Eco-friendly gadgets

Not all electronic devices guzzle energy and waste precious natural resources. Robert Irvine presents 10 eco-friendly gadgets that won’t cost the Earth

Sun Jar
Offering the promise to catch sunshine in a jar might imply that someone’s been at the moonshine, but such is the concept behind this solar-powered lamp.
Leave the Sun Jar under a window or exposed to artificial light and it will collect energy throughout the day, to provide a warm, ambient glow come nightfall.

Three hours of light-absorption yields five hours of luminescence, with no need for batteries or electricity.

This sunlight storage system is also waterproof, so it can be used outside on even the wettest and darkest of nights.
Buy Sun Jar for £12.90 at Amazon.

USBCell
Nickel-cadmium batteries are notoriously harmful to the environment if disposed of incorrectly, contributing towards soil and water pollution and endangering wildlife.
USBCell rechargeable batteries, on the other hand, save you money while saving the planet as they can be re-used hundreds of times and require no charger or adapter.

Simply plug the two AAs into a spare USB port on your computer for a few hours to generate enough energy to power your digital camera, games controller or other portable device.
Buy USBCell for £8.90 at Amazon.


Bamboo optical mouse
Bamboo has several environmental advantages over plastic as a basis for computer hardware. It’s more easily recyclable and, as the hard grass is fast growing (and there are so few pandas in the world), it’s in plentiful supply.

This bamboo optical mouse is sturdy and comfortable to use, and can be complemented by a similarly crafted keyboard (£21.99) and monitor (£289) for a natural-looking, eco-friendly workspace.
Buy Bamboo optical mouse for £18.99 at Playengine.

Bye Bye Standby
Leaving electrical equipment on constant standby is a waste of both energy and money.
Bye Bye Standby can prevent the release of unnecessary carbon emissions and save you around £38 per year by completely turning off your television, DVD player, PC or hi-fi at the push of a button.

This introduction kit comprises two ‘smart sockets’ that connect your appliances to mains outlets, and a ‘green switch’ via which you can wirelessly control them over a range of up to 30 metres.
Buy Bye Bye Standby Starter Kit for £18.45 at Amazon.

Wooden USB memory sticks
You can’t get much closer to the environment than a forest floor, which is apparently where the material used to construct these wooden flash memory drives comes from.
Real twigs are collected by hand from sustainable woodland areas, and the most naturally beautiful are shaved to create USB sticks.

They’re available in capacities of 256MB to 2GB and compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux.
Buy Wooden USB memory sticks for 60 euros at Oooms.


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