There’s a lot that’s happening on the green local scene that is incredibly positive and emphasises just how South Africans are quick to ‘catch on’ when it comes to greening their businesses and their lifestyles.

Craig Jacobs’ Fundudzi Free range clothing label – the range with a “clear moral conscience, committed to sustainability and social activism” is a range of clothing made from organic fabrics like bamboo, soy and corn. Whilst many of you may have heard of the Fundudzi range – we’ve blogged about it before – you can now buy Fundudzi online at adam and eve! All of Craig’s clothes are created and produced locally.

Woolies wins international responsible retailer of the year. Go on then, shoot me, but I am super impressed with Woolworths - corporate retailer though they might be - for setting international standards. Woolworths received recognition in Barcelona last month for its commitment to responsible business practices in their good business journey, beating the likes of Sainsbury’s and Tesco. Last year’s winner was Marks and Spencer. Their good business journey is aimed at sustainable growth that includes accelerating transformation, driving social development, enhancing the environmental focus and addressing climate change. [nextcustomer] [woollies good business journey]

Eat smart organics – first certified organic kitchen in the country. Eat smart organics - an all women, majority black shareholding company prepares and packages home-cooked organic meals – available at a selected Checkers stores, Wellness Warehouse, and certain health stores in the western cape. Not only has the team come up with a totally unique concept, but their kitchen and their meals are certified organic. The team source all of their produce locally and use seasonal vegetables. They’ve literally ‘made a meal of it’ and their signature ‘smart stack’ meals not only set organic standards, but the business also has a very big heart – they provide their nutritious meals to autistic children at two or three facilities in the Cape. [cape times]

Vital going green. Vital health foods is doing its bit at going green, focussing on using resources more economically and allowing minimal wastage. Their focus has already saved them 20 000 litres of water a month by recycling water in the manufacturing process. They use heat generated from their air compressors to heat their water systems – the first company in the Western Cape to buy the machine that enables this - and they have installed another system that reduces the amount of electricity their factory uses. They’re also seriously investigating getting all of their products into recyclable packaging. [vital is going green]