Here at the Big Green Switch (courtesy of Cumfy Pets) we are setting up our own chicken coop!
Over the coming months will be giving you blog updates, along with pictures, on the Big Green Chicken blog.
Help us to name the chickens by voting on our poll and keep checking back to see all our updates.
To see the blog click here.
The Bye-Bye Standby Energy Saving Kit will make sure you never leave anything on standby again!
CLICK HERE FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!
Bye Bye Standby works by completely cutting power to the devices plugged into it when they're not in use, thus saving the power that these devices would otherwise have consumed in Standby Mode.
Bye Bye Standby is the easiest way to save energy, carbon emissions and money.This starter kit includes:1 x Remote Control 3 x Smart SocketsHow to use Bye Bye Standby:Simply plug a Smart Socket into a mains wall socket and plug an electrical appliance into it.
Make sure the remote control and the Smart Socket are set to the same ‘House Code’. You can now switch your appliances on and off wirelessly from up to 30m away and by doing so you will avoid leaving them on standby. This could help save up to £38 a year!
Think of all the gadgets you leave around your house on standby!
The Bye-Bye Standby Energy Saving Kit can be used with TVs, DVD players, Sky boxes, stereo, PC etc.
The competition is open until 8th December and is free to enter to anyone who registers with the Big Green Switch website. Other terms & conditions apply.The new Shopping Spree competition from the Big Green Switch is here to take the sting out of this year's Christmas shopping, both for the environment AND your wallet!
As the weeks between now and Christmas very quickly start to fall away, our thoughts are turning to the annual trials and tribulations of Christmas shopping!
Simply take a look through the Big Green Shop and build yourself a Christmas Gift List of all the great things you'd love to give as Christmas presents, up to the total value of £300. We'll then pick one Gift List at random - and pay for everything on the winning list!*
The Big Green Shop is packed with fantastic eco friendly gift ideas to suit everyone - from gadget lovers and keen gardeners to fashion followers and pamper product fans.
So don't miss your chance to bag your Christmas shopping for FREE and enjoy a bright green Christmas by scooping a huge shopping basket full of brilliant eco friendly goodies!
How to take part:
 | Firstly, you need to register and log-in to the Big Green Shop. New users can register here while existing users of either the Big Green Switch or Big Green Shop sites can log in here. (Your usual Big Green Switch log in details will work fine on the Shop - there's no need to re-register). |
 | After you've logged in, click on the "My Shopping Lists" option on your account page and create yourself a new shopping list called "Christmas competition list".** |
 | Now you're ready to start browsing around the Big Green Shop site to discover a whole range of great eco friendly gifts perfect for friends and family this Christmas.As you find products that you would like to be included in your possible prize pack, simply click the "Add to Shopping List" option for that product.When prompted, tick to add the product to your existing "Christmas competition list" and click done. |
 | Continue browsing and adding products to your list until you've reached between £280 and £300 worth of items (Take care not to exceed £300 or your entry will not count). You can view the running total value at the top of your list by choosing the "View List" option after adding an item to it or by clicking on "My Account" and then "My Shopping Lists". Then all you have to do is sit back and relax!At the end of the promotion, we'll be picking one list at random and paying for all the items on it for the lucky winner.* |
** Note: entrants to our previous "shopping spree" competitions will need to create a new list for thisd competition and add products to that new list. Your previous list(s) cannot be accepted as an entry to this new competition.
This year's Energy Saving Week, the Energy Saving Trust's annual flagship week, runs from October 20th to 26th.
Now in its 12th year, Energy Saving Week challenges people todiscover their carbon footprint and adopt energy saving measures to reduce their CO2 emissions.
Saving energy around the home just makes sense. Not only does it help the environment as you cut your carbon emissions and reduce the threat from climate change but saving energy will also save you a decent chunk of money on your energy bills too.
There are various ways you can take action and get involved with Energy Saving Week 2008 here on the Big Green Switch website:
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Green your breakfast with the cool and chic Ecolectric Eco Toaster from EthicalSuperstore.com!
CLICK HERE FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!
It features a sleek, innovative auto-close lid which helps to keep the heat close to the bread, meaning that you spend less time waiting for your toast in the morning, and do your bit to cut energy use. Statistics show that the lid on this green-chic toaster actually uses 34% less energy than standard toasters!
As well as its green credentials, this toaster looks the part too! It is chic, sleek and features Cooltouch illuminated neon function buttons, and a cord storage facility meaning that you can keep your work surfaces clean and clear once your toast has popped up and ready to eat! Check out the video below to see it in action!
Win one of three sets of eco friendly pamper products, worth £50 each, courtesy of BigGreenSmile.com!
