Something that came to my attention about a month ago (and which I have successfully managed to block out since) has resurfaced thanks to our friends over at TreeHugger. The aptly named Shit Box is supposed to be the answer to all of your festival toilet troubles.

The creator, who also founded the footwear retailer Office, is Richard Wharton who has since set up the Brown Corporation to manufacturer his little brown brain child. It is a portable, flatpack, lightweight cardboard toilet designed for outdoor use when you need it most. It’s designed to be reused with the use of degradable poop bags – 10 of which come with the Shit Box.

So next time your kids are desperate for the loo in the car, or you’re at a festival and are dreading the long drop – just think – you could be sitting comfortably on a cardboard box, in the comfort of your own tent, emptying your bowels in style!

Seriously though, it’s quite impressive and its eco-friendly credentials aren’t bad either. Made with 70% recycled cardboard, with all of the components degradable, this novel idea might just prove to be popular, not least with eco-conscious festival goers.

We already have self contained solar showers, biodegradable tent pegs, and floatable dinner sets! 

So why not add a Shit Box into the mix?

Have a look at other innovative uses for the humble cardboard box over at Ethical Superstore.

I wonder what’s next . . .
 

(Image via LittleJackShit)

 Image via www.olympic.org

It would be hard not to have noticed that the greatest show on earth commences this week. That’s right – it’s the Olympic Games 2008.

China was awarded the games back in July 2001, but during the intervening seven years many questions were asked on the suitability of the choice, and whether Beijing would get themselves organised in time. However, with only hours to go til showdown, they seem to have pulled the proverbial cat out of the bag (and dog off the menu!). The city has been transformed, with new architecture and various bilingual facilities.

You can check out the official Beijing 2008 website for the full run-down of events, however if your Chinese is about as hot as mine, you’ll probably find the more general Olympic Games site of more use!

More on the Olympics after the jump…

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My gran used to have a saying (don’t think she made it up, I’ve heard loads of people use it since) that went something like “Learn to crawl before you try to walk!” Normally, this would be rolled out when I had tried to do something, and been pretty rubbish at it. I was reminded of this when I recently sat down to read There’s A Hippo In My Cistern, a great new book from former lads mag journo Pete May.

At the beginning of the book Pete is very open about the lifestyle he used to lead - he would fly everywhere he could, cared little for conservation, and was obsessed with consumerism and the latest toys and gadgets. In essence he was living the life most twenty-something blokes would kill for. This all changes, however, when he meets eco-warrior Nicola, and the course of true love, as another saying goes, never runs smooth.

The central point of the book, though, is that despite all the warnings of our planet killing ways, few of us make any major changes to our lifestyle. There could be many reasons for this, from laziness, to comfort, to unwillingness, but I feel the crucial issue is apathy. People don’t think that anything they do individually will make any difference, and therefore don’t start trying. In the book, May finds that adjusting to a more ethical lifestyle is much more difficult than it appears, but by taking small steps, he eventually transforms his life, and turns away from his consumerist, eco-sinner past. We could all follow his example, and start small. Energy saving lightbulbs, for example, can use around 75% less energy than regular ones. That’s 75% less carbon and 75% less money spent on lighting your house, and 75% more happiness in the world (approx!). That’s just one small step, which really is no effort at all, and does wonders for your eco-karma. You know it makes sense.

I’ll end this post with another saying of my gran’s (and, of course, some Chinese bloke) “The longest journey starts with the smallest step.” Why not take that step today, and see where your journey takes you? More small steps to come.

The Credit Crunch. You couldn’t have escaped that fateful phrase over the past few months – but did you know that the bursting of the most powerful financial bubble since the end of the Second World War is coming up to its’ first birthday?! Now, I’m not suggesting we get all sentimental and sing it a couple of songs, shower it with gifts, and get its granny round for tea. But I do think that we should all be made aware of little things that everyone can do to get a little extra cash, and of course, help the environment along the way.

One little tip I stumbled upon this week was to earn cash from recycling! A simple and convenient way to do this is to crush up all those empty drinks cans, take them down to your local cans recycling centre. All you need to do is get as many cans together as possible, give them a ring, go and drop them off, and claim your not-so-hard-earned cash! Check out ThinkCans for more details on this project.

Of course, the more cans you have to recycle the better – for the planet and your pocket – so why not invest in an affordable, simple to use, and convenient can crusher to flatten those aluminium devils and fit more in your containers! Ethical Superstore has a great foot-operated can crusher – suitable for aluminium and steel cans for only £14.99. To top it off, the lovely folks at HippyShopper have made a video review of said Can Crusher to demonstrate its crushing prowess and ease of use.

For more tips on the possibilities of recylcling check out the Recycling Guide, or have a browse through one of our previous posts here at How Ethical; 25 Alternative Uses for Plastic Bags!

So, there you go, the third Armchair Activist post on how you can make an individual contribution to a global problem, and the first to highlight the money making, rather than money saving, Credit Crunch beating possibilities that an eco-friendly, green attitude can bring about.

Stay tuned for more . . . 

(Check out this great chair made from recycled cans by amir zinaburg>>>>>)

Harry Hill, the massive-collared former doctor turned off the wall comedian, is to launch a brand new range of salted peanuts with our friends over at Liberation! Nuts in order to show his support for African and Latin American nut farmers.

Hill has refused any fee for his services, preferring to ensure that the nut producers benefit as much as possible from this partnership.

‘I love salted peanuts myself and feel I am doing a service to snackers everywhere who want to know the farmers who grew what they are eating have been paid a fair price,’ explained Hill. ‘I’m working with Liberation because all of its products are Fairtrade and the company is run purely to benefit the farmers and their families.’

As well as putting his name to the product, Harry also designed the striking green packaging for the nuts which are launching soon and will be available over at Ethicalsuperstore.com.