Sustainability// From Hand-Me-Downs to Handing Sideways: Rethinking Attitudes to Pre-Loved Clothing.
By Chloe de Lullington
As a small child, hand-me-downs were a rite of passage. I didn’t have any older siblings, so they came from older, distant cousins I never met – cousins whose parents were rather more traditional and conservative than my own. Once or twice a year, a big black bin bag bulging with fabrics would arrive, and without fail, I would eagerly rummage through it – and also without fail, would be met with reams upon reams of floral knee-length dresses and pastel cardigans. Given the choice (which, fair play to my folks, I was most of the time from about the age of two!) I would be cutting about in unisex chequered trousers, denim dungarees, and colourful knitwear (nothing much changes in 20 years) so this was very much Not My Vibe, but we made the best of it. Floral dresses and pastel cardigans had their place, and I reluctantly but obligingly donned them for Sunday services and visits to grandparents.
Sustainability// Sometimes I feel like a sustainable imposter, but that’s ok. Here’s why.
By Sophie Leigh
I have been advocating for a sustainable low waste lifestyle for many years. But sometimes I look at my own lifestyle and then I feel like an imposter, like I shouldn’t be influencing others to be sustainable because I am not completely sustainable myself. A real imposter syndrome. It can be such a struggle when you want to stand up for what you believe in when you’re doing it imperfectly. Should I stop being low impact? Do my labels need to change? Should I quit my advocacy for the planet? These are just some of the questions I ask myself when I feel like this. But my answer is always no. I do not need to change what I’m doing because I am making an impact whether it be small changes or just sparking an idea in someone else’s mind. Here are some reasons why I believe we need more imperfect sustainable advocates.
Sustainability// Mother.
By Lily Rose King
She heaves, coughs, splutters,
sick from the fumes she has no choice but to inhale
an involuntary chain smoker unable to relish
in the dirty habit’s diffusion of stress,
Sustainability// Mental Health and Sustainability.
By Jennifer Lee
A mindful life meant taking time for reflection and meditation and just allowing space to be aware of our mind – our thoughts, beliefs and emotions. For me, this meant making time in between the busyness of the day, whether it was 15 minutes in the morning to enjoy a hot drink, or taking an impromptu walk alone by the canal and taking in all of my surroundings. I found that this routine was just as important for my attempt to live more sustainably as much as buying plastic free shampoo bars. The more connected I was with myself, how I was feeling and my surroundings, the more connected I became with my children, my partner, and conscious of the choices I was making as a consumer.
Sustainability// “Get the Green Show on the Road!”: Is the UK ready for COP26?
BY Jill Bunyan
In recent months, we have seen the government announce it will continue to allow new licenses for oil and gas exploration in the North Sea to be granted. Albeit with a caveat that a climate compatibility test must be passed, but we are yet to see what criteria that will encompass. With Denmark and France already agreeing to ban new oil exploration licenses, this is hugely disheartening that the UK chose not to follow their lead. Next, the government chose not to intervene when it was announced that the UK’s first new deep coal mine in 30 years was given the green light by Cumbria County Council. Only when the controversial project was met with severe public outcry and following new advice from government climate advisors on carbon emissions, did they declare a public inquiry would be held.
Sustainability// My Sustainability Journey.
By Natasha Ford
My personal journey didn’t start until the end of 2020 as I wanted to lower my footprint in any way I could, starting small by swapping some plastic products and unethical products for more sustainable ones. I had been through an awful lot in my personal life leading up to then including losing contact with all my friends and family, leaving a toxic and volatile relationship, reconnecting with my loved ones afterwards, my father dying suddenly, and then finding out I was pregnant midway through the second trimester so within 2 years, my life was flipped upside-down. It was my way of regaining control on what I could do to help leave the world a better place for my daughter’s generation and develop the skills and knowledge needed to continue reversing the effects of climate change in more ways.
Sustainability// A Hidden Gem For Vintage Lovers: Here’s Why You Need This App!
By Chloe De Lullington
When shopping in person, it’s easy to see the difference in quality; you can feel the fabrics, hold them up to the light, check the stitching and see any tears and faded patches. But when shopping online, it’s much harder to determine the quality and value of a piece. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with buying Primark and PLT and Shein items secondhand – they might not last many washes, but it’s always better to buy pre-loved than contribute to the demand directly – but if, like me, you’re making a conscious commitment to fewer pieces that last a lifetime, it can be frustrating to bid on what you think is a quality vintage piece, only for it to show up and underwhelm. I’ve been caught out before on eBay, and short of leaving shoddy reviews and attempting to open a case with eBay itself, there’s not much you can do to fight back against unscrupulous sellers slapping the word “vintage” on their decidedly un-vintage listings.
Sustainability// How Lockdown Life Changed my Thrifting Habits.
By Chloe de Lullington
A huge part of my overall lifestyle is charity shopping; always has been, always will be. As I explained in my first piece for HHS, Vintage Vs Fast Fashion: The Feminist Stakes, sustainability and thriftiness are two of my top considerations. Traditionally, this has been a physical experience – I like nothing better than pottering from charity shop to charity shop, running eager fingers over soft fabrics and shamelessly sniffing the armpit section. (It’s not gross – you have to know what you’re buying!) The thrill of a £1 pair of dungarees, for instance, never gets old.
