Browsing: Fashion

Our friends over at Rapanui clothing have some fantastic news.  In partnership with the University of Isle of Wight, they have developed something monumental.  A product that will change the face of textiles for ever.  Check out their press release…

Read the rest of Rapanui’s Groundbreaking Textiles Innovation »

Our friends at Rapanui have been busying themselves with preparations for Christmas.

Having been hit hard by the recession, Santa and his helpers have had to make some cut backs.  But will Rudolf cope in his new role?  And will Santa manage to boost morale within the team after incidents of name calling!?

Read the rest of RAPANUI – The Grotto »

Everyone loves a good story, and here at EthicalSuperstore we love telling you about some of the amazing producers, cooperatives and suppliers that we work with.

Read the rest of Sarale’s story »

Jeans are the nation’s favourite trousers.  Probably the world’s favourite trousers. Match them with anything. Dress them up, dress them down. Heels, trainers, flip flops, flats, hiking shoes and boots, t-shirts, jumpers, tunics, shirts and jackets – any will work!

I don’t know about you, but I find it a challenge to find a good pair of jeans that I like and that fit me well. Usually, about once every three years I find a winning pair that I cling to, wearing them whenever I can. Eventually they inevitably wear through and usually (for me) – in rather unfortunate places. I try to keep wearing them until they reach the officially ‘unwearable’ stage, but at some point you have to say goodbye.

Read the rest of Ladies: A Cunning Way to Recycle Your Jeans »

One of the chief criticisms of the burgeoning eco-fashion scene has been the relative dearth of stylish options for all the fellas out there. The fact is, even the most eco conscious chap with only the vaguest interest in style can’t help but feel a little put out when a hunt for an eco-friendly t-shirt can only produce a motheaten number that looks like something from a primary school nativity.

Read the rest of In Search of Eco Fashion For Men »

Is anything ever worth the wait?

We live in a society of individuals who do not like to wait. You only have to look at advertising to know that. We want it and we want it now. We want to buy now and pay later. We don’t want to wait until Christmas to have it .We might as well start using it now if we’ve got it. Let’s face it. Delayed gratification is a lost art.

There is a theory that delaying gratification increases the intensity of pleasure on receiving it. Having just started work in customer service, I like to assure people that it will be worth the wait. And I believe it. Take Luxury Gift Wrap for example. I usually buy bargain wrapping paper to wrap the enormous boxes that little children love to rip open at Christmas. But as the children get bigger, the parcels get smaller and this year, I was seduced by the Luxury Gift Wrap. Along with a significant proportion of the nation, so it seems. I couldn’t wait to see it and touch it, but now I know it’s in great demand, I want it even more. This must-have Christmas item for ethical shoppers has people all over the country waiting in eager anticipation. Wrapping Christmas presents has never felt so desirable.

That’s why internet shopping is like

Read the rest of Why I’m Going To Shop Online This Christmas »

Ever thought you really can’t be bothered but after the event found yourself saying “That felt good. I should do that more often”?

I don’t know what you’re thinking of; I’m talking about exercise. Thinking about it is the easy part. We love the idea of exercise. Buying the appropriate apparel, the new trainers, the fancy equipment….so much more exciting than actually breaking out into a sweat. The good news is that for us ethical consumers, we can make some of these purchases with a clear conscience – yoga mats made from natural rubber or organic cotton; fair trade volleyballs; recycled fleeces; fair trade leggings; ecological bike cleaner or recycled backpacks. That’s a good start.

We all know that it’s good for us. The NHS leaflet I was reading about Depression the other day (as you do) lists exercise as one of the great self help remedies. It makes you feel better – the scientists tell you so; you know it for yourself. My children’s Primary School have Morning Exercise (a la Chinese) for all children every day – it’s said to stimulate the mind and be a great start to the day. It’s actually my daughter’s favourite part of the day. The Government Change4Life campaign states that active kids are happy kids – actually, that’s pretty true in my experience too. Whether I like it or not, my younger children are like dogs and are all the better for a runaround in the fresh air every day.

But being human, we either find every excuse not to get fit or go mad and get completely obsessed. Exercise to excess leads to sports injuries, over-competitiveness; health issues; an unhealthy obsession that consumes all our time and money. As usual, moderation is called for. To be honest, I’ve yet to reach the level where moderation is an issue. As for many of you, I suspect, the aspiration far outweighs the reality. Our local tennis club doesn’t miss a trick. It knows how to tap into aspiration. It holds open weekends during Wimbledon, for all those who sit in front of the TV, itching to get a racket in their hands. An opportunity to transform that inclination into action, sign on the dotted line for a year’s membership and then spend the next 364 days making up excuses not to get on court again. (or for those less cynical amongst us, to rediscover a long lost love for the game and a newfound fitness).

