Invisible T-shirt Breakthrough

An eco-fashion brand has taken an innovative approach to the issue of transparency and traceability within the fashion industry by developing a new fabric that can make t-shirts appear invisible.

In partnership with the University of The Isle of Wight, eco-fashion brand Rapanui has taken the light transmitting properties of optic fibres and woven a jersey fabric to create an invisible t-shirt. The technology captures light on one side of a garment and relays it on to the opposite side.

Martin Drake-Knight, Designer at Rapanui explains:
“The research has been around for a long time but the principle is actually quite simple – to take light from the front of the garment and relay it to the back – and vice versa. Optic fibres are simply light conductive threads. They capture the light in the space immediately surrounding the garment and relay them through the threads. If you can direct this light directly out of the shirt, as we have done, the result is a vivid perception of invisibility.”

The University of The Isle of Wight assisted with the project and hope to develop variants of the fabric for a wide range of applications. However Textiles specialist Professor Barry Green said it would be “quite some time” before the technology could come to market, adding that an early idea would be to make landfill sites invisible: “Sustainability is an out-of-sight, out-of-mind problem. We can throw invisible t-shirts in open-air landfill sites – or even just on the street – and nobody will know they are there.”

In a recent interview fashion designer Wayne Hemmingway spoke of the Award-Winning eco fashion brand:
“What Rapanui is doing is game changing; they are at the forefront of fashion technology. People will see what they are doing and will want to copy it.”

Rapanui Co-founder Rob Drake-Knight comments:
“We are delighted to announce this innovation; we hope it helps to raise awareness of transparency and traceability within fashion.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor
For further information please contact Rob Drake-Knight, on 01983 409790 or email rob@rapanuiclothing.com.

About Rapanui:

At Rapanui we design and make casual wear in line with the latest trends, but from more sustainable materials. We use ethically accredited factories that are powered by wind and solar energy – and by using cutting edge eco-textiles, we create products that have a unique natural softness and feel when worn.

The result is clothing that looks great and feels great too. Whilst the organic, ethical and low carbon approach to our supply chain is unique, our real contribution to sustainability has come from the traceability of our products, our work towards improving traceability in our industry and the conversation this has sparked between shoppers, brands and manufacturers. Using our trace mapping tool, at Rapanui you can find out exactly where our products come from, how and where they are made: From the seed being sewn, picked, spun, sewn and transported. It is traceability from seed to shop.

ECO LABELLING

Rapanui is also working with MEPs to lobby the EU to develop a potentially industry-changing ecolabelling system to summarise the detailed and often confusing information on clothes packaging, and make it easy for consumers to shop quickly with a conscience. This ability to make a quick informed choice is something missing from, but entirely compatible with, the high street. This work has gained national recognition in the press and at awards ceremonies and has been taken on by high street brands looking to replicate our success.  A draft proposal is set to be presented at a parliamentary commission later this year, with a view to be proposed as EU legislation.

In just 3 years of trading, this exciting new brand has already made a substantial contribution to sustainable fashion and created real change in an industry plagued with bad ethics. Mart Drake-Knight, designer, sums up Rapanui.

“Fashion is like no other medium, in that you literally dress yourself in what you believe in. Rapanui gives people a choice to vote with their wallet for ethical fashion. We want to use the power of fashion to make eco cool, and design traceable, transparent products that let you shop quickly with a conscience.”

Rapanui was founded in 2008 by Rob and Martin Drake-Knight, now aged 25 and 27, with £200 savings. They feature on the Future 100 list of Top Young Entrepreneurs, whilst Rapanui featured on the Top 100 Start-ups list of 2008. They have sought no investment and make every effort to encourage other young people to believe in their ability to create successful, sustainable businesses.  For more information visit http://www.rapanuiclothing.com/ethical-fashion/eco-labelling-clothing.html

Buy RAPANUI at EthicalSuperstore.com

They will be in desperate need of food and water as soon as they emerge, as they urgently need to replenish lost fat reserves in time for the breeding season. Offering meat based pet food and fresh water will help at the same time as encouraging them into your garden. This is especially important this year following promises of early heat waves! Please take care when tidying up the garden after winter, many hedgehogs suffer terrible injuries every year from strimmers, garden forks, mowers, etc.

Fay Vass, Chief Executive of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society offers this advice. “If you see a hedgehog staggering as if he is drunk, or ‘sunbathing’ please be aware that he is actually very ill as both of these signs point to him being hypothermic. He should be picked up using gardening gloves and taken indoors in a high sided cardboard box. Pop a wrapped hot water bottle in with him as well as an old towel for him to hide under. Offer meat based pet food and fresh water and make sure the hot water bottle stays warm. Then call the Society on 01584 890 801 for further advice and the number of a local rehabilitator.”