Sustainability// Imperfect Sustainability.
By Kayla Saddington
Early on, I was teased for my eco-friendly swaps and told to ‘calm down’ by peers in the workplace, because I was ‘always banging on about sustainability’. We joke about it now, but those types of attitudes were hard to deal with at the time, and it knocked my confidence a little. It took me a while to understand that sustainability is a journey, that people might not quite understand why I’ve made the changes I have, but everybody’s journey is completely unique and change doesn’t happen overnight.
Sustainability// Greenwashing 101: How to Spot Fake Sustainable Products.
By Vera Strijdhorst
One of my biggest personal pet peeves is greenwashing. I have fallen victim to it a number of times as, I’m sure, have other individuals who are trying to live a more sustainable life. It can be hard enough to participate in the zero waste/sustainability/eco-friendly movement as it is, but with companies wanting to deceive us on purpose it can become nearly impossible. There are a lot of brands who greenwash on a regular basis, even by just adding leaves and the colour green on the labels: to customers it will directly look like a greener alternative to other brands. But how do we spot these nasty tricks companies play on us, even the better hidden ones?
Sustainability// Green Consumption is Still Consumption.
By Sutara Nitenson
I challenge you to count the number of times you are bombarded with advertisements on an average day. If you walk down the street, drive through town, listen to the radio, watch television, or have a smartphone, I guarantee that you are not living a pressure-free life. Now, how many of these enticing ads are for a supposedly sustainable product? Today’s largest marketing ploys use climate change and environmental degradation as selling points.
Sustainability// Geoengineering: Reforestation and Iron Fertilization
By Maya Hernandez
With the increased threat of greenhouse gas emissions and the growing amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, many scientists have looked towards geoengineering as a potential solution. Geoengineering is based on the belief that humans can alter the climate system and should do so to remedy the effects of anthropogenic changes to the Earth’s climate (meaning those changes originating in human activity).
Sustainability// Environmental Justice in the San Joaquin Valley.
By Maya Hernandez
Human populations rely heavily on natural ecosystems to provide a multitude of goods and services. But what happens when these goods and services are utilised or depleted by some people at the expense of others? Aside from the more obvious negative impacts on the environment, these practices produce a multitude of social conflicts, presenting the concept of environmental justice. In communities around the world, people suffer from environmental justice conflicts or unequal protection from health and environmental hazards due to unfair treatment and underrepresentation regarding the development, application, and administration of environmental laws and policies (Environmental, 2019).
Sustainability// Ethical Consumption and Other Myths.
By Inaya Mohmood
As the second largest polluter in the world, the fast-fashion industry has both an enormous environmental and social cost. As a result of this, the industry has started to be scrutinised by climate activists who are calling out the damaging and unsustainable production methods that clothing manufacturers continue to use. Although, this criticism has yet to lead to significant changes in production methods or statements of environmental consciousness by any of the world’s largest fast fashion producers.
Sustainability// Climate Change and Cities: The real impact on society’s poorest.
By Maya Hernandez
These projects promote environmental sustainability and boast the revival of much needed ecosystem services, but they raise concerns regarding environmental justice. Upon examination these cases provide evidence that such efforts have led to the gentrification and the displacement of less privileged residents within cities. Because of this, “environmental gentrification” it is critical that city planners consider the trade-offs involved with implementing such spaces in order to avoid these negative outcomes when developing future initiatives and make cities both environmentally and socially sustainable.
Sustainability// The harms of fast fashion.
By Anna Nielson
Even given these statistics, it’s obvious why the public hasn’t yet shifted away from the objectionable industry: we can’t bear to part with the idea of it. Because, once we grew used to a world where practically any purchasable good is as disposable as paper, we lost appreciation for investing in items. Clothing can be an important investment, it’s just a matter of choosing to make it one rather than collecting cheap closet-fillers and what will, ultimately, become clutter.
Intersectionality// Environmentalism and Feminism.
By Chavonne Wargrave
This is a topic I’ve been mulling over a while and, when I was visiting an ethical market (mainly vegan but also promotes sustainability), I overheard a woman saying, “I think veganism, sustainability and feminism are all interlinked”. I agree with this sentiment wholeheartedly.
Now, you may be wondering how does feminism relate to eco-justice when surely climate change affects all of us? You are right, but I’m going to break it down into some key basic points for simplicity.
Vintage vs. Fast Fashion// The Feminist Stakes.
by Chloe de Lullington
At the back of my mind I knew the vaguest of stats, read the articles about unsafe factories, the mistreatment of seemingly disposable workers, and the shocking pittance that constituted their daily wage. The death of over 1,100 human beings in the Rana Plaza collapse back in 2013 was reported as a catastrophe, then faded over time to a blip, a footnote in fashion’s history as it rumbled on ever faster. But I could not, in good conscience, carry on as if nothing had happened.