ETHICAL TRAVELLER: Catherine Mack on responsible gifts
THERE ARE green gifts galore for ethically minded travellers. From mags to bags, here are a few of the things that I would be over the moon to find under my sustainable Christmas tree.
Top of my list is Voltaic System's solar-powered backpack (from $199/€155 in the US, www.voltaicsystems. com; from £155/€185 in the UK via www.ecotopia.co.uk and www.electroniczone.co.uk).
It sounds like something Buzz Lightyear would wear on his travels. Unfortunately, it won't zap you across the planet using solar power, but it will power all the gadgets you want to take with you on your travels. It comes in three sizes, all with mini solar panels on the front.
An hour in direct sun will power your iPod for three hours or your mobile for over an hour. You can leave it by a sunny window to charge, but this is really a bag for the beach or going on a hike, topping up your MP3 player as you doze or dander. A backup system plugs into a cigarette-lighter socket in case of no sun. This is not an ecogimmick. It does what it says on the panel - and has been brilliantly reviewed by gadget experts.
Ecoshop, in Greystones, Co Wicklow (www.ecoshop.ie), stocks most of Trevor Baylis's fantastic eco-inventions. Famous for his wind-up radio, he now has a range of wind-up gadgets, from a light (€44.95) to a media player (on offer at €245). The latter does too many things for me to get my head around, bar making me a cup of tea.
One Irish invention that does make a cup of tea is the Kelly Kettle (from €42, www.kellykettle.com), my favourite purchase of the year. Invented by Mayo fishing enthusiasts, this inspired lightweight water boiler has your cup of tea ready in minutes by just burning a few sticks. You can even put a mini frying pan on top and cook an egg at the same time. Campers' heaven.
For outdoor travel gear, is hard to beat. With an exemplary environmental policy, it measures the carbon footprint of its products, uses organic cottons, makes fleeces from plastic bottles, uses hemp and chlorine-free wool and is generally my top shop. You can buy online at www.patagonia. com or visit its store in Dublin, on Exchequer Street.
If I could pack any scarf into my backpack, it would be one made by , Ali Hewson's ethical-clothing company, a double-layer white cotton one with its trademark Rilke poem design (€70, www.edunonline. com).
Her collection of jeans and T-shirts, and easy-to-throw- in-a-bag dresses, are pretty much top of my wish list, too.
Shoes are always hard when packing. For head-clearing beach walks on New Year's Day check out the felt lace-up boots at Natural Collection's website (www.naturalcollection.com). Easier to pack than wellies, and more on trend, for sure. The same company has the best eco-beach sandals around, too, made out of cars' bits and pieces, such as seat belts and tyres.
You'll also find the best range of Fairtrade Converse-style organic-canvas sneakers at one of my top ecogift websites, Nigel's Eco Store (www.nigelsecostore. com).
One of my other indispensable travel items is a pashmina, for cosy naps, wrapping up on a beach or dressing up in the evening.
You can buy a Fairtrade mohair one, hand-loomed and hand-dyed in South Africa, from EcoChic (www.ecochicfairtrade.co.uk) for £45.
Oxfam sells a black chunky shawl for keeping out the chills on the hills (currently reduced from €29 to €9.99, www.oxfam irelandshop.com).
For reading material I have to push Ecoescape: Ireland (€11.69), because I wrote it, and people seem to like it. Available from most good bookshops, I hope, or you can order it, and the UK version, from www.ecoescape.org.
Alastair Sawday's Green Places to Stay is also excellent (£9.09, www.sawdays.co.uk). Another idea is to buy a subscription to a magazine. I love Wanderlust for detailed and brilliantly written travel articles, and an editorial team committed to ecotourism principles (£22.80 in Northern Ireland; £30 or equivalent in eurozone; www.wanderlust. co.uk). For younger travellers getting a subscription to National Geographic Kids is a great grandparent sort of present (£35.88/€43 for 12 monthly issues, www.ngkids. co.uk).
My favourite smellies on the market at the moment have to be those made by , the seaweed bath-house in Strandhill, Co Sligo. It has developed a range of products using sustainable and organic seaweed from across the road, and they are simply gorgeous. You can buy a travel pack of the softest shampoo, shower gel and moisturiser, packed in an organic cotton bag (€40, www.voya.ie).
Mind you, nothing beats the real thing, so a train ticket to Sligo, and a voucher for one of Voya's heavenly organic- seaweed baths, would make my Christmas any time. If you haven't tried one yet, you are missing out: it makes you feel amazing.
macktourism@yahoo.co.uk
Laurence Mackin's book reviews return next week