Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down

Thumbs Up/Oxfam has expanded: Oxfam's Fair Trade shop on Dublin's South King Street reopens later this week following an extensive makeover.

It will now house an even greater selection of unusual and funky handcrafted products, all of which come with added feel-good factor. If you can't wait until the end of the week to see what's on offer you can always check the online shop at www.oxfamirelandshop.org, Oxfam's latest Fair Trade innovation.

Crossing lines

The Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs has published new guidelines for consumers investigating the possibility of switching their telephone service providers. The guidelines lay out the consumer's rights when making a contract and the regulations governing distance and doorstep selling. More information is available from 1890-220229 or www.odca.ie.

Thumbs Down

Don't bin junk ads

With a campaign in Britain to ban pre-watershed TV junk food advertising gathering pace, the regulator, Ofcom, has released research which shows the public is against such a move. Ofcom has long believed such a ban would harm the media industry and not reduce childhood obesity. The study found participants believed a proposed ban was "too heavy handed". However, the majority believed there should be a ban on targeting children under five, thought to be the most "vulnerable" to advertising.

More bags, ladies?

Some man-baffling stats were published last week about the fashion habits of women over the age of 40. Apparently they own an average of 19 pairs of shoes, but it is not uncommon to have more than 100, a survey published by Woman & Home magazine showed. It polled more than 1,500 women and found they own an average of 11 handbags while some confess to having more than 200. Most coveted Chanel, Armani and Gucci, and a third said they lied about the cost of their shopping sprees.