Moving Away From Fast Fashion

In today’s climate it is important to think about becoming more sustainable, whether that be by reducing your plastic usage or going vegan. One topic people are unaware of however, is the impact of the fast fashion industry. We talk about the water usage involved in factory farming methods, though did you know it can take around 300 million gallons of water to create just one cotton t-shirt, with clothing also taking nearly 100 years to decompose in landfill when you get bored of it. The fashion industry is worth trillions of pounds and is the second highest polluting industry on earth, contributing to 10% of the worlds global carbon emissions.

The fast fashion industry hides low paid, badly treated workers and use of toxic harmful chemicals that in turn are harming our waters. The workers of this industry do not have rights and only 2% of them actually earn the living wage, not able to support their families after working all day in gruelling conditions. This needs to stop, no person should have to work in such conditions for a toxic industry.

More so than ever people are realising the implications of fast fashion, stop placing endless orders on ASOS without knowing the effects it is causing. You are contributing to the second biggest polluter on our planet. How many times do you wear that new top you bought? How many clothes have you thrown out? There are alternatives to the fast fashion industry.

Shop at Charity Shops
A simple and cheap way to avoid fast fashion. I do this all the time! I find amazing one of a kind pieces in charity shops, you have just got to keep an eye out. Along with charity shops there is Depop online, where you can search for what you want and find some gems. These are great alternatives to fast fashion shopping and often end up being a whole lot cheaper. I used to spend a lot of money at places like Topshop or New Look, now, however I can spend less than £20 and get lots of amazing pieces that no one else will have! Rather than throwing out your clothes into landfill, donate them to charities so that someone who really needs clothes can enjoy the items you never wear anymore.  You could even repurpose your old clothes, adjust them, find new ways to wear them that doesn't involve throwing them out.

Shop Sustainably
There are companies out there who make sustainable clothing items and treat their workers fairly, with suitable pay. More and more companies are popping up with good ethics behind their clothing items, you just have to know where to look. Companies like TALA are great alternative to fast fashion gym wear brands, they use ethically sourced materials and landfill waste to create their items and pay their workers fairly. Lucy and Yak is an ethically sourced company selling beautiful clothing items. If you are looking for sustainably made underwear then Organic Basics is a great place! They use eco-friendly materials to make their items and sell all the basics you will need. Yes, these shops may be a little on the pricer side but you are not just paying more for nothing. You are paying more so that their workers get fair pay, you are paying more for good quality materials that won't just break after a week of wear, you are paying for sustainability that will work out cheaper for you in the long run. Why do you think fast fashion websites and shops sell items so cheap? Because of the use of cheap materials and low paid workers.

Not everyone has to be perfect with this movement, but aiming to buy less fast fashion items will help the planet immensely. We need to put an end to flash sales on cheaply made items and pull together to help make a more sustainable fashion industry.

A Low Waste Skincare Wishlist

I do wish that I had all the money in the world to spend on sustainable skincare, as half of the stuff I lust after does not come cheap. There are so many sustainable and plastic free alternatives for your skincare favourites that are kind on the planet. I am transitioning my current skincare and makeup items towards being plastic free. First, however, I am using up any old products that are still in my cupboard and then when they run low I shall purchase a kinder alternative. This way nothing gets wasted in the process. Some of my favourite places to shop for low waste items is Lush, with their pot return policy so nothing is thrown away and also Plastic Freedom, a plastic free online website with a great variety of everything you could possibly need without any cruelty involved.

1. Lush Enzymion Cream
Moisturisers are what tends to be the bug bare of my purse as plastic free and sustainable moisturisers don't come cheap. I have scoured the internet looking for an affordable option that also targets oily, spot prone skin. I am yet to come across an affordable one, though on my current wishlist is Lush's Enzymion, a mattifying moisturiser that doesn't skin out on hydrating your skin. the citric juices in the cream help make your skin look fresh and kill off any dead skin cells.

2. Wild Sage + Co Oil Cleanser for Oily Skin
There are so many alternatives to your average facial cleanser that can be kinder to the planet. Finding products that are targeted towards oily skin however I tend to struggle with. Currently on my Wishlist is this product that comes completely plastic free, with a pot return policy also! This natural skincare helps target acne and blackheads to help clear your skin.

3. Cupcake Face Mask
Lush always holds a place in my heart for face masks, I have used them for years. With their pot returning policy they are also kind on the environment and the company themselves stand for great ethics. On my current list is the Cupcake face mask. This used to be a favourite of mine when I was 16 and struggled more with spots. It smells delightful and absorbs excess oil from your face to give you a less oily finish.

4. Lani Tropical Night Serum
An oil isn't something I can use daily as I do have quite oily skin naturally, but when my face is lacking moisture or looking a little tired, I like to use some to liven it up. Only problem being they do not come cheap and so I am saving up to add this product to my skincare routine. Lani Tropical Night Serum restores the moisture in your skin and allows it to maintain its elasticity. Lani is an amazing company to support and are advocates for cruelty free beauty items!

