Decide what to buy

Did you realise that you can get money for you old mobile? Not just a little bit either- you would be surprised how much cash you can get back for your old phone, even if it’s not working! Reevoo have partnered with a number of recycling companies to offer you a choice of reasons for recycling or trading in your phone for cash and for a good cause.

The process is simple- you register your phone online, and get an instant quote for its value. Next you just send off your old handset, either in a pre-paid envelope, or to a freepost address, and then simply sit back and wait for a cheque or money transfer. You can even exchange your phone for nectar points or Tesco Clubcard points. It really is that easy!

So what happens to your old phone? Your phone is either refurbished and sold in developing economies, or it is ecologically disposed of. Gone are the days of endless phones in landfill sites, now the parts are re-used, or the handsets are smelted for energy production. The companies involved are all concerned with the environment, sustainable development and elevating poverty, so help others whilst getting some cash in your own pocket. Greener Solutions Group for example, a leading owner of various mobile recycling companies, are concerned with sustainable development.  Since its launch in 2001, more than £10 million has been raised by its charity partners.

It seems to us here at Reevoo, that it’s a no-brainer- just free post your old phone in, and get some more cash to go and spend on some Christmas presents! For example:

How much is my old phone worth?

Original iPhone - £125!

Nokia 5310 - £35

Samsung D900 - £20

Obviously you can’t expect to get cash back for a phone that is in pieces. The various companies have different guidelines on prices depending on the state of the phone, but here are a few outlines. Best prices will be paid for phones that are in one piece, have little cosmetic damage and switch on when charged up. Scratches and cracks are not big problems, but even phones that don’t work might be eligible for cash. Have a look at the individual website for more details, but even sending it off to them for a few quid in return is better for you and then environment!

So- don’t leave your old phones lying around gathering dust- they could be worth a lot, and could contribute to a great Christmas in this tough financial climate! Visit our Mobile Recycling Page and see how easy it is to get cash yourself!

Cars aren’t the greenest of things so we’re always glad when we find something that we can use to save energy in them. This week’s Green Piece is all about the Sunsei 150 solar car battery charger. It will trickle charge a 12v car battery but can also be used in tractors, small boats, motorbikes and other small vehicles.

It’s ideal if you’re trying to use your car less or take it off the road but you’re worried that the battery will go flat. It will also save electricity if you need to charge your battery via a mains charger. And, of course, it will help all of us who don’t have that handy bleeping noise that alerts us to the fact that we’ve left our lights on when we get out of the car.

All in all, a pretty handy green gadget. You just mount the panel on the inside of your car window, using the suction cups and connect it to the cigarette lighter or directly to the battery with the crocodile clips provided.

You can pick one up here for £29.99 if you’re in the UK or here for $48.88 for US readers.

If you’re always getting lost, you may also want to invest in a sat nav - just think how much petrol you waste and how much CO₂ you emit when you’re correcting ‘navigation malfunctions’!

This week’s Green Piece is about washing machines. We all use them but could we be investing in greener options?

LG’s recent Steam Direct Drive washing machines claim to be the greenest. They use 35% less water than other machines and 21% less electricity. Thanks to these stats, they’ve earned a rare A++ energy efficiency rating.

The steam also reduces creases so you will have little or no ironing to do after your wash - another energy saver and particularly fab if you have no time and hate ironing!

These have been out for a while but we wanted to wait until we had LG Steam reviews so that we could tell you what others thought of them. And, much to ours and the planet’s relief, they’re a big hit with their owners. Here are some reviews for the steam driven LG WM1437:

Jason, London:

“It’s looks are great, very easy to use, you can select standard programmes then ‘tune slightly’ e.g. spin speed, rinse cycle etc. It weighs the washing automatically first then calculates cycle times. It is very quiet and has a great estimate to complete timer. It also turns itself off when done to save power.”

Angela, Aberdeen:

“The load size at 8kg is brilliant and the steam option is very useful for engrained dirt. It is a very quiet machine and easy to use and it looks really good.”

“Looks good. washes and rinses extremely well. Very quiet. Environmentally sound.”

It all sounds great but what’s the catch? Well, as you may have guessed, all this washing brilliance comes at a cost. This model is currently around £500 but with your water, energy and ironing saving, it will work itself off pretty quickly.

If that all sounds a bit too much, there are plenty of other washing machines out there. Check out these A-rated washing machines so that you can still do your bit for the planet.

We?ve been looking into design here at Reevoo. Good product design is becoming more and more important and clever and innovative designs are what consumers look for to save time and make their lives a little easier.

