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Campaign updates
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wearorganic news: PAN UK’s
definite guide to cotton and eco-labelling relaunched! In April
PAN UK’s wearorganic project published
a new and improved version of its consumer guide to organic cotton and
eco-label. ‘My Sustainable T-shirt (MST): a
guide to understanding cotton production and what eco-labels mean for people
and planet’ is written for anyone who is interested in
finding out how cotton is produced and how it works its way up the supply
chain from fibre to final garment. If you
want to know your where to buy organic cotton towels or hemp t-shirts; want
to know your Tencel from recycled polyester or the difference between the
Better Cotton Initiative and the Ethical Trading Initiative, then download your copy of My Sustainable
T-shirt from the PAN UK website now! Events in the last quarter Working closer with retailers Fibre Food & Beauty: African organic cotton farmers promote their
food crops at UK trade fair PAN UK partners, Karfa Diallo from Enda Pronat ( Senegal) and Davo
Vodouhe from OBEPAB (Benin), laid out a colourful display of African food and
textiles to attract visitors at the Natural
& Organic Products trade show in London held 11-12
April. They handed out over 400 samples of organic and fair trade fonio grain,
cashews and bissap (hibiscus) juice, in
their bid to find British wholesale companies interested in distributing
their produce here. To find out more,
check out the Fibre, Food
& Beauty (FFB) project information |
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Stories from the
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Neem mills and the mechanics of hope in Benin The cotton plant attracts
lots of pests and neem seed extract is a very effective pest repellent. But
pounding the seeds into powder to make neem sprays was very slow, hard work
for the women of Benin’s organic cotton farming communities. So with the
support of clothing company Frugi, PAN UK provided the women’s
groups with 4 mills to mechanically grind the seed. Click here to
read about how the mills are empowering women and reducing their reliance on
bought agricultural inputs.
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5 in 5 |
PAN UK gets a new Director! Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK) was founded in
1986 as the Pesticides Trust. Though the name has changed, PAN UK remains the
only NGO focused solely on global pesticide issues from food to fibre,
gardens to grasslands and parks. On 24 May 2010, Keith Tyrell joined PAN
UK as its 4th director. The Wear Organic team caught up with him for our new
feature ‘5 in 5’ to get a measure of the
man, his vision for the organisation and his shopping habits.
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Eco-fashion news
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May 22 is the United Nations International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB).
Its aim is to increase our
understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues; helping people discover
the connections between themselves and the natural world around them. The
theme this year – part of the wider International
Year of Biodiversity – is ‘Biodiversity for Development’
which sits well with PAN UK’s work to promote alternatives to pesticides that
are better for both people and planet. With interviews with cotton farmers in Benin and designer Katherine
Hammett, watch the Moral
Fibre DVD to learn more about organic cotton. Also, look
out for our biodiversity and cotton leaflets out later in the year. On Sunday 6 June PAN UK will be at the Camden
Green Fair. After a
two year break the award-winning environmental event returns to with its
whimsical mix of music, workshops, food and fun. Stop by our stand! Click here to see other events taking
place in May and June. If you would like to include any events in future
newsletters, please send an email to elizaanyangwe@pan-uk.org
Corrections: The following corrections need to be made to the article ‘A view from
Edun’ in the winter newsletter: Phenix Logistics and Lap Textiles are not WRAP
certified. Also,
EDUN-Live, MADE-BY or Solidaridad did not contribute to the installation of
the waste water treatment facility at Phenix Logistics/ Lap Textiles. |
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