Television designer Oliver Heath has launched an online eco-store he hopes will bring style "into the future".

The long-term Brighton resident has set up www.ecocentric.co.uk with business partner Nikki Blustin.

The pair hope the web operation will be the first step towards opening a shop in Brighton dedicated to green design.

The site features 90 products, including a solar powered charger for iPods, cushions made out of waste seatbelt material and kids' playhouses built from cardboard.

Mr Heath, who has appeared on Changing Rooms and Channel 4's House to Home, said: "I believe EcoCentric offers the most exciting range of eco-products in the whole country: a totally unique collection.

"We hope to encourage people's growing environmental awareness and show that you don't have to sacrifice your sense of style in order to be green.

"The website allows us to see the products people are interested in as well as giving us access to so many customers, but we'd very much like to open a shop in Brighton."

The partners chose all the environmentally friendly products, ranging from handbags to soft toys, bathroom and tableware, for their EcoCentric range.

Together they were previewed at this year's Ideal Home Show, where Mr Heath and his team designed a bedroom and a living room to form "concept living areas". All the products use environmentally friendly principles, either because they use low levels of energy, or are crafted from sustainable or recycled materials.

The Solio iPod charger folds out into three "photo-voltaic" petals that harness the sun's energy, and can also be used to power mobile phones.

Mr Heath said he became interested in environmental issues in his previous career as a windsurfing instructor.

He added: "I believe this is the future for design. We're facing very big issues and design needs to respond to the changing environmental conditions.

"Our culture is very much focused on style and design. We want to help people embrace sustainability through design.

"We're trying to prove that sustainability doesn't have to be something that's earned through guilt."

Tuesday, May 9, 2006