbaby.com

We love the Rockin’ Baby brand – they’ve partnered with ChildFund for their one-for-one, mother-for-mother scheme: for every piece purchased, the scheme provides slings and clothing to children living in poverty worldwide. To support a great programme, these cute Raccoon PJs are great for lazy Sundays as well as bedtime. Available in sizes from 18mths to 10yrs.

Jungle Safari Wooden Skittles (large) – £30 from ZSL Shop, www.shop.zsl.org

You can’t beat a wooden game, and these large hand-painted skittles are a quirky and cute twist on the traditional version. Featuring two balls and six skittles (hippo, elephant, zebra, lion, monkey, giraffe). Everything bought from the ZSL (Zoological Society of London) shop helps support their ongoing conservation work around the world.

Toy Dinosaur – £30 from Zaliwana Accessories, www.zaliwanaaccessories.co.uk

Zaliwana Accessories specialise in sourcing handcrafted, ethically-sourced gifts from around the world. This felt dinosaur has been lovingly handmade in Nepal. Suitable from newborns upwards, no-one will be able to resist a cuddle!

Bamboo 3-piece dining set – £14.50 from Yours Sustainably, www.yourssustainably.com

This cute and colourful children’s dining set is made from natural organic bamboo fibre, so is a great eco alternative to plastic. Each set includes a decorated divider plate with matching bowl and handled cup. Comes in two designs – fun ‘Robots’ and cute ‘Animals’.

Baby clothing by From Babies With Love – from £15.90, Big Issue Shop, www.bigissueshop.com

This award-winning baby clothing line donates 100% of its profits to orphaned and abandoned children around the world, supporting organisations that help break the cycle of poverty and ensure children grow up in loving family homes. We love the frog, duck robot, rabbit and penguin designs on the babygrows (£21.90), T-shirts (£15.90) and reversible baby blankets (£26.90) in this ethically-sourced range.

Elephant Craft Kit – £12 from ZSL Shop, www.shop.zsl.org

This easy-peasy crafting kit is perfect for little fingers. With no cutting required, this kit includes everything you need (including pre-cut felt, plastic non-sharp needles, thread, stuffing and googley eyes) to make your own elephant toy. Everything bought from the ZSL (Zoological Society of London) shop helps support their ongoing conservation work around the world.

Eco and Ethical Christmas Gift Guide – For Him

For fathers, grandads, brothers, uncles, friends…here are some fabulous eco and ethical Christmas gift ideas for men

‘cor affection’ iPad cover – £50 from ono creations, www.onocreations.com

We love the super-stylish organic and ethical bags and cases from ono creations – all are made by artisans under fair conditions, using eco materials such as organic cotton, natural bamboo and reclaimed teak. This iPad cover (which measures 20.5 x 25cm and fits the iPad 1, 2, 3 and other tablets) is made from beautifully soft and tactile cork (we couldn’t stop stroking it!) with naturally-dyed bamboo lining. View the whole range for some uber-covetable clutch, shoulder and tote bags, wallets, cases and more.

Elephant Gin – £41.99 from Selfridges, www.sefridges.com

For gin conoisseurs, this special botanical blend of apple, elderflower, ginger and African wormwood and baobab (rarely used in gin making), is more than just a lovely tipple. 15% of proceeds from every bottle sold goes towards two elephant conservation charities; Big Life Foundation’s Ranger Club and the Space for Elephants Foundation. Both charities work to preserve Africa’s unique wildlife, help crack down on poaching, encourage wildlife tourism and create local employment opportunities in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa. Available in London Dry and Sloe Gin varieties (the latter a limited edition of 1,500 bottles), these beautiful bottles with hand-written labels and natural cork stoppers make this a perfect gift.

Wood-Packer backpack – £268.50 from Fabriano Boutique, www.fabrianoboutique.co.uk

This rucksack may look like it’s made of high-quality leather, but it’s actually made from FSC-certified wood! The material is thin carved wooden sheets with micro laser engravings, coupled to a tissue with the usage of water-based adhesives. The result is a soft material, almost like leather. The bag is large enough to carry a 13″ laptop and heaps of other kit. Fabriano have teamed-up with Tree-Nation to ensure they plant 350% more trees than they consume.