6. Vegan Amazing Mineral Butter Suncream SPF 30
Finding a suncream that protects my fair complexion but that is also kind for the environment has proven harder that you may think. Most do not provide a high enough UV protection for me (a ginger who needs at least SPF 30 on holiday). That is when I found the Amazing Mineral Butter Suncream, plastic free packaging, vegan and a high enough SPF to stop my burning. A perfect product for those who want to stay protected but remain kind to the environment.

It is easier than ever to take the step towards being plastic free and reducing your overall waste. It is becoming an ever more pressing issue that people are considerate about their waste, as oceans become dumping grounds and landfill sites are bursting at the seams. Inconsiderate disposal of waste leads innocent animals lives to be cut short or hindered. There is no time better than now to reduce your waste!

Vegan | 4 Years On

It's me again, checking in on the whole veganism thing, with it now being 2020 I have been vegan for 4 years. I can confidently say the this past year I have not slipped up and drunkly ate some chicken, I now stick to the vegan kind of drunk foods.

I think 2019 and 2020 have been the year for vegan foods there is so much variety on the shelves these days. Even in lockdown people are choosing to bulk buy vegan food that they may not usually eat, yes this may be because their usual food has run out, but it’a good business for the vegan companies. Though a little annoying for the vegans who now have lacking choice of food.

This past year of being vegan I have put of the most muscle mass I have in my life, so everyone saying that vegan lifters cannot build muscle, prove me wrong. I have increased muscle mass and upped my weight to a healthy set point for me on a full vegan diet that is (for the most part) full of good food, if we discount all the burgers and tubs of ice cream I consume. A vegan diet keeps me full and satiated to carry out my workouts based around strong compound movements. No I do not need chicken or eggs to fuel my deadlifts or squats. I sometimes take a vegan protein if I am feeling like it but often enough I get enough protein from the whole foods I eat, and yes ice cream is included as a whole food in my world.

A vegan diet has helped me to truly love my body for how strong it now is and how cruelty free my life is thanks to veganism. Being vegan helped me to fall in love with food again, it helped me to be balanced and love myself. It is the most sustainable thing any one of you can do to help the planet. It drastically reduces water usage around the globe and cuts the need for cruel factory farming methods, saving innocent lives. It can save on thousands of gallons of water and grains that can be used to feed those people in need. It is also much better for your health, with reduced cholesterol levels and blood pressure. I personally believe that veganism is the only way forward for our planet to be sustainable as the way we are currently going about life just isn’t. We can’t continue mass producing cruelty. Factory farming isn’t sustainable and frankly isn’t humane either. Most diseases these days exist as a result of animal consumption by humans, the pandemic we are in the midsts of caused someone eating a raw bat, the only question I ask is why? Swine flu, from pigs. This surely tells you that animal consumption is not the answer for human health, it is the better interest of ourselves and the planet to go vegan or at least make steps towards it.

Cruelty Free Skincare Routine

I have been cruelty free for 4 years now and more recently I have been trying to reduce my plastic usage, especially in my day to day skincare routine. Products I would usually buy that are in plastic packaging I have invested time into looking for alternatives in glass or reusable containers. I keep my routine simple and natural trying to steer clear of harsh chemicals on my skin. I use a lot of Lush and always make sure to return my black pots for the store to reuse for future products to save throwing them away.

Morning 
1. I first splash my face with cold water when I wake up and then use the Aqua Marina cleanser from Lush on my face, an all natural cleanser with extracts of seaweed and calamine which helps to reduce excess oil build up meaning it is perfect for oily skin. I then wash this off with a warm face cloth or reusable cotton round.
2. I then follow this up with a facial oil and the one I am currently using is Boots Botanics Organic Facial Oil that does not leave me feeling greasy but hydrated.

Nightime
1. If I have been wearing makeup that day I tend to remove it using plain old coconut oil that you can buy from regular supermarkets. I grab a bit and rub it on my face, then take a reusable cotton round to rub off the excess makeup.
2. I then go in with a gentle scrub, my favourite for years now has been the Ocean Salt by Lush. This again is great for oily skin, with sea salt, seaweed and avocado extracts helping to buff away the dead skin whilst still leaving your skin feeling nourished.
3. Sometimes (if I remember) I will do a face-mask, this is usually once or twice a week. I tend to go for a Lush one, like Cup O' Coffee mainly because I love the smell. But I also love how it leaves my skin feeling and looking rejuvenated.
4. I will finish up with some form of a night moisturiser to make sure my skin is kept hydrated overnight. I again tend to go for a more natural one that is not to harsh on my skin, and often find myself using the Sukin Moisture Restoring Night Cream that I can find in TKMaxx a lot of the time.

