A new ‘green’ vanguard of the brightest and best British designers, carpenters, solar engineers, cooks, growers, financial advisors and more are staking their claim on internet shopping with the launch of Blue Patch, a gloriously colourful ‘ethical meets British’ online shopping catalogue. Pairing the style, ease and convenience of buying from a major retailer with the local, honest, high-quality offering you’d expect from your local butcher, baker and candlestick maker, Blue Patch offers the UK a new way to shop with its colourful online directory of sustainably and lovingly crafted British-made products and services. From eco-fashion and hand-made designer furniture, to artisan bread and biodynamic wine, each carefully selected business has committed to improving their sustainability and delivering goods and services of the highest quality. Blue Patch was born out of a quietly radical desire to foster positive change in the goods and services industry. It offers customers the opportunity to buy from celebrated British businesses who are independent, responsible and ethical, whether that’s by using local fruit and veg in their products, raw materials from sustainable sources, or renewable energy to power their workshops. Blue Patch’s 60 business members (and rising) includes Ecotricity, MULTEMYR, Cock & Bull Menswear, The Soil Association, Barenaturals and many more. By cultivating a spirit of collaboration between them Blue Patch uniquely provides a platform for them to work as a community, sharing expertise and offering job opportunities, training courses and apprenticeships that are open to all. As a social business, 100 per cent of Blue Patch’s profits will go back into doing good in the UK by investing in renewable energy companies and local community, education and conservation programmes through the Blue Patch Foundation. At Blue Patch, customers buy directly from the business commission-free and the business model includes pricing transparency, so customers will know how the organisation spends its money, down to photocopying and tea and coffee for the office. Jane Langley, Founder of Blue Patch is excited about the launch: “Blue Patch is a fantastic collective of inspiring people - manufacturing, making, cooking, sewing, baking, sanding and growing, all with a passion for quality, sustainability and their customers. “We want to put business back in to the heart of UK communities, build jobs and reduce the carbon foot print of goods. People who shop through Blue Patch will help to create a new, principled economy, supporting sustainable British business, increasing money spent in local communities and bringing jobs and opportunities for everybody. We want to make ethical and sustainable shopping the norm.” To find out more about Blue Patch and their beautiful catalogue of products, visit www.bluepatch.org and follow them on Twitter - @TeamBluePatch.