M&S Plan A – 1 year on (Jan08)
One year ago I went to the launch of Mark’s & Spencer’s Plan A initiative – and last week I went to hear how it was progressing. M&S say that it’s Plan A because there is no Plan B. And they do seem committed. Stuart Rose ruefully forecast a difficult year for the store but […]
Whole foods (Oct07)
A few years ago I went to a Whole Foods store in New York. This week I visited the London Whole Foods Market, situated on the old Barkers site in Kensington High Street. Rather like a trip to French street markets, the first thing that comes to mind is ‘Why don’t more shops make food […]
Food Advice (Oct07)
In 2007 I was asked by M&S to help them in developing their food strategy, thinking creatively about what innovations they might consider. Clearly, sustainability issues relating to food are becoming increasingly important. And, as M&S says, they may need to think the unthinkable. Topics covered included climate change and food crops, vegetarianism, local sourcing, wild […]
Gay Times – I interviewed Kristin Digby (Sep07)
One of three interviews I did for the Gay Times – Kristin Digby . See also Peter Tatchell and Paul O-Grady “I don’t even know how to read a f***ing fuel bill”, Kristian admitted when I asked him to tell me how much electricity and gas he was using. I arrived at his house somewhere […]
Triodos Bank says ‘I do’ (Jul07)
This was no ordinary AGM. Apart from anything else Triodos staged it with a wedding theme. Charles Middleton the MD made his vows, talked to ‘the congregation’ and encouraged them to ‘speak now’ but ‘not hold your peace’. Apart from a few wry observations that the Triodos representatives were all male and were more formally […]
On Air and Hair (May07)
After 10 consecutive radio interviews I began to wonder whether I was talking complete gibbberish! The BBC regional stations phone into the studio in 10 minute slots – some for pre-recorded interviews and some live. They were all interviewing me on the publication of The New Green Consumer Guide but coming at it from different […]
Shops and Shopping Centres (May07)
‘I don’t think I’m going to be very popular with this audience’, I admitted, at the start of my speech to the property retail sector (people who develop shops and shopping centres) at Claridges. ‘I don’t buy much stuff’ I continued, ‘and what I do buy I generally purchase through internet shopping’. What I realise […]
Selling The New Green Consumer Guide on Amazon (May07)
It’s taken me ages to work out how to get this nice little icon selling the New Green Consumer Guide via Amazon onto my website. Now it means you can buy the book through Amazon from my link – and apparently I get some commission too. If you want to sell the book on your […]
McDonalds Testimonial (May07)
“Julia participated in a panel discussion that explored our CSR past, present and future. We encouraged her to be provocative because we want to be challenged to create game changing social and environmental policies and programs. And she sure delivered. She has strong opinions about McDonald’s, and she’s not afraid to vocalize them.” “Most of […]
A McDonald’s experience (Apr07)
I thought I’d do a bit of comparison on fuel efficiency between the UK and the US. Went to Heathrow in an 8-seater vehicle – it was on its way to collect a large group. But at 36mpg even that was less thirsty than the flashy black Lincoln that collected me from Chicago’s O’Hare airport […]
Some thoughts – Fish, John Travolta, Home grown, Standby TVs (Apr07)
Eco-hypocrite I think that having 5 private jets and an airport in your garden really does preclude you from encouraging people to do their bit for the environment. John Travolta’s carbon footprint is apparently around 800 tons a year, which is about 100 times more than the average Brit. But he claims to be concerned […]
A few hours in Naples (Mar07)
Should I even admit to flying to Naples for a stint of no more than 3 hours? Perhaps even more heretical was that I went to make a presentation to the European Management team at McDonalds. This is a company I haven’t been very fond of in the past – they tried to get the […]