CLICK HERE FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!
The products are amongst over 500 new lines added to their website including a substantial new well being range of eco-friendly health and beauty products. The range includes bath oils and soaps, deodorants, toothpastes, mouth wash, feminine hygiene products, lip care, sun care and baby care products.
All of the products do their very best to avoid nasty chemicals and are as natural as possible.
We've got three sets of goodies to give away, each containing a £50 selection of BigGreenSmile.com's new health and beauty products:
Bring the sunshine into your home with the fascinating solar-charged Sun Jar!
CLICK HERE FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!
Captured inside the jar are a highly efficient solar cell, rechargeable battery and low energy LED lamps. When the jar is placed in sunlight the solar cell creates an electrical current that charges the battery over a few hours. This energy is then used at night to power the three LED lamps inside the jar.
Mason Jars are not only beautiful but by their very nature they are completely water tight - so the Sun Jar can happily be left outside in any weather conditions. A perfect garden light or night light for a kids bedroom.
The competition is open until 20th October and is free to enter to anyone who registers with the Big Green Switch website. Other terms & conditions apply.
So click here now for your chance to win this beautiful Sun Jar!
Celebrate the great green things you've already done and plan your next steps with our new 10 Done, 10 To Do campaign.
10 Done, 10 To Do is all about feeling good about the changes you've made so far to green up your lifestyle and looking forward to what else you hope to do to cut your carbon footprint even further.
As a thank you for committing to make the switch to a greener lifestyle, we'll enter you into our free prize draw to win £100 worth of eco friendly products to aid some of your future green changes.
Take your music on the move without worrying about battery power with this brilliant Verio wind-up MP3 player!
CLICK HERE FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!
The Verio wind-up MP3 player makes dead batteries a thing of the past and ensures you always have access to your music.
Winding up the Verio for just one minute provides 15-20 minutes of listening time. Also included is a USB and mains charger for when electricity is available. When fully charged, the player will provide music for up to four hours.
It features 1 Gigabyte of internal memory so you always have a huge music library. The player is compact and rugged and also includes an integrated flashlight and mobile phone charger.
The competition is open until 11pm on September 29th and is free to enter to anyone who registers with the Big Green Switch website. Other terms & conditions apply.
So click here for your chance to win this brilliant wind-up MP3 player
During the fortnight, individuals, businesses and communities will be hosting events to raise awareness of the environmental, health and social benefits of organic production. The campaign also gives everyone a chance to enjoy organic products from delicious food and drink to beauty and textiles.
Events will be taking place all over the country from organic breakfasts at work and farm open days to organic cookery lessons in schools and organic fashion shows. Click here to find an event near you.
The message this year is ‘Love Your Planet, Choose Organic’. Amidst growing concerns about climate change and food security, Soil Association Organic Fortnight provides a chance to look at why organic production - fashion, beauty, food and farming - is better for the planet.
The fortnight kicks off with the Soil Association Organic Food Festival, Europe’s largest celebration of organic, 6-7 September 2008, at Bristol Harbourside and closes on a high with the Soil Association Scotland's Organic Food Festival on 20-21 September.
The Soil Association website is packed with more information about the fortnight, including how you can get involved, a list of scheduled events plus the facility to tell others about any events you are planning yourself. The website also includes details of how to order campaign material for any events you choose to run plus information on how schools can also get involved in the fortnight.
Visit www.soilassociation.org/organicfortnight for full details.
Turn all your food waste into perfect compost and plant feed with this amazing Kitchen Composter Kit!
The Kitchen Composter takes all your kitchen waste and turns it into rich garden compost and liquid plant feed. Never again will a scrap of food waste have to go into your bin!
The Kitchen Composter can take it all - raw or cooked food, meat, salad and veg, fish and more. Simply put it all into the composter, add a handful of Bokashi bran (included) which stimulates the micro-organisms into action and then just wait a few weeks for the whole lot to turn into perfect material to go onto your compost heap or straight onto your flower beds.
The container is air-tight so can be kept indoors or outdoors without fear of any nasty odours or hygiene problems so it's perfect for keeping in the kitchen, right where you need it.
The competition is open until 11pm on September 22nd and is free to enter to anyone who registers with the Big Green Switch website. Other terms & conditions apply.Get kitted out for the new school year with this fantastic set of recycled stationery and notebooks!
CLICK HERE FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!
Whether you're sending the kids back to school or simply wanting to stock up on supplies for your home or office, this set of recycled staionery has everything you need!
The prize pack includes:
The Big Green Shop Eco Shopping Spree competition is back by popular demand!
Once again, we're giving you the chance to win eco-friendly gifts, gadgets and goodies of your choice from the Big Green Shop - and this time, there are £300 worth of products up for grabs!! 
