Plastic addiction is one of my bugbears, so I'd steer you towards a local milkman (find out if there's a delivery near you on www.delivermilk.co.uk).

The latest figures from WRAP, the Waste and Resources Action Programme, suggest that the UK milk industry is responsible for 130,000 tonnes of plastic waste, every year. Yes, some of this will be recycled, but this takes considerable energy, especially as our inadequate facilities mean that most of our plastic to be recycled is sent abroad.

Glass bottles from the milkman, by comparison, recycle beautifully, and they're used and washed about 20 times before they even reach that stage.

A home delivery doesn't mean that you'll have to sacrifice your support for organic milk, which uses three times less energy to produce because it doesn't require energy-intensive fertiliser. It's offered by many delivery services, including those run by Dairy Crest, which serves 1.5 million households in England (www.milkandmore.co.uk).

But if your milkman is not organic-savvy, try the eco-paks produced by the dairy co-operative Calon Wen (99p; www.ocado.com). Containing organic milk, the plastic pouch weighs 75 per cent less than a milk bottle and comes with a pouring jug (£1.99) which you keep in the fridge. Sainsbury's has introduced the same concept (two pints cost 80p; www.sainsburys.co.uk).

The only thing to shake my belief in doorstep delivery is the diminishing number of electric milk floats. According to delivermilk.co.uk, milkmen cover larger areas than they used to, which has led many to switch to a diesel transit van. Not quite the eco transport you might be hoping for, but an electric battery will get you only so far.

Plenty of milkmen in cities still rely on them. More than half the deliveries arranged by Dairy Crest are made by an electric vehicle. But the days of everyone's daily pint arriving on an eerily silent, low emission float are over.

I want to get my sheets as nice as hotel ones, but would the process be eco-unfriendly?

Though I'm loathe to admit this, sometimes being too green with your washing can affect the results. If, for the sake of planetary matters, you're cramming your washing machine full of sheets mixed with your normal laundry, using minimal amounts of detergent and putting it on a low temperature of, say, 30C, there's no wonder you don't get that crisp, fresh feeling that you associate with slipping into a hotel bed.

Most hotels send their linen off to laundry services. It's their ironing and pressing that makes the sheets feel so nice, according to the cluster of chambermaids I cornered at Budock Vean, the luxury spa hotel in Cornwall and winner of several awards for sustainability. But the heat, generous quantities of detergent and travel involved does not make this method particularly green, however gratifying the result.

Fortunately, there's a natural way of improving your sheets, and it's cheap as chips and available from most hardware shops. The cleaning expert Aggie MacKenzie recommends borax, a water softener (try Dri-Pak; £1.40 for 300g). Throw half a mugfull into your machine's drum before putting on a wash.

MacKenzie also recommends that you invest in good-quality sheets. She favours Egyptian cotton with a high thread count, which will last well and cope with a hot wash - the one thing she won't compromise on: “I wash my sheets at 60C...any less than that and you won't remove the grease, dirt and other unpleasant things that build up on them.”

If this appalls your green sensibilities, what about doing every second wash at 60? This will also stop your machine smelling, a common complaint from those who always wash at low temperatures.

DO IT

Struggling to separate the “e-commendable” from the froth? Then, look up the ethical communications company Futerra's definitive Greenwash Guide (download it at www.futerra.co.uk/services/greenwash-guide). Designed to help you to become a savvy consumer, it includes a handy list of the Top Ten signs of classic greenwash.

SKIP IT

The environmental impact of leather is under scrutiny in the latest edition of The Ecologist. Aside from animal welfare concerns, its report uncovers toxic chemicals used by leather tanneries in Bangladesh that pollute the region's rivers. The message is not to stop buying leather, but to find out more about how products are made (www.theecologist.org).

CLICK IT

Forget the extra packaging and removal vans, moving home can be ethically sound - if you're relocating to an eco-home. Go to www.greenmoves.com to find the latest properties to rent or buy.

Anna Shepard's book, How Green Are My Wellies? is out now (Eden Project Books, £14.99)

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