I can’t help wondering (as I do on a weekly basis) if we have not all gone a tiny bit mad. We purchase every labour saving device known to man and then join a gym to work out. We distance ourselves from manual work and then realise that our bodies actually need it. When I was in Malawi last year, my friend remarked to a woman on a foot treadle pump in the blazing sun that people in the UK pay good money to go to the gym for exactly the same kind of workout (as I said, mad).

So here are my five top tips for regaining (assuming you ever had one) a level of fitness this summer:
1. Discover the joys of gardening. Our garden is so overgrown through years of neglect that I certainly have my work cut out. I hear allotments are the new cool – get digging, weeding, pruning. You couldn’t work more muscles if you tried.
2. See housework as a form of exercise. Instead of investing in miracle products that do the work so you don’t have to, rediscover the satisfying combination of more natural household products with a fair dose of elbow grease – a great result all round.
3. Leave the car at home. Take the time to walk or cycle. It may take a real effort to hang up the car keys, but you will feel better when you get there. One of the greatest ironies in my life, which my husband is quick to point out, is driving to the gym; one day, I will silence him.
4. Play with the kids. I don’t know if all kids are the same, but I can’t send mine out to play – they want me to go out with them. How can the kids be inspired to be active if I sit and watch from a garden chair? Why would they think being active is fun if no-one is modelling it for them? This is a real trial for me. I didn’t enjoy outdoor games as a child – why on earth would I enjoy them now? But I do enjoy seeing my children learning how to hit a ball, skip or play hopscotch. So I play for ten minutes and then sit watching for ten minutes – a happy compromise for all.
5. Arrange a summer of activities. Call me mad, but I have come up with a summer of fun – a sheet of pre-arranged activities with a meeting place and time – and given it out to all my friends. A bike ride, a walk to the pub, an all-age rounders match, Sports Day…we’ll see who turns up and have fun with whoever does – the more, the merrier. At least it will get us out and about.

This is all common sense. As I said at the beginning, we all know the theory; it’s turning it into practice that’s the problem. These are my modest aspirations. Let me know some of yours. I have five children off school for seven weeks coming up. Seven weeks of not being able to get to the gym and needing to find my exercise in other ways – so the more ideas I receive from you, the better.

Is there such a thing as a healthy tan?  When my husband returned to work recently after a few days away climbing Ben Nevis, he was greeted with a wave of compliments – “You look so well”, “That tan really suits you”, “What a healthy glow you have”. He couldn’t help but marvel that exposing his skin to the sun without protection thus increasing his chances of suffering from skin cancer actually gave the impression to others that he looked more healthy.

We just can’t help it, can we? We know all the statistics; we hear all the horror stories. And yet we worship the sun; we crave a tan. There is a tanning salon in every row of shops; gyms that promote health and fitness also boast a couple of sunbeds.

The first hint of the sun appearing from behind the clouds, we are out, baring all and soaking up the rays. We slap the sun cream on the kids and trust the chemical concoction to shield our little treasures from all harm. And do we care what the cream contains; if it has been tested on animals; what effect it has when it is washed away into the rivers and oceans? Probably less about those issues than how long the cream guarantees it is safe to stay out in the midday sun, if we’re honest.

Of course, we could resist the pressure from society to bare as much flesh as possible from May to September regardless of the temperature and state of the weather. We could dress for protection and not as a fashion statement. People who live in the Mediterranean climate do tend to cover up more than us Brits. They stay indoors in the heat of the day. After all, it is only “mad dogs and Englishmen” who “go out in the midday sun.”. Maybe we should look more to challenging and amending our habits than finding ways of accommodating and preserving them. Maybe we should respect the sun and its effects rather than worshipping it full-on. Or maybe we really are running the risk of heading towards the kind of society predicted by Ben Elton in “Blind Faith” where climate change has increased the temperature all year round and everyone regardless of their size and shape has the right to wear the skimpiest of outfits on all occasions – “So much flesh. So much sweating near-naked flesh. Huge women in the tiniest of crop tops and panties, combinations that were basically little more than bikinis…Men in short shorts and trainers, in vests, or bare to the waist. It was often the largest bellies that were the most exposed, thrust forward like great battering rams, proud bellies, bellies of size, topped off with pendulous, quivering, hairy man breasts.” (p23)
Sound familiar? Reminiscent of the beach on a Bank Holiday Monday?

Maybe covering up and staying indoors does not feel like an attractive option. You can’t face even entertaining the notion. The good news for sun worshippers is that a huge choice of ethical sun protection is available.