Jollie socks – £15 a pair from The Big Issue Shop, www.bigissueshop.co.uk

Christmas isn’t Christmas without someone getting a pair of socks – and it’s hard to beat these ‘Jollie’ ones! Available in eight colourful designs – with names like ‘The Prankster’, ‘The Speckled Punster’, ‘The Jester’ – each pair comes in a very jolly can. Jollie Goods, the brand behind the socks, describe themselves as a ‘more-than-profit’ enterprise which supports homeless charities and those caring for the homeless. For every pair sold, a pair of sturdy hiking boots is given to a local homeless charity.

Ombar chocolate bars – £1.99 each (35g) from www.ombar.co.uk

Raw chocolate Ombar bars are just too moorish! Raw chocolate can often be a bit gritty or bitter but these are lovely and smooth. Using 100% organic cocoa, unrefined coconut sugar, live cultures and real fruit, you can almost call these a heath food (raw cocoa really does have health benefits!) Available in a variety of interesting flavours including Lemon & Green Tea, Blueberry & Acai, and Cranberry & Mandarin, alongside standard milk and dark varieties, these 35g bars make excellent stocking fillers.

Upcycled canvas cufflinks – £22.50 from Yours Sustainably, www.yourssustainably.com

These smart cufflinks have been made from artists’ canvas rescued from charity shops, mounted on wood salvaged from building sites, then splattered with paint Jackson Pollock style! Various colours available, each design is unique.

Stainless Steel Growlers by Klean Kanteen – RRP £35.95, visit www.whitbyandco.co.uk for stockists

These lightweight, reusable stainless steel bottles by Klean Kanteen are a safe and healthy alternative to plastic and lined aluminium bottles. The classic ‘Growler’ is perfect for carrying around cool beer, win, juice or iced tea. The brushed steel is particularly stylish – also comes in a fancy dark amber.

RAW WINE box – £149 from www.rawwine.com

The wine lover in your life with be delighted to receive this special box direct to their door. The RAW WINE box (from the founder of the RAW WINE fair) features six rare artisan wines that are all from organic or biodynamic grapes, grown using low-intervention techniques and avoiding any nasties at production stage. With tasting notes to accompany each bottle, this is a great way to enjoy hard-to-get, fabulous wines.

Putting the green into gourmet at T.E.D Restaurant, London

We’re very pleased to welcome our newest guest blogger Jane Cook of award-winning eco-friendly food/travel/lifestyle blog HungryCityHippy (recently named the Guardian’s sustainable blog of the week)! On a recent weekend in London, Jane tried out the new T.E.D restaurant in King’s Cross…

“Think. Eat. Drink”

T.E.D is an acronym for ‘Think. Eat Drink’; it’s also the name of the consultancy team behind the restaurant, and should tell you a lot about what the founders of this special place are trying to achieve. Restaurant entrepreneur Jamie Grainger-Smith and his team are behind it all, whose brilliant brains have also brought us the likes of Fifteen (with Jamie Oliver), and other eco-friendly restaurants including The Waterhouse. They have a vision to drive the food and drinks industry to create forward-thinking and environmentally aware businesses that are commercially successful, and T.E.D Restaurant is living, breathing proof that it’s an idea that works.

Smart-casual

Situated in the increasingly up-and-coming area of Kings Cross, if I had to describe T.E.D’s interior, I’d say it’s got the elusive ‘smart-casual’ dichotomy absolutely nailed. Bright, modern and airy, the white walls act as a perfect canvas for the splashes of colour found throughout, and vases of fresh, delicate meadow flowers adorn every corner. The black and white signage outside is contemporary yet classic, and the tan leather booth in which our party of four were seated was cosy and intimate without being crowded. In truth, I loved it all.

Eating and drinking at T.E.D is special

The regularly-changing menu at T.E.D is centred around sustainable British produce, with a focus on seasonal and locally-sourced ingredients. One of the signature dishes is Somerset beef tartare, hand-chopped and served with toasted sourdough bread and a single, free range, egg yolk. Of course, in any ethically-driven restaurant, vegetarian food is going to be a big deal too, and on my visit I tucked in to a beautifully balanced main of fresh pappardelle served with chilli, broccoli and anchovies. Other menu highlights included diver-caught plaice, cockles & girolles, and a lovely, cheesy courgette risotto with ricotta and courgette flower.

