It is now impossible to escape green issues. This starts from the morning discussions with the neighbours complaining about the draconian methods which local councils apply to the collection of household waste, now segregated strictly according to the type of rubbish. All-powerful dustbin men put the fear of God into the innocent people who mistakenly put an offending wrapper into a wrong bin.

Trade association Intellect has rejoined the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), after a break of two years.

Freeplay Energy, best known for its wind-up radios, has been internationally recognised as a 'Brand with a conscience' at the fourth annual award ceremony hosted by global branding and business think tank, the Medinge Group.

IER is calling for nominations for the 15th annual IER Independent Marketing Awards (IMA). The IMA are run annually by The Independent Electrical Retailer, co-sponsored by BDC, and are acknowledged as the most prestigious awards in the electrical industry. The award categories include Consumer Advertising, Most Impactful Product and Best Training. Additional awards recognise excellence in the accessory, floorcare and personal care product sectors.

Despite opposition from the Government, the Sustainable Communities Bill – a private member's bill that aims to give new powers to communities and their elected authorities to direct government policy to reverse 'Ghost Town Britain' – passed its 2nd reading in the House of Commons on 19 January 2007.

THE Switch2 1-into-8 Control Centre from Tech+Link allows users to run an HD signal via HDMI to multiple TVs at the same time, making it ideal for use in store.

All appliances in the Ainsley Harriott Professional range from Home-tek are now packaged with a free DVD, featuring the celebrity chef demonstrating a number of recipes, using appliances from the range. Purchasers of the products can also send off for a free Ainsley Harriott oven glove.

Following the Competition Commission's supermarket enquiry, the big retailers are putting plans in place to convince their customers about their green credentials. Industry commentators wonder whether this is a genuine attempt by retailers to change for the better, or just a bandwagon for them to hop onto.

Charles Gordon has been promoted to the position of international markets director at BISSELL. Charles was previously UK commercial director.

Speaking at the opening of the Leading European Architects Forum '07 (LEAF) in London, Susan Roaf, professor of architecture, the author of Eco House 1 and 2 and creator of her own eco house, urged manufacturers and retailers to start educating their customers about the ways of reducing the carbon emission footprint of their homes.

Businesses across the country are being urged to become 'Climate Champions' in a new scheme to save energy. The Business Climate Champions initiative is led by the Association of Town Centre Management (ATCM) and funded by Defra.

A new form of retail partnership between Samsung and an independent electrical retailer from Wokingham, FutureHome, is proving highly successful, for both the manufacturer and the retailer.

Acoustic Energy's Bluetooth speakers allow users to play music wirelessly from Bluetooth-enabled MP3 phones, PCs and PDAs. Boasting a 20W amplifier, the speaker system uses Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) technology to achieve wireless wide bandwidth stereo over distances of up to 10m.

The latest collection of range cookers from Electrolux offers consumers the choice of contemporary or traditional styling in a variety of colours. The cookers are available in 900, 1000 and 1100mm models, and users can choose from stainless steel, black or cream.

Optimum has added a trio of TV stands to its latest range, aimed at budget-conscious consumers, with prices starting at around £129. Launched to mark the company's tenth anniversary, the Precision range sports contemporary styling, combining glass, honeycomb wood and a satin black finish.

The T9 MP3 player from Samsung features Bluetooth capability, allowing users to listen to music without the restriction of headphone wires. Available as 1, 2 or 4GB models, the T9 has a 1.8in colour LCD, meaning that users can view photos, album art and videos.

For those that want full PC capability on the go, Sony has introduced the VAIO UX1. Boasting a compact design and weighing in at just 480g, the gadget features integrated high-speed Wi-fi capability, along with a 4.5in widescreen LCD screen. Instead of a hard drive, the UX1 is equipped with 32GB of Flash memory, which uses less power than a hard drive and is immune to problems caused by vibration and shock.

The HD Everio from JVC is the world's first 'full HD' Hard Disk Drive (HDD) camcorder, says the maker. Due to hit shops at the end of April, the GZ-HD7 boasts HD recording at a 1920x1080i resolution, along with a 60GB HDD. The product also offers five hours of continuous recording, on the highest resolution setting, along with optical image stabilisation.

Following successful sales in the three months since its launch, the iPod Shuffle from Apple is now available in five striking colours: blue, pink, green, orange and the original silver.

Micromark is hoping that its new range of cylindrical vacuum cleaners will have positive impact on the growth of this sector.

The range comprises three new models (MM55250, MM55251 and MM55252), all of which are equipped with a Hepa filter.

"As an organisation, we have to grow our market share, and we see an increased focus on independent dealers as the way to achieve this. We want to develop our premium brand status, and to do that we need to work more closely with the indies." James Atkins, Marketing Manager, Brown Goods Division, LG UK

It is difficult to say what was most impressive among the new products unveiled by Sony at its recent trade show in Lisbon. There is no doubt, however, that with the new offers in almost every sector of CE, the manufacturer wishes to reaffirm its leading position in the global consumer electronics market.

JVC's annual Key Dealer Meeting (KDM) is a chance to get a sneak preview of the company's hottest products for the coming year, and this year, the manufacturer did not disappoint – with the key theme being High Definition (HD).

In May 2006, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), using its powers under the Enterprise Act 2002, referred the UK groceries market to the Competition Commission (CC) for investigation – the third such investigation in just over seven years.

With so much attention having been spent on the implementation of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive in recent months, it is worth remembering that there are also other issues in which Amdea has been recently involved on behalf of its members.

DAB continues to go from strength to strength. At the time of writing, cumulative UK sales of DAB radios have passed the four million mark and the percentage of adults with access to a DAB radio at home was more than 15%.

Relocating a retail store is no lightly taken decision. Where non-retail businesses can relocate themselves almost at will to respond to a variety of commercial prompts, the retailer is still subject to those three magic criteria: location, location, location. Moreover, moving to a better location requires care lest you lose existing customers in the process of gaining new ones.

It is a well know fact that Britain is far behind the rest of Europe in terms of household penetration of dishwashers. While nearly 60% of German and 80% of Swedish homes are equipped with dishwashers, less than 30% of British families own one.

Billed as a healthy alternative to conventional ovens, and still a relatively new concept, steam ovens are slowly growing in popularity thanks to increasing consumer awareness. However, there is still a long way to go, meaning that there is significant future sales potential for retailers.

The first casualty of 2007 appeared as early as 3 January when Plumbs, the long-established Wigan-based operation, called in BDO Stoy Hayward as administrators.