Simply take a look through the Shop and build yourself a dream Shopping List of all the great things you'd love to buy from it up to the total value of £300. We'll then pick one of our visitors' Shopping Lists at random - and pay for everything on the winning list!*
It's a great chance to bag yourself a range of clever energy-saving gadgets to help you to save energy and money on your bills or perhaps you'll choose to pamper yourself with a host of organic and natural body and skincare products?
Whatever eco friendly products you're interested in, this is your chance to scoop a huge shopping basket full of brilliant eco-friendly goodies you really want.
How to take part:
 | Firstly, you need to register and log-in to the Big Green Shop. New users can register here while existing users of either the Big Green Switch or Big Green Shop sites can log in here. (Your usual Big Green Switch log in details will work fine on the Shop - there's no need to re-register). |
 | After you've logged in, click on the "My Shopping Lists" option on your account page and create yourself a new shopping list called "£300 shopping spree list".** |
 | Now you're ready to start browsing around the Big Green Shop site to discover a whole range of great products to help support a greener lifestyle. As you find products that you would like to be included in your possible prize pack, simply click the "Add to Shopping List" option for that product. When prompted, tick to add the product to your existing "£300 shopping spree list" and click done. |
 | Continue browsing and adding products to your list until you've reached between £280 and £300 worth of items (Take care not to exceed £300 or your entry will not count). You can view the running total value at the top of your list by choosing the "View List" option after adding an item to it or by clicking on "My Account" and then "My Shopping Lists". Then all you have to do is sit back and relax! |
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It might be stating the obvious but cycling is good for you, good for the planet, it's fast, it's convenient, it gives you freedom and independence, it takes you from door to door – and it's fun.
A recent survey conducted by Sustran shows that 44 per cent of women have access to a bike but three quarters of them never use a bike at all.
The reasons women don't cycle vary from their concerns about safety to the problems of what to wear and the weather. Sustrans, who have been developing the National Cycle Network for the past three decades, believe that a combination of dedicated cycle lanes and good information on how and where to cycle are two key elements that would increase the number of women cyclists to European levels. In the Netherlands 32 per cent of women's trips are made by bike.
Sustainable transport charity Sustrans is encouraging more people, men and women, to get out and about on two wheels and is offering free tailored information packs to help people do just that. The pack is full of great ideas for rides in your region and comes with plenty of information to help you get more from cycling.
Sustrans is the charity behind many practical and innovative projects that help people travel in ways that benefit their health and the environment, including the National Cycle Network, 12,000 miles of people-friendly walking and cycling routes around the UK. Many are on traffic-free paths or quiet roads, perfect for families and anyone new to cycling. Over 75% of people in the UK live within two miles of the National Cycle Network so there’s sure to be a route near you.
To claim your free information pack from Sustrans visit www.freeyourbike.org.uk or call 0845 113 00 65
Great cycling prizes up for grabs!
We've teamed up with competition website InstantWin4Now to give you the chance to win a selection of great cycles. Click on the links below to visit the InstantWin4Now website for your chance to win!
 | Instantly WIN an Apollo Men's Town & Trail Bike Available in 21" or 18" frames, this Men's Town and Trail Bike has an Aluminium frame, 21 speed gears, powerful aluminium V-brakes and Gel saddle for added comfort. |
 | Instantly WIN a Raleigh Pioneer Ladies Bicycle Perfect for city riding and leisurely cruises along country lanes, this ladies Raleigh cycle is designed to be functional, solid and reliable. |
 | Instantly WIN an Apollo folding bicycle With a lightweight aluminium frame, this Folding Bicycle has an easy folding mechanism allowing you to go from cyclist to pedestrian in seconds - perfect for green commuting! |
 | Instantly WIN a super cool Trikke bike! The Trikke is an excellent eco friendly alternative for nipping around town and it even folds up so you can easily carry it through shops, university or on the tube! |
Make your kitchen more eco-friendly and save on your energy bills with the Eco Kettle!
The innovative Eco Kettle has a unique double chamber that allows you to measure out exactly how much water you want to boil, saving electricity, water, money and time, making it better for the planet.
The Eco Kettle will boil a cup of water in around 30 seconds so it uses far less electricity and makes a fast cuppa and uses 30% less energy than standard kettles.
The Eco Kettle has been approved by the Good Housekeeping Institute and is recommended by Powergen as a pioneering product in the battle to save energy in the nation's homes.
The competition is open until 11pm on September 1st and is free to enter to anyone who registers with the Big Green Switch website. Other terms & conditions apply.
So click here for your chance to win this brilliant energy saving Eco Kettle!
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