A drinks list to-die-for

The wine list here is bursting with biodynamic and carbon-neutral bottles, and there are a couple of organic beers on offer too. If cocktails are more your bag, the list is eclectic and imaginative. I’m never one for dessert, so when I visited, I ordered a ‘Black Forest Flip’ to finish my meal – a pretty lilac-coloured drink made from Martell VS Cognac, Black Forest syrup, free range egg and fresh cream. It was a decadent and delicious treat, something all cocktails should be, but sadly so few ever are.

T.E.D Restaurant is open for lunch and dinner Monday- Saturday, and 12-4pm on Sunday. Two courses with wine for two, approximately £75.

For more information and booking visit www.tedrestaurants.co.uk

‘Good’ credentials:

Use ethical and responsibly-sourced ingredients
Sustainably sourced fixtures and fittings used throughout the restaurant including salvaged furniture
Hand-picked contractors built the restaurant were selected based on their eco-sensitive practices
Part of the T.E.D consultancy, a wider network within the food industry whose aim is to eat, drink and think more ethically

About the author: Jane is a lifestyle blogger from Cardiff with a focus on the ethical and eco-friendly. Her blog HungryCityHippy covers restaurant reviews, travel, beauty and environmental awareness and is based mainly in the cities of Cardiff and London. Catch more of her on Twitter @HungryCityHippy.

Pieminister’s new Stokes Croft diner, Bristol

Goodtrippers samples the gourmet pie maestros’ newest eaterie in central Bristol

Bristolian foodies have somewhere new to add to their ‘must visit’ list this summer – the latest edition to pieminister‘s expanding empire, the Stokes Croft dining space. With a company ethos focused on ethical and local produce, and sustainable practice, pieminister ticks all the boxes for us at Goodtrippers!

Opened on the site of pieminister’s original premises (where it all started 10 years ago), Stokes Croft serves quality pies and West Country cider until 11pm every day. The dining space (the old kitchens) is all exposed brickwork, polished concrete and neon signs – with the addition of a piano for some live entertainment (yes, we did resist the urge to tinkle the ivories).

Food – award-winning pies and ethical sourcing

The menu is nice and simple: Choose a pie for £4.20 (from a lucky 13 fun-sounding list including Matador Pie and Kate & Sidney); add mash or minty mushy pieas for £1.50; a topping for 30p (grated cheese, gravy or crispy shallots); or take the lot for ‘The Mothership’ meal deal for £7.95. You can grab a quick snack of a Mr Porky sausage roll (outdoor reared British pork) or Mr Hot (with added chilli and spices).

Goodtrippers tried a Freeranger Pie – lovely chunks of free range British chicken (pieminister is the only national pie brand to use only free range British chicken) offset by salty ham hock topped with West Country Cheddar. We also had the MSC-approved Pietanic Fish Pie – nice big pieces of mixed fish and prawns in a lovely creamy sauce.

Don’t be put off if you’re vegetarian – the menu may be, naturally, meat-heavy but vegetarians have more than the one token veggie option. Choose from the Heidi Pie (Somerset goat’s cheese, red onion, sweet potato, spinach); Wild Shroom Pie (wild mushrooms, asparagus, white wine, cream); or The Big Cheese Pie (West Country Cheddar, garlic cream cheese, buttered onions).

If you’ve still room for pudding, try a Bristolbocker Glory made with ice-creams from nearby Bath’s Marshfield Farm.

Drinks – local and well-crafted

The bar is well-stocked with local West Country ciders (naturally) and local craft beers. And you don’t have to wait until 6pm to try Bristol’s own 6 O’Clock Gin. However, if you’re there first thing in the morning (Stoke’s Croft opens at 10am), boost your mid-morning with a coffee from Bristol’s Extract Coffee Roasters. Tea comes from House of Bath.

