Sunday, July 27, 2014

H&M: Garment Collection Initiative

I noticed a leaflet next to the till last time I was in H&M, proudly proclaiming their Garment Collection Initiative. Intrigued, I took to the web to find out more - H&M are one of my favourite stores for basics so it's always nice to know that they're working hard to be a ethical, responsible and sustainable company!

Essentially, H&M are aiming to create a better life cycle for fabrics, by recycling and reusing clothes. They're accepting donations from the public and giving old clothes new life :)

 

They've put together this little video, detailing the initiative and it's aims - the most shocking statistic for me was this quote:


"Of the thousands of tonnes of textiles that people throw away every year, as much as 95% could be re-worn or recycled"

95%! That's nuts! Most of my old clothes go to the charity shops, but I must admit I've thrown away damaged or stained items in the past because I didn't think that anyone would take them.



H&M are collecting clothes of any brand, quality and condition, so don't worry if you didn't buy the clothes from H&M, you can still donate them to be reused :)


There are three ways that H&M are proposing to repurpose the unwanted garments:

  • Rewear – clothing that can be worn again will be sold as second hand clothes
  • Reuse – old clothes and textiles will be turned into other products, such as cleaning cloths
  • Recycle – everything else is turned into textile fibres, or for other uses such as insulation.

They're also planning to invest any money they make from this service into social projects, as well as research and innovation projects on how old textiles can be turned into new fibres. Good job, H&M! :)

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Ethical Festival Fashion

It's festival season here in the UK so I thought it'd be fun to have a look for some ethical versions of the festival essentials. Festivals can be one of the worst culprits for encouraging 'fast fashion' - you worry that things will get lost or broken so you stock up on cheap items so that if they do it's not such a big deal, right?

Maybe instead of buying lots of cheap things that you don't care about, how about buying something that you love, so you're encouraged to look after it and keep it safe? Ethical goods aren't always prohibitively expensive, despite what a lot of people thing :) You'll be minimising waste, supporting the ethical community and not becoming a slave to fast fashion - triple win! :)

So, first up - let's look at the clothes! As much as we expect the summer to be wall to wall sunshine, every year it rains (it's raining right now in fact!) so it's worth stocking up on items like a good mac and a pair of wellies, to try and keep yourself as dry as possible. I also love this 'dress in a bag' - no one wants to carry a giant rucksack around with them so something that can fit in a wrist bag sounds great to me! :)

I've also picked a bright t-shirt to help your friends spot you in a crowd, a cosy hoodie for when the nights cool down and some sunglasses in case the sun does decide to make a rare appearance ;)


Wellies - £50
T-Shirt£12
Sunglasses - £22
Hoodie - £35
Leggings - £20
Jacket£39.95

But of course, clothes aren't the only things you need to take with you to a festival, so lets look at the other essentials you'll need. There don't seem to be a lot of ethical tents on the market at the moment, but hopefully that will change in the coming years. A tote bag will help you carry your bits during the day, and this reusable drinks bottle helps to keep your drinks cool while not contributing to the millions of bottles that get left at festival sites every year.

I've also thrown in some eco-sunblock (sun safety first, kids!) a super cosy sleeping bag and a cute purse to keep your phone, camera and cash in :)


Sunblock - £10.95
Gin - £10.36
Camera Case - £2.40
Drinks Bottle£18.99
Sleeping Bag - £55
Tent - £160

While I was researching this post I also came across Love Your Tent, which is an initiative designed to encourage people not to leave waste at festival sites, which I think is a great idea! :)

Are you going to any festivals this year? Would you be more inclined to bring things home if you'd paid more money for them?

Love

Sarah

Monday, July 14, 2014

A Little Inspiration: Some Awesome Sewing Blogs

It's official - I've caught the sewing bug. I've bought patterns, I've got my sewing machine set up and I've been found stroking the fabrics in John Lewis on more than one occasion...

I've actually been wanting to get into sewing for a while now, but it's thanks to some rather lovely sewing blogs that I've finally taken the plunge so I thought I'd share them here in case anyone else is considering it! :) (Thanks also to my mum who has leant me her spare sewing machine. Now I really have no excuse!)

First up: Tea for Two. Jen and Elena are twins who share a love of crafting as well as a blog! :) They took part in Me Made May this year and it was fun to see what they came up with for the challenge. I'm hoping that by the time it comes around next year I might be able to participate!



Katie is one of the original crop of bloggers that I have been following for years. She recently branched out from her main blog to this dedicated sewing blog and the pieces she has created in a relatively short period of time are so inspiring! 


 Lisa is new blogger to my roll but I'm already enjoying her infectious style - check out these beautiful pink trousers! She also took part in Me Made May, I'm so impressed by all these bloggers! :)

Gertie's blog is really one of the greats. Not only does she sew fabulous dresses (like this gorgeous hot pink number or this wonderful flapper dress!) but she also has a range of her own patterns and she does guided sew-alongs for them. Yay!


Angela's blog is a relatively new one to me but I like her style and perseverance when it comes to making practice pieces (I'm so impatient that I want to dive in and make the real deal first but I know 'practice makes perfect' is a well known phrase for a reason!


You might remember Elena from the interview I did with her about her 'Seamless Pledge' back in January. Len has a 'can't jar' that she's slowly working her way through, and is currently creating a maid of honour dress. Talk about pressure! :)


And last but certainly not least, lovely Tilly! She's just released her first pattern book (which is fabulous and very yellow, I'm in love ;) ) and her blog is chock full of resources, tips and beautiful, inspiring projects. What more could you need? :)

What sewing blogs do you read? Are you getting the urge to start making some of your own clothes? :)

Love

Sarah