I was a big fan of writer and activist Naomi Klein's book No Logo, which came out in 2000, and became a manifesto for the anti-globalisation movement. The book criticised large corporations, and brand-orientated consumer culture, by describing the way large corporations work.

But it's good to know that big business isn't all bad, especially when it's working close to home to help the environment. You can't have failed to notice the changes to the local landscape that Holywood Exchange, on the outskirts of Belfast, has brought. A lot of wildlife has naturally been displaced because of the massive building work that's taken place over the years.

Thankfully, the Swedish furniture giant IKEA is as ethical as it is inexpensive, if its recent initiative with the RSPB is anything to go by. In fact, it has brought a whole new meaning to the idea of 'nesting'. And it's good to know that its campaign slogan 'Home is the Most Important Place in the World' extends to our feathered friends too.

In March, the Belfast store, at Holywood Exchange, teamed up with the RSPB to help make their Belfast Lough Reserve a more inviting nesting place for a very special kind of bird.
IKEA is helping the RSPB to attract a variety of Terns, a type of seabird found all over the world, to Belfast Lough.

The furniture giant is donating some of its waste wood to the project and is setting up a dedicated team of co-workers to help build the nests and the idea is to build artificial islands in the middle of Belfast Harbour Reserve to provide a nesting place for the birds.
'Think global, act local', was the slogan of friends of the Earth when it launched in 1969. And it's this idea which IKEA and the RSPB are putting into practice.

It just goes to show you how many ways there are to be ethically-minded. Being green isn't just a question of buying organic cotton T-shirts, recycling your plastic bags or worrying about global warming. It's about taking care of our landscape and environment locally, as well as globally.

So now you know - where we buy our wardrobes can have a big impact on the environment, in lots of ways!

Andrea xx