Where to find

Pieminister, 24 Stokes Croft, Bristol BS1 3PR (open Mon-Sat 10am-11pm; Sun 11am-11pm). T: 0117 9423322

If you can’t visit the new Stokes Croft dining space, there are plenty of shops, pubs, markets and delis where you can eat pieminister’s sustainable, ethical pies – here are just a few (visit www.pieminister.co.uk/eat-at/shops for the full list):

London: Pieminister, 24 Leather Lane, London EC1N 7TS (open Mon-Fri 11am-9pm; Sat-Sun 12-5pm)

Manchester: Pieminister, 53 Church Street, Manchester M4 1PD (open Mon-Sat 11am-8pm; Sun 12-5pm)

Oxford: Pieminister, 56-58 The Covered Market, Oxford OX1 3DX (open Mon-Sat 10am-5pm; Sun 11am-4pm)

‘Good’ credentials:

Use ethical and responsibly-sourced ingrediants (British meats including free range chicken, outdoor-reared pork and venison, MSC-approved fish)
Only national pie brand to use free range British chicken in all their chicken recipes
Vegetarian pies are approved by The Vegetarian Society
Work fairly with farmers and producers as local as possible to their kitchens to reduce food miles
Committed to reducing their carbon footprint – the cardboard cartons used are sourced from sustainable forest and are fully compostable and recyclable)

Want to win a selection box of yummy pieminister pies? We’ve teamed up with pieminister to offer one lucky winner a box of 12 award-winning pies, plus summer picnic goodies – see our competition details here

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The Duke of Cambridge, London

The Duke of Cambridge

30 St Peter’s Street, Islington, London N1

T: +44 (0)20 7359 3066

www.dukeorganic.co.uk

This wonderful pub is tucked away from the busy thoroughfare of Islington’s Upper Street and Essex Road, located on a quiet corner, quietly getting on with being the UK’s first (and still only) officially certified organic pub. But don’t let the quietness deceive you – this is an incredibly popular gastropub thanks to its fantastic menu created around seasonal, local and organic produce.And with a bar full of organic drinks on offer, there’s less chance of any ‘morning after’ feelings if you overdo it (what’s not to love?)!

Food: 80% of their ingredients(all organic) come from the Home Counties, their fish is Marine Stewardship Council certified wherever possible, their meat comes from small farms with the highest animal welfare standards, and everything is seasonal so if it’s not in season, you won’t see it on the menu which changes regularly. A sample of summer dishes that could be on offer when you visit, include starters such as pan-fried cuttlefish with gremolata, beef carpacio with radish or house pickled herring with potato caper. Mains may include asparagus and confit summer garlic risotto with ewe’s cheese, sardines with lentils and braised radicchio, or hearty rack of lamb with jersey royals and salsa verde. Puddings include lavendar creme brulee, apricot cheesecake or a mouth-watering British cheese board.

Drink: When the Duke first opened in 1998, there were no organic brewers in London – so they persuaded two brewers to make them some! Freedom and Pitfield Breweries have been supplying them ever since and the pub now has four real ales, two lagers and one cider on tap with plenty of bottled drinks to choose from (all organic, of course). The wine list includes organic and biodynamic wines from both Europe and the New Worlds – with bottles from South Africa and New Zealand being shipped over (never air freighted) to reduce the carbon footprint. Organic spirits and liqueurs are also on offer.

Recommended for… A relaxed lunch on a Sunday afternoon for delicious food and local beers

Be aware that… A Sunday can also be very busy – try and visit on a weekday afternoon for a quieter time

‘Good’ credentials:

UK’s first (and only) organic pub (officially certified by the Soil Association)
Organic, seasonal and local food and drink
Beers brewed by small, independent, artisan brewers in or close to London
Fish buying policy approved by the MSC (Marine Stewardship Council)
Meat from small farms maintaining high animal welfare standards
Nothing is ever air-freighted
Re-use and recycle wherever possible
Electricity generated by wind and solar power

Date of visit: June 2012

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Real Food Market, Southbank, London

Real Food Market

Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX

www.realfoodfestival.co.uk

Free and weekly at Southbank (Fri 12-8pm, Sat 11am – 8pm, Sun 12-6pm)

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I’m so pleased that this food market is now on every weekend over summer! This little collection of some of the best independent, artisan food and drink producers offers the tastiest fast and affordable food on the Southbank – no need for a visit to the chain restaurants of Giraffe, Wagamama’s et al if you just want to grab a bite to eat, and want a little more choice than the (albeit very nice) English fare at nearby Canteen.