The British Hedgehog Preservation Society has produced a leaflet called ‘Gardening “with” Hedgehogs’ for those wishing to help prickly garden visitors. Membership of BHPS costs just £7.50 per year for one person. For your free leaflet, or membership information, see www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk or send an A5 sae to BHPS Gardening, Hedgehog House, Dhustone, Ludlow, SY8 3PL.

To view all products on Ethical Superstore relating to hedgehogs, click here.

Hot Cross buns cooling in Andy's Kitchen

So with apologies to Nigella and Felicity Cloake of the Guardian who’s recipes I have butchered here is the official Ethical Superstore guide to making your own Ethical Hot Cross Bun.

Ingredients

200ml milk
¼ tsp powdered nutmeg
½ tsp powdered Suma Organic and Fairtrade cinnamon
¼ tsp powdered mixed spice
Pinch of saffron
7g of powdered “easy bake” yeast (or Doves Farm quick yeast)
50g golden Traidcraft Fairtrade caster sugar
450g Doves Farm organic strong white flour
100g butter
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground ginger
3 eggs
150g Suma Organic currants
50g mixed peel
3 tbsp Doves Farm organic plain flour 

Cooking time: In total this is going to take four hours and for the best flavour prepare the spicy milk the day before.

1. Heat 200ml milk gently in a pan along with the cinnamon,  nutmeg and mixed spice until just boiling. Set aside, preferably overnight.

2. Next day warm the milk to body temperature and then add yeast and 1 tsp sugar.

3. Mix the flour and  butter in a large bowl and rub together until well mixed.

4. Add the rest of the sugar, the salt and ginger.

5. Beat together two of the eggs and add with the yeast mixture to the flour\butter mixture. Stir in, adding enough milk to make a soft dough.

6. Place on a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.

7. Cover and leave in a warm place for  a couple of hours until it has doubled in size.

8. Place back on a floured surface and knead for a minute or so. Flatten it out and scatter over the fruit and peel. Knead again to spread the fruit around evenly.

9. Divide into 16 equal pieces and roll these into round, bun shapes. Put on If you care grease proof paper lined baking trays and mark a cross on the top of each one. Cover and put in a warm place until doubled in size (again!).

10. Set the oven to 200 degrees Celsius and beat together an egg with a little milk. Mix the plain flour,  a pinch of salt and enough cold water to make a stiff paste. Paint the top of each bun with egg wash, and then draw a thick cross where you scored the cross on each bun.

11. Put into the oven and bake for about 25 minutes until golden.

12. Meanwhile, mix 1 tbsp caster sugar with 1 tbsp boiling water. When the buns come out of the oven, brush them with this before transferring to a rack to cool.

13. Eat with lots of butter, lots of friends and lots of chat of how to make the world a better place.

Have fun and have  a great Easter. Once consumed on Easter Sunday you will a strenuous Easter Egg hunt to burn off the calories. Make sure you have lots of Divine Easter eggs well hidden around your garden!

Ashish Deo, commercial director at the Fairtrade Foundation, said: “Throughout 2012 the Fairtrade Foundation wants to bring the nation a step closer to understanding that by taking a small step, like buying a Fairtrade product, they can help make a big change to the lives of farmers in the developing world.’”

The Take a Step campaign wants to take 1.5 million steps for Fairtrade in 2012, that’s one step for every producer that Fairtrade works with around the world. Each step leads to the better deal that millions of farmers and workers in developing countries urgently need.

Here at Ethical Superstore HQ, we’ve been working hard to bring our customers the widest range of Fairtrade-labelled products for the past decade.  So if you want to take the biggest step possible this Fairtrade Fortnight, we encourage you to stock up on Fairtrade-labelled products, which you can select from our extensive product range.  In addition to ordering your favourite products, perhaps consider trying something different, as our Fairtrade product range includes groceries, gifts, clothing, and beauty products from the UK’s leading Fairtrade labels Divine Chocolate, Equal Exchange, Cafedirect, Traidcraft, People Tree, and many more.

You can register your “step” on a special online stepometer by visiting the Fairtrade Foundation’s website.

And please visit our Facebook wall during Fairtrade Fortnight where we’d love to hear about the steps that you or your family are taking in support of the Take a Step campaign.  Post your “step” on our wall, or share our awareness-raising photo, and we’ll chose two lucky fans at random each week during Fairtrade Fortnight to win a £20 voucher to spend at Ethicalsuperstore.com

You would be forgiven for thinking that a light bulb is, well, just a light bulb but our warehouse is testament to the difference a new bulb can make.

