What can I do with my old bras?

Much as I would love to reveal an inventive domestic use, there are some things that you don't want hanging around in your kitchen. Chances are your local charity won't accept them either as it's virtually impossible to resell underwear, unless it's fresh as a daisy and still in its box.

Oxfam is an exception. Although it shares this general policy of not reselling underwear, its recycling plant in Huddersfield, Wastesavers, reveals that bras are “invaluable revenue-generating items” - not something your greying M&S job will have been called before. Clothes that cannot be sold in shops end up here, when the material is either recycled, if the item is damaged, or sold to traders who send them to developing countries.

Oxfam insists that its research into the impact of second-hand clothing on the countries it works with informs its decision about where the clothes end up.

“Bras are the most desirable item we get,” says Tony Clark, the general manager at Wastesaver. Bras are valuable because they are lightweight, so you get more in a kilo, which means they fetch a higher price per kilo. He says that bras from the UK are particularly popular. “They are technically difficult to make and those from here are considered to be of superior quality in the developing world.”

The only problem is that Oxfam is still in the process of notifying its 570 clothes shops about Wastesaver, never mind the thousands of volunteers who work in them. So you may find that your local Oxfam tells you it doesn't accept bras. In which case, tell them to speak to Tony Clark at Wastesavers. He'll put them right.

I'm trying to bring my family round to holidaying in Britain. Any tips?

With leftover luggage still weaving its way to its rightful owners after Heathrow's T5 opening, you've chosen a good time to do it. Luggage chaos at peak travel times, combined with the inconvenience of increased security, has done wonders for British tourism.

Probably more than all the recently renovated boutique hotels, newly opened organic farmstays and eco-retreats with retro caravans and luxury yurts that have mushroomed over the past decade.

For help finding your perfect home patch, there are a number of eco guidebooks and websites, such as visitbritain.com, to inspire you. Eco Escape, written by Laura Burgess, lists 50 top green escapes around Britain, from surfing breaks in Cornwall to sustainably-managed hotels in central London, all of which have addressed the crucial four tenets of responsible travel: conservation, energy, waste and food (greenguide. co.uk ; £8.95).

For another wholesome read, try Organic Places to Stay (Green Books, £10.95) or Alastair Sawday's Green Places to Stay, edited by Richard Hammond, which takes a global approach but is still worth a browse for its UK destinations.

For me, the biggest advantage of staying on home turf is the ease of getting there - no last-minute panics about passports, travel insurance and whether or not your toothpaste is going to be confiscated from your hand luggage. Then there's the money saved on flights that can be spent on superior accommodation.

Should it be the lack of sun that causes groans in your family, what about taking the ferry to the sunniest spot in the British Isles? Jersey has beaches, great seafood, surfing and even Ayurvedic spas (defrance.co.uk ). To get there? It's only three hours on a car ferry from Poole.

DO IT

Book now if you want to attend one of the summer events at the River Cottage, in Devon. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's HQ runs day-long courses in subjects such as curing and smoking meat, making preserves and looking after chickens. Many of the dates in May and June are booked up, but there are spaces in July and August. www.rivercottage.net/Shop/Calendar.aspx

CLICK IT

Having slimmed down her bin to “almost size zero”, Karen Cannard aims to encourage us to do the same. Her blog www.therubbishdiet.co.uk follows her attempts to eliminate her family's landfill waste; she has so far managed to reduce it to half a plastic bag full every two weeks. It includes posts on subjects as varied as what to do with waste human hair and eco-friendly interior design tips.

SKIP IT

According to the eco travel organisation, National Car Share (www.nationalcarshare. co.uk ), every day ten million cars travel at rush hour without passengers, which means 38 million empty seats. Instead, why not reduce emissions by sharing cars? You can either set up an informal arrangement with colleagues or friends or join a lift-sharing scheme such as www.carshare.com

Times recommends

• Energy-saving ideas from switched-on professor
• Rooks are as clever with tools as chimpanzees
• Burping of the lambs blows roast off menu