So we looked into which brands were coming up with the best designs. When a shopper buys something from one of Reevoo?s 55 retail partners, they are sent an email asking them to rate it. One of the categories they rate is the design of the product.

Looking at 22,000 products, with over 15 reviews, we took these design scores and ranked all of the products in terms of their score for design ? the product with the highest score at the top.

What we found was pretty impressive for one brand in particular. In the top 100 products for design, a whopping 51 of them are from Samsung! It?s a real result for the brand that has put a strong focus on design in recent years.

LG in second place and Sony and Apple in joint third made up the top 3.

If you?re a regular reader of Decide What to Buy, I?m sure you can guess at which product Numatic had in the top 100? Hetty! She?s had a stonking 2008, already topping the best vacuum cleaner list back in June and in March.

But we wanted to look deeper into the data so we split the products up into categories. We looked at Home Entertainment, Mobile Phones, White Goods, Computing and Home and DIY in more detail to see which brand?s products performed the best for design in each category.

And here are the results:

Home Entertainment:
1. Toshiba 46XF355D (television)
2. Samsung LE37A656 (television)
3. Toshiba 40XF355D (television)
4. Samsung LE37A436T (television)
5. Samsung YP-K3JAB 4GB (MP3 player)
6. Samsung YP-P2JCB 8GB (MP3 player)
7. LG 32LG5010 (television)
8. Sony Bravia KDL32W4000U (television)
9. Pioneer Kuro PDP5080XD (television)
10. Samsung PS50Q97HD (television)

Mobile Phones:
1. Samsung F480 Tocco
2. Apple iPhone 8/16GB
3. Nokia 8600
4. Motorola PEBL U6
5. Samsung P520 Armani
6. Motorola W375
7. Sony Ericsson W890i
8. Sony Ericsson T650i
9. Motorola ROKR U9
10. Nokia 7500

White Goods:
1. Bosch KTR18P20GB (fridge)
2. Miele GT 316 ES (freezer)
3. AEG-Electrolux Santo 75348KG (fridge-freezer)
4. Baumatic BF207SLM (fridge-freezer)
5. Kenwood GT/AL17 (microwave)
6. Samsung RSA1DHMH (fridge-freezer)
7. Daewoo ERF336MB (fridge-freezer)
8. Samsung RSH1DTMH (fridge-freezer)
9. Miele KFN 8762 SDed (fridge-freezer)
10. Samsung RSH1DBBP (fridge-freezer)

Computing:
1. Apple MacBook MB403
2. SONY Vaio VGN CR31Z
3. HP DV9646EM RECON
4. ACER M1100
5. Dell Inspiron 1525
6. HP DV9702EA
7. Compaq Presario V6642EM
8. HP V6630EM
9. HP DV9705
10. Toshiba Equium P200-1ED

Home & DIY:
1. Numatic Hetty (vacuum cleaner)
2. Neff B1442NO (oven)
3. Neff B1442S0 (oven)
4. Neff U1322N1GB (oven)
5. Electrolux Insight EKT6045X (oven)
6. Bosch HBN1315 (oven)
7. Prestige 47433 (steam cooker)
8. Bosch HBN131251 (oven)
9. Aeg B41014 (oven)
10. Neff B1422 (oven)

If you?re bored of buying batteries for your all your children?s toys, here are some to give you, and the planet, a bit of a break.

First up is the wind-up radio that also works as a mobile phone charger, suitable for old and new Nokias as well as Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Motorola handsets.

As well as relieving the planet from batteries, the radio also comes packed in bio-degradable packaging.

You can get your hands on a red football radio or a pink heart radio. Both are ?8.49.

Next is the Bat Torch. He requires no batteries and will never run out. All you need to do is squeeze him to operate the light.

He will also stand upright so that he can act as a nightlight. You can pick one up for ?4.99.

And here?s an interesting one. A women?s cooperative in the Philippines make these bags from recycled juice cartons. Seeing as the juice cartons use non-biodegradable foil on the inside, they would otherwise be sent to clog up landfill sites or be incinerated, so it?s a great way to reuse the cartons.

They make loads of different bags but as we’re all about little people today, these kids? backpacks are good and come in loads of different fruits and colours. They’re ?12.99.

You can find out more about the cooperative here.

If you’re looking for more normal toys, you can read toy reviews over on Reevoo to help you decide what to buy.

This must be one of the simplest green gadgets we’ve ever featured on Decide What to Buy. The Paper Potter is a simple wooden tool that helps you to make pots out of your old newspapers.

