We will be making a special donation from every can of paint sold during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, October 2010.

Specially labelled cans will be sold via the internet and UK stockists for the month of October. We’re committing to give 15p from the sale of every can of paint sold during the month and customers will have the opportunity to select the charity of their choice to determine how the money generated will be spent.

Customers will be able to vote for their preferred charity on-line on our website using a special landing page which will be live from 1st October through to the end of November.

At the conclusion of the month, the money generated will be calculated and then shared out proportionately according to the on-line voting.

Major breast cancer charity partners have joined up with us in an effort to raise awareness and provide much needed resources for breast cancer research and support networks, and our customers will be able to see the work done by these important agencies, as we’ll be adding links to their profiles at the start of the month.

David Mottershead, our MD comments “We are delighted to support such an important issue, one that is close to our hearts at Little Greene; this is part of a long-term commitment to help breast cancer sufferers and the associated research to beat this disease. I am confident the programme will be a success.”

More details to follow, so keep an eye on the blog for updates!

One of the chief concerns is to reduce the amount of CO2 gas that is released into the atmosphere as well as the amount of  solvents, aerosols and toxic gases that are used in products and in manufacturing processes.  As these gases build up in the atmosphere they trap heat.  The greater the human activity, therefore, the greater the concentration of gases and the only way to combat the increase in temperature is to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases we emit.

Everyone should take responsibility for climate change, and that includes businesses.  By leading the way with eco-friendly products, services and manufacturing processes, companies can set a great example for individuals and set the standard for conscientious business practice.

We at the Little Greene Paint Co. take our environmental responsibility seriously.  In 2004, we were one of the first UK paint manufacturers to achieve the European environmental standard BS EN ISO 14001. We believe that acting with environmental responsibility need not compromise the high quality standard of our products.

All our water-based paints carry the industry’s lowest eco-rating, with VOC content  now virtually zero.  In addition,  our oil based paints have been reformulated with sustainable vegetable oils to dramatically reduce VOC content and odour.  The paper used in our wallpapers comes from FSC or PEFC certificated sustainable forests; so for every tree used another four are planted. The pigments used to print them are completely non-toxic and our excellent wallpaper paste contains no solvent.

So it really is time to take action and make a change, even if it is only something very small in the first instance.  The future is almost certainly in our hands; instead of lamenting about what damage has already occurred, we should now look towards the future with environmental awareness and positivity and create a better world for future generations to come.

If you’re about to restore a room, or even the entire house, to its former glory – whether it’s a Tudor cottage, a Georgian townhouse or a 1970s duplex – we know some people who’d like to hear from you..

A new BBC show called Home Truths is on the hunt for all kinds of restoration projects in the UK, and the social and design history of YOUR HOUSE could be featured.

Email hometruths@bbc.co.uk if you, or someone you know, is undertaking a renovation or restoration project in the next 6 months, and don’t forget to let us know how you get on too.

Special thanks to Katrina and Simon pictured below with Terry Christian, who hosted the award ceremony with Bill Bailey

Search Engine whizzkids PushON win with Little Greene at Big Chip Awards 2009

We’ve worked closely with PushON over the last year or so and we’ve got lots of exciting projects on the go so watch out for more awards!

Another legendary painting tip from Little Greene MD David Mottershead

Holland is one of our strongest export markets and our list of supporters grows and grows. New stockist Mr Robert Lentelink is mad about paint, mad about everything English and mad about Little Greene. His beautiful new shop, “Lentelink de verf & behangspecialist” in Hengevelde is full of bright ideas and neutral solutions – a great place to choose colours.

MD David was so delighted to be picked up in this rather nice old Hackney carriage in Mid Bronze Greene and complementary Little Greene livery that he gave an uncustomary extra tip – “remember to drive on the left when we get through the tunnel”

This week we gathered there to present lots of nice new stuff to our network of French stockists.

"Peintures et papier-peints tres joli"

Merci to everyone who came, and especially to Alice et Vincent who put lots of work into organising le day.

Next time you’re in the area do call in for a coffee and a consultation with colour expert Vincent, at 197 rue de Vaugirard in the 15th district (nearest metro is Pasteur, on both the green lines).

Our resident technical expert donned a different hat yesterday, having been invited to speak to students at St Wilfrid’s Primary School near our head office in Manchester.

Colin said, of the 50 or so Year 1 and Year 2 budding chemists “Despite being younger than our conventional audience, their questions were incisive and displayed an encouraging thirst for knowledge.”

Thanks to the staff and students at St Winfred’s, and to Colin for taking some time out of his schedule to inspire the next generation of scientists (and artists!).

“Inspired by nature needn’t mean no colour in a living room – choose between anything from deep dark browns to rich ochres, mustard yellows, pale greens and blues.”

We have many traditional wallpapers which have influences from nature for example China Rose in Sage, Camellia in Calico from the oriental wallpapers range, and Broadwick Street in Apple, which is influenced by botanical diagrams.

China Rose

Pale Ivory

Stone and Charcoal

In our paint range, we have some very soft neutral shades:

Lead White

French Stone

Jersey Cream

Along with some striking naturally inspired paint colours:

Lead Colour

Aquamarine

Ashes of Roses

Light Gold

Echo

Dark Bronze Green

Visit the choosing paint colours page, or the home wallpaper section of the site to view the full range.

“VOC’s – from minimal to zero”.

On a technical level; whilst ‘zero VOCs’ is a scientific impossibility (there are traces of VOCs in the air we breath), Little Greene waterbased paints now contain less than 0.1% ‘volatile organic compound’, which is three times better than the industry’s lowest eco rating.

On a user level; there are no harmful solvents in Little Greene waterbased paints so using them won’t contribute to atmospheric pollution. Not one little bit…

This makes our range of Water Based paints as close to ‘Zero VOC’ as you can get, meaning they are excellent for painting Children’s rooms, for asthma sufferers, or if like us you value the environment.

Our lowest VOC water based paint is Waterbased Limewash Paint, which is great for traditional exterior walls, and Acrylic Satin Emulsion Paint, which gives a lovely finish on walls, ceilings and painting over wallpaper.