Following months of research, planning and negotiation, a new energy efficient lighting system is now in place in our warehouse, meaning our hard working team are literally being seen in a new light.

The new lighting system is made extremely energy efficient by utilising fluorescent ECO lamps with daylight and movement sensors. The lights are set up to ensure that where there is natural light available, the lights automatically dim and where there are aisles not in use or empty for even a few minutes, the lights dim again. The process of lights dimming and brightening again happens within seconds so there is no delay for people passing underneath to have their way lighted.

Our partners in this project, Apex Electrical and Advanced Lighting Technology, have been a constant source of information and guidance on the correct way to install and place the lighting to ensure maximum coverage with the minimum lamp installations. Popping into our unit at short notice to re-calibrate lamps and advise on usage has never been a problem and the positive comments are already flooding in from staff, suppliers and visitors alike.

Huge reductions in our Carbon output are expected and for possibly the first time in our history we are excitedly awaiting our Electricity bill for January 2012 to analyse and report on the usage savings made during the first month following installation.

Also, at this time of the year when Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is rife, we hope this new lighting system will have an uplifting effect on the warehouse staff’s general mood and wellbeing. We can but hope!

So we have said goodbye to the (admittedly slightly orange) light of old and said hello to a whiter light that makes our warehouse look brighter, cleaner, fresher whilst most importantly maintaining our ethical ethos.

Carbon savings info to follow folks………

Written By Lindsey Tulip-Pearson of Spark Response

With Cupid busier than ever, it can only mean one thing; the season of love is upon us. Yes, the 14th of February is almost here and amorè is on everyone’s minds.

To help long-term couples, those enjoying the first blossom of romance or those simply admiring from afar find their perfect gift, Ethical Superstore, the UK’s leading online retailer of inspired eco-friendly, Fair Trade, organic and UK-made products has compiled a list of Valentine’s Day gifts, which range from the traditional to the more creative.

To view the full product ranges please visit www.ethicalsuperstore.com or call 0800 999 2134.

‘Chocolates are the failsafe choice for any Valentine’s Day gift’

Plush Fair Trade Belgian Collection, £7.95

‘Say it with jewellery, with this feminine bracelet’

La Jewellery Recycled Silver Love Me Do Bangle, £40

‘Famous men and women throughout history have expressed their feelings through the written word, and this card will help you find the same inspiration’

Fair Trade Love Heart Card, £2.95

‘Give the gift of your heart this Valentine’s’

Multi-­‐Coloured Heart of Bells, £6.95

‘Women aren’t the only ones who can be spoilt, and these classic cufflinks are sure to put a smile on any man’s face’

Recycled Fire Hose Torpedo Cufflinks, £35.00

‘Be more aware this year, and give the man in your life some stylish and ethical underwear’

Pants to Poverty, special price from  £7.99

‘Dream, create and fulfill with this charming fair trade   notebook from Tearcraft’

Fair Trade Dream Notebook,  special price of £4.25

‘Though not traditional gift for the 14th of February, this beautiful photo frame can help keep memories of Valentine’s gone by alive’

Bweju Recycled Metal Photo Frame, £19.95

‘Because everyone deserves a little pampering

’ Hedgerow Herbals Mmm Chill Out Slow Down Gift Box, £14.95

Now, I happen to know one of the warehouse supervisors very well [editor's note, they live together!] and I very often get a full and frank account of what goes on in the fulfilment warehouse on a daily basis.  So I know how hard those guys work, making sure orders are correct, secure in their parcel and dispatched on time.  Especially at this time of year, when we hunched up PC dwellers are asked to help out by picking some orders or wrapping some gifts, I think it helps everyone involved in the circle of ethical shopping understand just how hard we all work to make your shopping experience special.

Whatever you’re celebrating at this time of year, Christmas, Hanukkah, the Solstice, I think it’s important to recognise everyone involved in the circle, from the buyers and marketeers, designers and IT geeks (no offence guys!), web content and stock controllers to the pickers, packers and drivers, who were all working hard to help make your celebrations ethical.

We’ve all worked extremely hard this year to concentrate efforts towards optimising this whole process and we’re proud to say, our service is the best it’s ever been.  In April this year, we asked an independent review company to work with us who send an email to our customers on our behalf asking our customers to rate their experience out of 5 stars and share your thoughts with the world.

Since we started, we’ve already had over 2,600 reviews.  We have an average star rating of 4.7/5 and an impressive 99% approval rating!This process is not all to do with blowing our own trumpet though.  If a customer has had problems with their order, it gives us the opportunity to hear about those problems and do what is needed to make things right.

