Small actions x lots of people = big change

We have just discovered a lovely example of simple every day action creating big change. We love it when that happens.

Francesca Saunders in Edinburgh, fed up with discarded crisp packets and pizza boxes littering her walk to work, has taken action by asking others to pledge to pick up one piece of litter in their local community every week.

http://www.peopleagainstlitter.org/

You can sign up here to be a PAL (person against litter). All they ask is that you tell a friend.

Among famous PALs are Bill Bryson and Lorraine Kelly so you could be rubbing litter-picking shoulders with the stars.

Action 131: Add your own action

If you've done all our actions to death and are looking for some new ideas, check out this wonderful blog with love from Sweden...

http://www.365thingsyoucando.com/

Last year Navid posted an idea every day and this year has launched an English version which grows daily.

Our faves are:

Eavesdrop

Treat books like birds

Give away your body parts

Save your relationship and the planet...

From Bangladesh to South Africa...

A brand communications school in South Africa gave their students a brief to create a campaign for We Are What We Do and Megan Rowe sent us this picture of her finished product...

Megan designed product packaging to go with four actions to inspire people to help the environment and their relationship at the same time. Two birds with one stone, if you will.

She created packaging for an organic soap, to encourage the action 'take a bath with your partner', in order to save water. An envelope holds a road map to encourage couples to take a road trip instead of holidaying by plane. And to save electricity Megan created condom packaging, for the action, 'have sex with the lights off', and a candle, for 'have a candle lit dinner'.

Megan wanted to convey the message that it's easy to take small steps towards improving both the environment and your personal life, by taking a fun and light hearted approach. Lovely!

Action 001: Decline plastic bags wherever possible

Since the launch of the infamous 'I'm not a plastic bag', created in 2007 in collaboration with Anya Hindmarch, fake copies have been cropping up all over place.

This is our first spot in Bangladesh!

Action 16: Give your change to charity

A cause worthy of support we think...

Streetbite - a university group who organise daily soup runs for homeless people in Cambridge - are having a sponsored sleep out to raise awareness and money for their cause on Saturday November 28. All funds raised will go to five local homeless charities.

Have a look at their website where you can sign up to sleep out, or sponsor the sleepers:

http://www.streetbitesleepout.com/

Change the World at Christmas!

This one's for all you green crafters out there!

Sue Ryder Care are organising a fundraising competition with Folksy, an online crafts community.

Read all about it here:

http://blog.folksy.com/2009/10/14/upcycle-christmas-competition

The competition involves taking old items from a charity shop and upcycling them into something saleable. These upcycled items will be displayed and sold in an online auction between 7 and 13 December at Folksy.com.

Would-be designers and crafters can download a voucher from the Folksy website which entitles them to 5 pieces of stock from Sue Ryder Care shops across the country. They then have two months to make the item and post photos of it on the Folksy website.

The winners will have their work displayed in the flagship Sue Ryder Care shop in Camden.

Good luck!

Action 86: Avoid Waste

From one blogger to another... we have recently discovered this great site:

http://myzerowaste.com

Mrs Green and family blog their daily happenings in a household attempting to achieve a zero waste lifestyle.

Truly inspired, we love what they're doing! Take a peek for top tips.