Green People offer a range of natural and organic skin care products, including a variety of sun care products. These contain a veritable cornucopia of natural ingredients – aloe vera, edelweiss, purple cone flower, green tea and beeswax, providing natural protection from UVA and UVB radiation…. with avocado, olive and carrot seed oils rich in antioxidants to protect against cell damage. Green People sun tan lotions are guaranteed to be free from alcohol, artificial perfumes, petrochemicals, parabens and all other unnecessary synthetic ingredients – so the only potentially unsafe factor in the equation is the sun itself. Their range also includes sun lotion for children, sun lotion with tan accelerant and self tan lotion – all organic, all with the same natural credentials.

You could also check out Lavera’s sun care range. I plan to.

Living in the North East of England and with a holiday planned in the Lake District, sun care is not high on my list of priorities. I am no expert on protection from the sun. I don’t need to be. But for many of my friends, I know it is a cause for concern.. A friend who has suffered from skin cancer herself is now perturbed to hear the latest reports that too much sun tan lotion can damage the skin’s natural defences and be harmful in the long term. Maybe more natural sun protection offers a safer option. Have any of you tried and tested these products? Sharing your comments about them could really help others in their ethical choices. I look forward to hearing from you.

It hasn’t passed our notice here at EthicalSuperstore  that two of our most popular blog topics have been regarding the poignant question of ethical beauty products – skincare, hair care, make up and make up removers that don’t cost the earth are right up there at the top of many peoples’ priority lists.

Whether it’s a guilty secret or one of your greatest pleasures, everyone loves to pamper themselves every now and again. This might involve a quiet moment with a book or an indulgence in your favourite sweet treat rather than a face-mask or a luxury body scrub, but for myself personally, I enjoy nothing better after a hard day than enjoying a nice hot bubble bath, beautifully scented and wonderfully relaxing.

With so many different beauty and skincare products on the market it’s often hard to know which way to turn. We all know by now that we ought to avoid phalates, sodium lauryl sulphates and other nasties (worryingly still found in many mainstream brands of skincare and cosmetics), however where do you go from there? Do you buy natural products, or only opt for those with certifiably organic ingredients? Do you stick to vegan-friendly pampering, or is it more an issue of avoiding animal cruelty that is at the top of your list?

But there has been one glaring omission in the market which has puzzled me on several occasions. One type of pamper product that has been conspicuously absent from both specialist and supermarket shelves is Fairtrade Labelled skin treats – up until now.

We are delighted to be able to unleash Fairtrade Labelled Bubble & Balm onto our shelves today – this delightful new ethical skincare range has been developed in conjunction with the Fairtrade Foundation, and is set to transform my own pampering sessions, as well as do great things leading the march in the world of cosmetics.

Bubble & Balm looks great in its stylish silver pots and bottles, and each potion and lotion smells fabulous too. But much, much more than this, the message given by the Fairtrade Mark is that the producers working alongside Bubble & Balm are getting a great deal, which says a lot both about the company, and about the people who buy these products and support this Fairtrade cosmetic pioneering first.

Whether it’s Fairtrade Shea Butter sourced from a producer co-operative in Burkino Faso, or Fairtrade Cocoa Butter from a small-scale farmer co-operative in the Dominican Republic which tempts you first, these products give you the best of both worlds – these moisturisers, body oils and bath salts are naturally produced, using natural ingredients, and come with the world’s leading Fairtrade Certification too.

We’d love to know how you find Bubble & Balm, and what your take is on expanding the Fairtrade Labelling system to cover an ever-growing range of products. Will Fairtrade Labelling for skincare and pampering products change your priorities when you’re making your own purchases? I know it’s certainly something which will change my habits.

So next time you have a ‘Mirror, mirror on the wall…’ moment, take a moment to think about it…who IS the fairest of the all???

In all my comments over previous weeks about the potentially harmful household products that we pour down our drains, I have studiously avoided discussing the similar effects of hygiene and beauty products. Why is that? Is it because the bubbles, fragrance and silky texture enhance my bathing pleasure? Is it because my children exercise more control over my choices in this area? Or is it because we get through so much shower gel and shampoo that the price becomes all-important?

Certainly, my supermarket’s shelves bear witness to the fact that people can be more easily persuaded to buy environmentally friendly washing liquid than shampoo. As far as I can see, there are no organic beauty products on offer. And yet it stands to reason that harmful ingredients in household products are also present in beauty products – what disappears down the plughole in the bath has the same harmful effects on the natural world as what disappears out of the sink in the kitchen. Time to try organic, naturally fragranced shower gels and shampoos without harmful chemical additives, I feel (especially as my body is entering a heightened allergy phase for some reason).

But how about the make-up and all the creams and potions that promise so much? For some people, to be separated from their face cream would be a matter of life and death. I remember a friend telling me

Read the rest of Ethical Beauty… Secret or Dilemma? »