So if any of you receive one of these emails asking for a review, please take a couple of minutes of your time to complete it.It helps to keep us on our toes and it gives shoppers the confidence to choose Ethical Superstore based on real experiences.  If you had great service, tell everyone.If something went wrong, let us know and we’ll pull out the stops to put things right.

So thanks for reading, if you got this far!I hope you feel a little more clued up on how this all works and thankful, as I am, to all who make it work.

I wish you all a very, very Merry Christmas from everyone at EthicalSuperstore.com.

5pm, Wednesday, 21^st December 2011.  3 days and seven hours to go until Christmas.

One of Ethical Superstore’s priorities when we discussed the busy season six weeks ago was our commitment to getting our customers what they needed in time for Christmas.  Up to 12pm yesterday, orders could still be placed using standard UK delivery and for those who like to leave things to the very last minute, express delivery is available until 12pm tomorrow.  We’ve even temporarily reduced the price of delivery do standard is £2.95 (normally £3.95) and express is £3.95 (normally £5.95)!

At this time of year, everyone’s stress levels rise for whatever reason and this is particularly true for those working in the world of online retail fulfilment.  So I’d like to take you on a journey that I like to call the circle of ethical shopping; taking you from the click of your mouse to the delivery to your door and all the processes in between.

On the website

So you’re browsing Ethical Superstore, clicking your way through the 3,000 ethical, eco friendly, organic and sustainably sourced goodies.  You find what you’re after and click them into your basket.  When you’re satisfied that everyone’s covered, Grandad has his socks, Mum has her gift set and the little one their dumper truck, it’s time to proceed to the checkout.

In the warehouse

Once your order is complete and you have that all important order number and confirmation email, your order darts at the speed of light to our servers and order system.  A few checks are made to protect our customers from online fraud and once we’re happy with it, it is passed to the fulfilment system.  The orders come together ready for picking and our dedicated warehouse admin team print off the delivery notes.  The orders are typically grouped into batches of 8 orders with a master picking list for each batch.  Then, our warehouse team get down to the art of picking.  Each product we stock has a specific location and the fulfilment system knows exactly how much stock is in each.  That information is periodically passed to our order system and website to avoid selling stock that’s not there.

The master pick list takes the picker (elf, if you like – it’s Christmas after all!) on a route around the warehouse picking each product and putting them in a box numbered 1 to 8 on their trolley.  Once they’re done picking, they’ll pop their initials on the top of the picking list and queue up their trolley for packing. 

The packing team check each order before securing any “at risk” items, such as shampoo bottle tops and protecting biscuits for their journey. They will then pack out the box with recycled brown paper to keep everything snug and a bug in a box before scanning the barcode on the picking list to produce the courier address label and sealing the box.

Out for delivery

As boxes pile up, they’re stacked onto pallets and taken to the goods-out terminal, ready for collection by our courier partners.  As the boxes are loaded on to the courier’s lorry, each is scanned by the driver, at which point the parcel’s journey begins, being tracked all the way.

From our warehouse, the parcels all go to a local collection depot to be sorted and then taken overnight to a central distribution hub, which further sorts the parcels and sends each on its way to the local delivery depot, closest to the final delivery address.  From there, your order will then be loaded onto a delivery van and the next thing you know, there’s a knock at the door and a happy chappy with a high visibility vest and a cap cheerfully hands you your Ethical Superstore order.  All that’s left is for you to unpack your box, get the kettle on, make some delicious fair trade tea or coffee and get the organic cookies, sit yourself down at your computer and get browsing for your next crop of ethical necessities.  And so, the circle is complete.

To Be Continued… go to part 2

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!?

Check out our range of Rapanui Clothing

A beautiful handmade basket featuring a traditional African zigzag design motif:  the perfect centrepiece for your dining room table found in the Ethical Superstore Christmas catalogue.  But delve deeper and you’ll discover the story of basket producers Gone Rural, members of the World Fair Trade Organisation, who have been working to change lives in Swaziland for over 20 years.

Community Impact

Most of Gone Rural’s producer groups live in the mountainous areas of Swaziland where the Lutindzi grass they use is found. Many generations live in one homestead and share the household responsibilities and although extremely poor by western standards, Gone Rural families often take in neighbours’ children who have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS.

Rural Swazi communities now find themselves under mounting financial pressure, having to pay for transport to clinics, school fees and support more children.  As indicators of the importance of Gone Rural in the lives of impacted women:

• 80% of the women rely on Gone Rural as their sole income
• Each woman supports an average of 8 dependents
• 82% of their husbands and partners are unemployed

Product Development Process

Gone Rural products are handmade by our Swazi women who transform natural and sustainable materials into beautiful home accessories.