Simply cut your old newspapers into strips, roll a strip around the Paper Potter and fold the excess paper over the end of the tool. Press the end into the base of the Paper Potter and hey presto! A mini pot for your plants that can be planted in the garden. Totally biodegradable and the growing roots will be able to push through the paper as it rots away in the soil.

The Paper Potter is made from wood from sustainable forests and comes in a recycled cardboard box. Not only that but you’ll save loads of money on pots! Great fun for kids too.

They are £9.95 in the UK but they ship globally.

With households around the land worrying that it’s time to tighten belts, we thought we’d help show you how you can get the most from your purchases and do your bit to save the planet at the same time – after all, who wants another summer like we’ve just had?

In addition to Reevoo’s normal job, of using real customer reviews to help you decide what to buy, Reevoo now allows you to search by which household products are the most energy efficient. With energy prices up by 20% this year, we thought this was pretty smart, as well as green.

So, what difference will this really make?

We took one of the market’s top energy rated fridge freezers, the Indesit BAAN134, which has an A* energy efficiency rating and carries the Energy Savings Trust Feature, and compared it to your average light bulb.

At roughly HALF the power usage of a 60 watt lightbulb, not only will the Indecit keep your beers chilled but it might tempt you to live by fridge-light during fast approaching autumnal months.

We wouldn’t expect you to compromise on quality either, the Indesit scored 9.2 out of 10 by those that bought it and 93% of buyers would recommend it.

So, if you’re interested in making your home as cost and energy efficient as possible, or just want to find out which washing machine uses less power than your iPhone, check out the home product reviews on Reevoo.

[Guest post by Matt]

There’s no need to worry about being music-less when you’re on the move again. These solar powered headphones with FM radio will run for up to 20 hours when fully charged. And one hour of sunlight will provide one-three hours listening. There are no wires to get in the way of walking, running, or whatever you fancy doing. Just music. The radio has a powerful internal antenna and extended base so you can keep everyone else entertained at the same time – sure to be popular on trains. And it recharges itself even when you’re listening to it, as long as you’re in the company of sun.

Heads big and small will love these headphones because the adjustable headband will accommodate all sizes. Plus you’re doing your bit for the environment at the same time. You can pick up a pair here for £19.95 with global shipping.

We’ve talked about eco kettles in the past so we thought it fair to offer up an alternative to the somewhat disappointing offering we’ve had already.  This Eco Kettle helps with the problem of not knowing how much water to put in your kettle every time you boil it. Most people end up boiling far too much and wasting a whole heap of electricity. In fact, the folks over at The Big Green Shop claim that on average, we boil twice the volume of water needed. This means twice as much energy and twice as much time. With a 3kW kettle that’s the same as wasting the energy of around 50 light bulbs!

So why is this kettle different? Well, it’s got two water chambers. A central reservoir can be filled up and then a button allows a certain amount of water to move into the second chamber, which will then get heated. You can decide how much water you send through from one cup to full capacity, so that you know exactly how much you’re boiling (rather than standing at the sink, trying to estimate, filling it too much, having to empty some out, emptying too much out, having to fill up again – I think you get the point). Apparently, the Energy Saving Trust did some consumer trials and found that the kettle used 31% less energy than standard kettles, on average. There’s a complicated sum that measures how much we could save a year here too. These kettles are £29.99. For those of you in the US, you can pick one up from the Enviro Centre. They’re a little more expensive but they ship globally.

But before you rush off and buy one, we checked out some of the reviews. There are people who are very happy with their purchase, however, a few others aren’t. Check out the eco kettle reviews for yourselves.

We all love our pets so this week’s Green Piece is concentrating on green products for pets.

First up, the not so nice subject of bagging up your dog’s mess when you’re out walking. Not everyone’s favourite job but you might as well be helping the planet while you do it. These “Dump It Onya” bags are 100% biodegradable and come in a refillable bag made from strong parachute material. There’s even room to keep some dog treats. They’re £8.95 for 100 in the UK or $10.95 for 25 in the US.

We’re also full of cat love here at DWTB, so we’ve found some herbal cat litter that is not only good for your cats, but also for the environment. It’s made from whole kernel corn and claims to have “amazing odour control properties combined with outstanding clumpability” – well what more could you want?! 3kg for £9.99 here in the UK and a close equivalent at $14.99 for 7lbs in the US.

We had to add some toys to the list so we’ve found these great dog toys which are designed to be recyclable and to create virtually no waste during the manufacturing process. Hucks are non-toxic and extremely durable. They also come in lots of different colours, they’re recommended for aggressive chewers, pullers, and fetchers and they’re dishwasher safe. £7.99 over here and $8.50 in the US.

Eco-friendly pet products - check.