MALCOLM BRIGHTON Managing director, Habitat Ireland "The truth about the level of 'green' living in my life is that I could do better. Some of the most obvious and simple actions are already something which we automatically do at home - re-cycling all our newspapers, tins, cardboard, bringing the copious amount of bottles we seem to accumulate to the bottle bank. We have added extra insulation in the loft and extra lagging to the heating tanks, so all-in-all, some basics but not a great deal more.

"However, like many people I am becoming more and more concerned about our environment. I feel I have become more aware of the impact we personally make, and I find I am taking this into account in a way which I hadn't before. For example, we need to buy a new washing machine at home and one of the questions we now ask is how energy efficient it is - something we wouldn't have considered in the past.

"It's definitely not the easiest way to live your life though - it certainly takes more effort. As such, from Habitat's perspective, we have planned to increase our product ranges to include more recycled items, like glassware and recycled leather bags. We are also introducing items made from natural organic material such as towels and bedlinen. From the spring on, we will be selling products which are designed to make it easier to be 'ecoaware' at home - devices to turn newspapers into fire bricks, can crushers, biodegradable bags to separate your rubbish, and phosphate-free cleaning products, to name a few.

"So you can be assured I will be using some of these items to help me become a greener person."

MARY REYNOLDS Garden designer and Chelsea Flower Show gold medallist "I am ashamed to say I tend to lean a little to the hypocritical end of the scale when it comes to the environment. At the moment, I often find myself doing things that I am totally aware are detrimental to nature. Since the arrival of my two gorgeous, nuclearpowered children, I seem to have the energy levels of a doormat, so, when it comes to taking those extra steps that are often necessary to do things the green way, I tend to be the one sinking into the comfy chair.

"However, I guess I do some things okay. I buy my food locally from Castleruddery organic farm and try to get my meat from the organic butchers. I have stopped working abroad apart from very, very occasionally. I have enough work in Ireland, so I decided to stop contributing to the millions of unnecessary flights taking place every day.

"Climate change and our impact as a species on our planet is the biggest issue we are facing today - except we are not facing it. I think that things have slipped so far down the road of no return with this issue, that unless we are actively doing something to change things on a larger scale than buying an energy-saving light bulb, then we are just fooling ourselves."

MICHAEL RICE Holistic architect "Well, I work from home, and my five kids are home educated, so that alleviates a lot of car miles and resulting stress. We have a stove which burns a chunk of waste and heats the house.

The CO 2emissions from this are the same as the original tree would release by rotting, with the benefit of a sustainable heat source.

"My advice to clients, apart from the obvious ones of installing more insulation or using non-toxic materials, would be a gentle reminder that the biggest pollutants on the planet at the moment are our minds - we constantly project and transmit toxic information into our relationships and our environments. To many, this is a nonstarter as most folk do not realise the measurable effect our thoughts and feelings have on the magnetic field symmetry of the land, and the detrimental knock-on effect on the ecology of a space. So I would gently counsel folk, if appropriate and desired, to take a green, sustainable look again at their mental and emotional thought patterns, and how they see the world. As Shrodinger, the famous physicist, said - "every man's world view is a product of his mind, and cannot be proven to have an independent existence". We have the chance not to give that energy. If we can't change the minds of our politicians and corporation heads, then we have a responsibility to look within and work on our authenticity and awareness.

Only from this viewpoint can true sustainable change occur. . . Everything else - like anger and frustration - only adds to the crisis of consciousness.

"I know it sounds wishywashy and new age-y. . . but I am a born optimist, and believe people get to live and work in the spaces that suit their level of awareness.

There is a physicist from America who is an expert on biologic architecture and he believes that in 10 years or so this information will be quite prophetic and will be seen as being the first wave in a whole new way of living."

DEIRDRE SPRATT Co-owner of Wild Child Originals (retro furniture and clothing store) "We live in Wicklow and we recycle as much as possible.

We're proud to say our household wheelie bin was only collected six times last year. Our warehouse is situated beside the Wicklow - [The Murrough] recycling centre so we do our household recycling daily.

We also recycle all the packaging associated with the furniture from Wild Child Originals.

"Our furniture business originated from our personal interest in vintage design, and furniture is sold on the basis of high-end original design and quality - the 'they don't make it like they used to' philosophy. But our customers understand the second-life element, and have an appreciation that age adds character to the individual pieces.

"We try to live by the ethos that there's enough stuff in the world, before making a purchase decision with regards our lifestyle. We get a lot of our own clothes from Wild Child Clothing and sell affordable and funky clothes to people who know how to re-invent them. We also dress our own children [oneyear-old Molly, and threeyear-old Ella] in second-life clothing.

"We scan the charity shops for children's clothes and books. Not only is it a buzz to find unusual bits, but also they have their own individual look at a bargain.

The only thing is that the money we save on waste management and recycling we use to go on lots of aeroplane trips. So probably the biggest problem we need to deal with is how to be energy efficient. Apart from using energy-efficient light bulbs, I don't think we've tackled that one yet."