Harvest Grass

Swazi women living in mountainous regions harvest the Lutindzi grass once a year in February. The grass is plucked from the sheath leaving the root intact for next year’s growth. The women dry the grass outside before bundling it and selling it to Gone Rural.

Dye Grass

At the Gone Rural workshop in Malkerns the bundles of grass are transformed into beautiful colours in fuel-efficient dye vats.  Once dyed the grass is laid out to dry in rows under the African sun.

Travel to Producer Communities

Through rain or shine, Gone Rural makes the journey up the mountain roads or down though the African Bush of Swaziland to producer community meeting places. Here the women are grouped together waiting for Gone Rural with their beautiful products.

Market Day

At Gone Rural market days, the women meet under a tree or in a shady place. Here they finish their work while networking amongst themselves sharing ideas and experiences.

Women entrepreneurs within the Gone Rural group and community have created a micro economy at these meeting days when they trade vegetables, bread or clothes amongst each other.

The meeting days have also created an access point for health and education programmes to be run within the communities including literacy programmes, scholarships funds, advocacy training, HIV/AIDS testing awareness and counselling.

The Gone Rural production team buy goods ordered from the women at the previous meeting, quality is checked and each woman is given tips on how to further develop her skills.  Orders are placed with the women and they are given the dyed grass that they need to make the products.

Women Making Products

The women take their work home with them where they have the freedom to work at their convenience, producing Gone Rural products between their other household and parenting duties. The women sometimes work in groups weaving and coaxing the grasses into magical patterns.

Packaging

At the Gone Rural workshop the stock is received into the store room where the quality is checked before the products are individually labelled and packed into sets using hand-made clay beads and woven grass rope.

Design and Production Techniques

Gone Rural seeks to design innovative and beautiful collections whilst respecting Swazi cultural heritage, tradition and the environment.  When a new product has been created or a new technique used, training workshops are held to ensure high quality and to assist skill sharing among producers.

The Placemat Plaiting

The Swazi women traditionally use plaited grass to tie down thatching grass on the roofs of their homes. This traditional plait is the basis of Gone Rural plaited items. To make a placemat the women start by plaiting a long rope of Lutindzi grass. They sit on the ground with their legs straight out and sometimes hold the plait between their toes while they work.

When the rope is long enough (50 meters for a large place mat) they start to coil the rope into a small disc shape, they hold the rope in place by using the spokes from an umbrella. They then take sisal fibre and spin it into twine using their hand and thigh. With a long needle they thread this very strong twine through the coiled plait and stitch the placemat together.

The Stitching Technique

The artisans start with a small bundle of lukhazi reed; they wrap the dyed Lutindzi grass around the lukhazi and start to develop a coil-shaped item. As each circular row is added, it is stitched from the previous row to the next row using an overlapping technique. The basket shape is made free-hand without the use of a mould. It takes many hours to make one basket.

The basket-making women have unique hand-skills and are exceptionally talented in being able to add their own design input to our specific size, quality and colour way requirements.

Materials

The use of sustainable, local natural fibres is central to Gone Rural’s approach to product development.

Lutindzi grass

“Lutindzi” is the Swazi name for the strong, wiry sedge grass coleochloa setifera (Comptons’ “Flora of Swaziland”, no 512.) It grows high up in the mountains on rocky outcrops, finding moisture in the cracks of rocks. Due to its wiry nature and inaccessibility, it is not eaten by cattle and for centuries has been harvested for the manufacture of rope to tie down roof thatching on traditional beehive huts.

After good rains, the Lutindzi will be plentiful and the women will spend days harvesting it. If the harvesting is planned correctly, there will be enough for the weaver to work with throughout the rest of the year. The harvesting of this grass also leaves the roots intact for the following year, hence there is a natural abundance of this very special resource.

The plaiting of the grass is a skill learned by virtually every Swazi girl, but making the plaits up into floor-mats, tableware and other items is a skill learned patiently under the guidance of a girl’s mother.

Sisal Fibre

Sisal fibre is an invasive weed. Sisal is used in Swaziland to make cattle fences and grows throughout the country. Because it is a weed, it is ideal for craft production since harvesting does not threaten the country’s natural biodiversity. Gone Rural has developed unique knitted and woven textiles that are sensitive to the unique properties of the sisal fibre.

To learn more about Ethical Superstore’s fair trade merchandise producer Gone Rural, please visit http://www.goneruralswazi.com/ or to shop for beautiful Gone Rural products on Ethical Superstore, click here.