What is Nature Matters?

Nature Matters is an environmental e-magazine. It has been around for 16 years and its main aim is to provide the latest news and research in the fields of environment, wildlife conservation and climate change.

Readership is international and includes academics, people from wildlife charities, researchers,'green' industries and members of the public with an interest in wildlife and the wider environment.

Who is Mike Armitage?

Mike Armitage is a conservationist, naturalist, editor, and campaigner.

Many of you will know him for the Nature Matters magazine and his very successful campaign to stop UK manufacturers from using plastics in their teabags, taken up by much of the UK's media and resulting in a total of over 400,000 signatures.

Mike has worked for change and a better world for almost 50 years.

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NATURE MATTERS BACK ISSUES

A selection of past Nature Matters issues

Download issue 20 by clicking here (PDF format)

Download issue 21 by clicking here (PDF format)

Download issue 27 by clicking here (PDF format)

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PUBLICITY CAMPAIGNS SUCCEED

All major UK teabag manufacturers commit to ditching plastics from their teabags

Back in the summer of 2017, I set up a petition on the 38 Degrees 'Campaign by You' pages. I had a lucky break when the Sunday Times asked me for an interview and ran a story about it. This was followed by interviews on BBC Radio Wales, ITV Wales, the Daily Post and Quartz Magazine. The petition became much bigger than I had ever imagined and finally gained almost 233,000 signatures. This tipped the scales and persuaded the UK's largest teabag manufacturer, PG Tips (owned by Unilever) to make a statement that they would be removing plastics from their teabags.

Following this success, I set up a second campaign to target the other major UK teabag manufacturers - Taylors (Yorkshire Tea), Twinings, Tetley and Typhoo, pressing them to make a positive difference to the environment by removing plastics from their teabags.

This petition received less publicity but, even so, the campaign quickly reached 177,000 signatures, resulting in all of the major UK manufacturers agreeing to remove plastics from their teabags.

I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who has signed my petitions and to 38 Degrees for their advice and support at key points.

Both campaigns have been amazingly successful with a final total of over 400,000 signatures and have shown that the public wants to see biodegradable teabags that don't contain plastics and don't contribute to the planet's massive plastics problem.

Having suceeded in their aims, both campaigns have now closed.

TO VIEW 2ND PETITION

Copyright/GDPR & Privacy Policy

Copyright

The publication, Nature Matters, the website and all photographic content are copyright. The Nature Matters name is also copyright. © Mike Armitage 2003-2019. All rights reserved.

GDPR & Privacy Policy

The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) strengthens data protection rules across all of the European Economic Area to give residents greater control over their personal data. Nature Matters values the privacy of your personal data and takes all reasonable steps to ensure its security. NM is committed to empowering the individual rights and transparency under GDPR. Please contact Nature Matters if you have any questions. Nature Matters Privacy Policy is located below.

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This information is normally restricted to readers names and email addresses or, if they are contributors or media contacts who provide press releases, NM may need to hold details of their organisation and a phone number.

NM does not combine or process readership or contributor data in any way.

USE OF INFORMATION COLLECTED

Nature Matters uses readers names, emails and phone numbers for the sole purpose of sending out issues of NM and other NM information to them and contacting contributors. It also responds to comments, questions, and support queries.

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Nature Matters retains your data for as long as you remain on its subscribers list.

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The information Nature Matters holds on you can be accessed on request. If you unsubscribe from its mailings, your email address will be removed from its subscribers list to ensure you are not contacted.

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