Plastic Swaps

By 2050 there will be more plastic in our oceans than marine life. As more organisms die due to our own plastic pollution in their oceans something needs to be done. Plastic needs to be gone from our oceans, it does not degrade, it stays there, for years on end being carried from continent to continent withheld in the currents and in the forms of micro plastics. Marine organisms end up consuming it or becoming entangled, leading to death. Species of turtles and whales are facing extinction because of us. In the very near future there may be no more sea creatures left, simply due to the effects of plastic and we will lose a beautiful and essential part of our ecosystem.

Reducing your plastic usage is simple.

Simple Swaps 

• Bagged produce - for unpackaged produce with reusable produce bags 
• Toothbrush - for a bamboo toothbrush (completely compostable)
• Floss - for bamboo toothpicks
• Plastic bottle - for stainless steel water bottle
• Single use coffee cup - for stainless steel or bamboo coffee cup
• Stop with the single use straws and stirrers - use a plain old metal spoon to stir your drinks and invest in some metal or bamboo straws
• Sanitary products - invest in a moon cup or washable pads, yes they are still sanitary and hygenic (Bloom&Nora)
• Use flannels and reusable cotton rounds made from fabric (Cheeky Wipes)
• Cleaning products - look for refillable or glass bottled cleaning products (Plastic Freedom), there is often a shop offering this in your local area (Chester one - (Just Footprints)
• Beauty products - try to look for things packaged in glass, wood or even packaging free items, Lush has some amazing minimal packaging makeup items such as concealer (Lush)
• Pasta/rice/flour etc - go to your local bulk buy store and take your own containers (Chester one - Just Footprints)
• Notebooks - avoid leather and plastic covered notebooks and opt for recycled paper ones (Ethical Market)

These are just a few swaps you can make to make a difference. Yes there is a lot of mention of bamboo here, but the reason for that is it is a great resource to replace plastic. Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants on the planet and so large amounts of it can be used in a short space of time as the regrowth is amazing. Also, with increasing funding being put into the plastic issue, more biodegradable alternatives are being tried and tested in the hopes to be used in the manufacturing industry. Here is a link to a post showing just a few (Packaging Alternatives). If this postive approach is to continue we can see our oceans and eradicate plastics for good.You do not have to go and do every single one of these steps to make an impact. Just one of these swaps will help reduce your plastic consumption by a considerable amount, more than you realise. The time is now to save our oceans or otherwise they will be past repair.

Reducing Your Plastic

Hi, yes I am studying marine biology and yes I am going to blab to you about saving the marine environment.

You are probably sick of hearing about your plastic usage nowadays, seeing as there are countless adverts and news articles on how they are polluting our planet. The reality is that plastics are in a way indeed killing our environment.

As a population we consume 245 million tonnes of plastic per year, with the overall cost of plastic pollution costing around 4.7 billion in that time (GESAMP, 2015). Not only is the issue in the greenhouse gases released when plastic eventually degrades, but also the effects plastic pollution is having on our animals, especially our marine organisms. A number of species are consuming the plastic packaging that has been dumped into the oceans by fisheries and the public themselves. They mistake its identity for a food source, for instance plastic bags are known to be consumed by turtles who mistake them for jellyfish. Plastic bags contain Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's) that are toxic for animals in high concentrations and can as a consequence lead to eutrophication further up the food chain therefore may even be harming ourselves without us even knowing. Also, animals like sea birds and other organisms are becoming entangled in parts of the packaging debris that floats along the surface of our oceans. This debilitates the animals and can lead to death, having catastrophic effects on our marine ecosystem and animals populations as a whole with certain sea turtle species numbers declining by up to 95% of their original population. If nothing is done this problem will just continue to escalate further.

The issue of plastic has become more widely known and this has led to many attempts being made to reduce our overall consumption as a planet. Many reusable alternatives are being produced with shops and restaurants being seen to scrap plastic usage all together and opting for more wholesale options where you bring your own bags and containers for produce.  Little steps can make a difference, whether it be you just taking a reusable cup to a coffee shop (which can save you money as well) or even taking your own metal straw rather than wasting the plastic ones. Also cutting the plastic packaging that comes on cans to hold them together or the rings off the long life milk sealers will prevent animals becoming trapped in them. Not being lazy is what will make the impact, make an effort to save our planet. Yes, it may be tedious to carry a reusable cup, straw or bag with you day to day, but the difference it will make is worthwhile. Please do not litter on the beaches or streets, find a recycling bin to reduce landfills. Taking part in beach cleans can really help your local council, it will protect the marine animals and also help to improve the appeal of your local beaches.

In a nutshell there are many things you can do to help, because in order to help combat the growing issue of plastic everyone needs to get on board. Realistically one person is not going to make a difference, everyone needs to take a step to reduce their plastic usage including you.