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I am trying to keep my shopping to local and/or ethical, smaller businesses, not been to Tosco for years, but am struggling to find a place to buy a calendar for next year. Usually get a Greenpeace/Oxfam or similar, nice pictures, room to write stuff... And also want to find an alternative source for book shopping, preferably with a few more morals.

Any suggestions, and no there isnt a local bookshop in my town.

Thanks

Sarah

In reply to sarahkeast:

Not sure how well The Book People fit with your moral/ethical criteria buti would imagine they are a lot better than Amazon, and their prices are often better too, even with postage on top.

In reply to sarahkeast:

For books... try http://www.word-power.co.uk

Very reliable and quick.

In reply to sarahkeast:
Cant you just download and print one? I did about 5 mins ago!

In reply to sarahkeast:

I am confused. Do you want people to recommend something that is local to you i.e. not online? Was there an Oxfam previously, which has disappeared now? Seriously your OP is hard to answer. I'd like to say "Oxfam Online" for a calendar but I don't know if that would be missing the point.

Do you want somewhere local for a calendar, but an online alternative to Amazon for book shopping?

Chinese takeaways seem to be giving away "scroll" calendars at the moment....just a thought...

In reply to sarahkeast:

Having worked for Waterstones, I'm happy to shop there. Carbon-neutral deliveries, they treat their staff well, and pay their bl**dy taxes too.

In reply to sarahkeast:

The Book Hive in Norwich is an independent book shop. It won bookshop of the year a few years back. It's website isn't too amazing but the staff are so brilliant, it's definitely worth phoning them up and asking for suggestions. But if you're ever in Norwich you must go visit.

http://www.thebookhive.co.uk/

In reply to sarahkeast:

Could try ABE books online.

In reply to sarahkeast:

There must be a website out there somewhere that tells you which companies pay their taxes and which don't (i.e. Amazon, Starbucks etc.). It is publicly available information after all.
The Guardian might be a good place to start.

In reply to sarahkeast:

I don't know how far this is from you, but it looks interesting

http://www.silverdellbooks.com/index.php

In reply to sarahkeast: here's your ethical guide to all your xmas shopping http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/shoppingethically/ethicalchristmasshopping.a...

In reply to sarahkeast:

Unicef have some calenders in the online shop. http://shop.unicef.org.uk/

In reply to sarahkeast:

The John Muir Trust calendar by John Beatty is a very attractive production. There's a diary too.

http://www.johnmuir.co.uk

In reply to sarahkeast:
+1 Waterstones for books. And how about the John Muir Trust for a calendar?
http://www.imagescotland.com/custom-catalogue/ISG-S1132/64156

In reply to sarahkeast:

Nice one. The Panorama on BBC last week about Amazon was interesting. I'm sure Panorama is a bit one sided but it gave a good insight into how Amazon creates lots of jobs from hell, and closes local book shops with potentially more interesting jobs where people are more involved with all aspects of the business. The closure of Henry Roberts independent bookshop in Kendal announced last week as well was poignant. I think you are doing the right thing shopping ethically. Your friends/family may get a bit less from you, but well chosen local products that cost more, more than make up for it.

In reply to sarahkeast:

Greenpeace gift?

http://tinyurl.com/onwlneb

In reply to Choss:


Owned by Amazon

In reply to Phil1919: It's hardly accurate to claim that Amazon "closes local book shops". Local book shops may close because they can't compete with Amazon, but Amazon is directly involved in their closure.

It's also arguable that the end of the Net Book Agreement caused equally as much trouble for independent bookshops as has competition from online merchants. If you're not familiar with the NBA then have a look at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_Book_Agreement
and
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2010/jun/17/net-book-agreement-p...
and lots of other information online some of which will offer conflicting points of view.

Note that Waterstones was one of the first of the large chain booksellers to undermine the NBA (and they ended up buying Dillons, which had started the revolt). They also host Starbucks branches in their stores. It's currently owned by a Russian billionaire (not that that is necessarily a bad thing).

In reply to sarahkeast:

Ironically a lot of small independents sell through Amazon. So choose a marketplace seller instead of Amazon themselves, though they still get commission I suppose.

Neil

In reply to sarahkeast:
Book Depository also owned by Amazon.

Try a local fairtrade/oxfam shop for the New Internationalist desk diary, maybe calendar? JMT is very nice every year, calendar and diary. Luxury calendar would be the Tibetan one, sold some places but definitely Wisdom Books online sell it.

Wordery (same business that does Guardian bookshop) is the best replacement for Amzn/BookDep/Abe, if you cannot get local. IMO.

Jon

Edit: Foyles are good online also.

In reply to sarahkeast:

Foyles for books. Good selection, decent website, and you're supporting a proper independent bricks and mortar bookshop as well.

In reply to sarahkeast:

Amazon provide an almost miraculously good service. I love Amazon almost as much as I love Tesco. It's called progress. I no longer have to waste time shopping. If people like trailing round little shops then that's their problem. I don't. If little shops want to suvive, they need to offer something people want which Amazon or Tesco don't; If they fail to do so then there is no point in their existence.

In reply to Neil Williams:

This is also happening in the outdoors industry. It's daft. Amazon's charges aren't small and their rules are very strict. You're basically just gifting them you sales data so that when they decide to cut you out of it they already have all of the stats in the computer for what they'll sell.

In reply to Robert Durran:

It's not quite that simple. The marketing power of the likes of Tesco, Amazon and (in our case) Specsavers has the power to reduce choice, not expand it.

In reply to Robert Durran:

You mean that you can get more stuff for your money.

In reply to Phil1919:


And more importantly with much less hassle.

In reply to Martin W:

Your just keen to miss the point. Of course there are plenty of other factors.

In reply to Robert Durran:

I know what I'd prefer, just as you know what you prefer.