The Real Food Market features food from all corners of the globe (English, Spanish, Polish, Thai, North African, South American…) with a bias towards locally and sustainably produced food – think saltmarsh lamb burgers, fresh mussels and artisan cheeses. Stall holders can vary slightly week to week but you’ll probably find producers such as Jamon Jamon (with their huge dishes of paella), The Borough Cheese Company (selling French Mountain cheese), On Patisserie (with their pretty and innovative macaroons), The Polish Deli (selling smoked sausages and grilled chicken), The Thoroughly Wild Meat Company (serving delicious saltmarsh lamb and mutton), and Meantime Brewery (try their fab London Pale Ale). A previous trip over Jubilee weekend also found cream teas, crepes and Camden Town Brewery in action.

On this visit, we tried the North African lamb wraps from the Community Kitchen which were so tasty and filling (and only £6 each) that we didn’t have room for dinner later that evening!

Several stalls sell packaged or bottled food and drink to take home (they can make great gifts – a good opportunity to buy direct from the producer instead of seeking out a stockist). I find it best for grabbing a bite to eat then sitting near the Hayward Gallery (preferably in the sun!) overlooking the river. Tip: Go when you’re hungry and persuade whoever you’re with to order from a different stall to you – you’ll want to try as many different offerings as possible!

Recommended for… A more original alternative to the chain restaurants of Southbank

Be aware that… Stall holders can change each week so don’t rely on your favourite always being there!

‘Good’ credentials:

Promoting sustainable, environmentally and socially-responsible and ethically-produced food (e.g. organically-reared meats, handmade products, traditional beers, ales and cider)
Emphasis on locally produced, sourced and artisanal food
Supporting independent producers directly

Date of visit: June 2012

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‘Eco’, ‘Sustainable’, ‘Ethical’…the many names for responsible tourism

Labels are difficult things. They provide shortcuts to understanding, but we tie ourselves up in knots over choosing which to apply to what. Cynthia Ord, managing editor of The Travel Word newsletter, attempted to define the NINE labels she had discovered that are applied to ‘ethical travel’. Some you’ve no doubt heard of, and use, others attempt to better define a complex concept – all prove that describing ‘ethical travel’ is not simple!

‘Ecotourism’ – a term coined as early as 1965 and widely defined as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people”. Its common usage means it’s a good one to use, but the flipside means it is also vulnerable to misuse – used as a lifestyle definition for holidays full of ‘feel good’ gloss but offering little in the way of real, positive impacts for local people.

‘Green tourism’ – another overly misused label and often at odds with trips that involve long-haul flights (the greenest holidays could mean staying at home in the back garden!) ‘green tourism’ is often used to describe holidays that meet stringent environmental/eco standards. As an extension, the ‘slow travel’ movement, appreciating the journey not just the destination, is growing in popularity and aims to encourage greater appreciation and connections with local people and environments.

‘Voluntourism’ – a slightly embarrassing blended word but the best way to describe holidays based on volunteering projects, especially as many projects are realising that there is a huge market out there of people who have only two-weeks’ holiday but want to volunteer their time. Travellers have to be sure that the projects they choose really are making a useful, positive impact and are not glorified package holidays of little real benefit to local environments and communities.

‘Community-based tourism’ and ‘pro-poor tourism’ both define travel that improves local communities economically. Many people extoll the benefits of visiting struggling tourist spots: tourists simply spending their holiday money in local restaurants, hotels and shops in disaster-hit areas (such as tourism-dependent towns hit by the 2004 tsunami in SE Asia) is important, but ‘community-based tourism’ and ‘pro-poor tourism’ more accurately describe how travellers can spend their time and money on micro-tourism enterprises such as staying in homestays or eating in community cafes, often in developing countries.

As Cynthia Ord points out, there are plenty of critics of ‘ethical’ or ‘responsible tourism’ – conjuring up images of patronising First World do-gooders participating in a kind of ‘poverty voyeurism’ – but tourists who want to make travel choices to be greener, more ethical and more responsible, need a steer or two on what to choose. More travellers sharing their experiences of hotels and resorts, tour operators and volunteering projects using these labels, both good and bad, can help us sift the real responsible travel options from the ‘greenwash’.