How Supporting Local Businesses Helps the Environment and Your Community
If I need a part to fix my van, there are two ways I can get it. I can order it online, wait for it to arrive, and hope that…
Community Supported Agriculture in the UK and How to Join a CSA Scheme
Is there life beyond the supermarket when it comes to shopping for veg? Can we source really fresh food without plastic packaging, dubious transport miles and the detachment that supermarket…
Seasonal Eating in the UK and What’s Actually Available Month by Month
Seasonal eating sounds easy until you try and work out what you should actually be eating. Looking at peppers shipped from Israel and pineapples from Ghana in a British supermarket,…
The Problem With Food Miles and Why Distance Isn’t the Whole Story
Food miles are the sustainability obsession we all think we know about. Add up how far your avocado flew, feel guilty about the lamb from New Zealand, buy local where…
Farmers Markets and How to Make Them Work With a Normal Weekly Budget
Forgive my bluntness, but farmers markets aren’t for everyone. They’re expensive weekend outings for middle-class people with time to kill. If that sounds rude let me clarify: they’re not *entirely*…
Growing Your Own Food and the Easiest Things to Start With in a UK Garden
Digging, planting seeds and nurturing plants until you can eat food you grew yourself is rewarding on a level beyond just “I did this”. Beyond the warm fuzzies feels good…
The Complete Guide to Buying Local and Supporting Your Community
TL;DR: Three Simple Steps > There are three simple steps to start buying local. The steps expand on this guide. > > 1. Map your current weekly spend on food…
The Environmental Impact of Fast Fashion and Why the Industry Refuses to Change
The woman ahead of me in the checkout line has three plastic shopping bags full of clothes. Right now, her purchases look like brightly coloured rectangles with price tags hanging…
Building a Capsule Wardrobe and Owning Less Without Looking Like You’ve Given Up
The average UK adult owns 118 items of clothing. 26% of these had not been worn for at least a year (WRAP). I stare out blankly over my shoulder at…
Sustainable Fashion Materials and Which Fabrics Are Actually Better for the Planet
Table of Contents 1. Sustainable Fashion Materials & Which Fabrics Are Better? 2. Common Mistakes People Make 3. Mistake #1: Buying expensive fabrics instead of clothes that fit well. 4.…
How to Buy Secondhand Clothes and the Apps Markets and Shops Worth Trying
When I first started buying secondhand clothes it was considered begrudging necessity; charity shops were charity shops and thrift store or vintage boutique hadn’t entered the retail lexicon yet. Even…
Clothes Swapping and the Free Way to Refresh Your Wardrobe
Clothes Swapping: The Free Way to Update Your Wardrobe Louis hadn’t intended to spend his Saturday morning in a rented-out community hall rummaging through strangers’ discards, but there he was…
How to Make Clothes Last Longer and the Care Habits That Save You Money
For the past three years I’ve had receipts for clothes stored on my phone. Some of this was to try to be stricter with spending on clothing, others were curiosity…
The Day I Realized My Leggings Were Poisoning Fish (And What I Actually Did About It)
A few months ago I was in my bathroom staring at my jar of plastic free toiletries (each jar labeled with my terrible hand writing using masking tape) and I…