The Soil Association and So Organic joined forces this bank holiday weekend by holding an education stall at Greenwich Market. Sam joined Kate from the Soil Association, handing our organic pumpkin seeds (see picture on the left) for the great Pumpkin Challenge and giving people tip on how to live the organic way.

If you'd like to become a member of the Soil Association to learn a heap nifty eco friendly tips and support the organic movements visit soilassociation.org/joinus. For this month only you receive a Raw Organic skin care set courtesy of (you guessed it) So Organic. Hurry - they won't last long!

Most of us organic-ites are proud to say we eat organic food where possible, only use organic or natural skin care products and support eco friendly organic initiatives when we can. With the range of produce and products on offer these days it's easy to have a well-rounded organic lifestyle - that is one that's chemical and pesticide free.

But what of those people who live beside a farm that is regularly sprayed with pesticides? Georgina Downs has lived for 24 years near land that has been exposed to these pest killers and suffered long-standing health related problems because of it. The environmental campaigner has been fighting for stricter government policies on the use of pesticides for the benefit of public health for some time and has finally had some success - in the High Court of Justice no less.

To date there has never been an assessment of the health risks associated with long term exposure to the substances sprayed on crops. In light of Georgina's evidence, including three detailed Witness Statements, The High Court ruled that Defra (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) must reassess its policies on crop spraying in rural areas and assess the risks to people that are exposed. The Judge in the case said that there was a strong case for no-spray zones around homes, schools and other public areas.

Georgina Downs has moved us one step closer to winning the war on chemical pesticides.

So Organic has been voted Highly Commended in two categories at the 2009 Natural Health Beauty Awards.

Judges were impressed by our own brand range highlighting our So Organic products in the ‘Best Value Range' and ‘Best Conditioner' categories. The So Organic Conditioner in particular was Highly Commended for leaving hair "fantastically tangle free".

We love using the So Organic products and it's so good to have them acknowledged in the natural and organic industry - well done us!

So Organic were named as one of the Top Organic Retailers in the 2009 UK Natural and Organic Industry Awards.

The main award went to Riverford Organic vegetable box scheme, (who we love so much we would have voted for them if we hadn't been in the competition), so well done Riverford and well done So Organic too!

So Organic was thrilled to be shortlisted by an expert panel of judges from the Soil Association along with other fantastic organic companies including Abel & Cole, Better Food Company, Daylesford Organic, Infinity Foods and Riverford Organic.

We would like to thank all our lovely customers who supported us and voted for us.

With over 2000 products, and the 50 best organic brands stocked in full, we intend to stay at the top, and provide you with the products and the award winning service which you deserve!

There's no denying times are tough for all businesses in this time of global economic downturn. The eco warriors are saying it's a good thing - we have to be more conservative when it comes to which buckets we place our pennies in and because we are becoming knowledgeable in ecological and sustainable living issues, we'll choose the right bucket even if it means choosing fewer ones.

Well perhaps this is the case. The industry's information source for all things organic market related, Organic Monitor released a report this month that says they expect that growth rates in the global sales of organic food and drink will slow because of the financial crisis but will still continue to grow at a significant rate none the less. Considering sales have been increasing by over US $5 billion a year the predication is not all bad.

The report also indicated that people weren't giving up on organic but rather ‘trading downwards' to by discounted or cheaper organic products. When it came to natural and organic cosmetics sales are increasing by over US $1 billion a year. As a whole we seem to be buying less but more people are converting to the organic, less-of lifestyle.

An interesting point noted was that ‘after experiencing several years of undersupply, ingredient prices are expected to decline in 2009'. Given we stick to our organic guns and support our ethical, fairtrade brands the cost of our chemical free veggies, shirts and face creams may come down yet.