Exposing the Injustice You’re probably thinking about how the retail industry at large has coped during these unprecedented times. To put it simply, fast fashion brands have been managing just fine, but at what cost? It is no secret that the fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world. According to Creative Bloom, the fashion industry not only puts a huge amount of pressure on our planet, but also on the garment workers that are creating our clothes. This leads me to my next PSA if you will, addressing the damages caused by fast fashion brands during the lockdown. The atrocities committed by fast fashion brands […]
The Plastic Problem Most of us have gradually come to realise the significant crises facing our oceans, as human factors have placed the Earth in a new geological age for the first time. As carbon dioxide emissions rise, the oceans increase in acidity. It is also estimated that with each degree of increase in global climate temperatures, the oxygen levels of the sea decrease by as much as 6%. Plastic pollution is causing huge problems, with fishing equipment being a major source of plastic in our oceans. An estimated 640,000 tonnes of fishing lines, pots and traps are lost or abandoned annually. We’ve all been traumatised by horrific tales of […]
Jewellery – Much More Than an Accessory Jewellery is truly a beautiful accessory. Earrings, rings, necklaces and bracelets manage to enhance a person’s best physical features and personality. Yet, the uniqueness that jewellery should bring to an individual is lost through mass-produced accessories. How someone dresses define who they are and what they represent. However, compulsive fast shopping has led to general, similar, low-quality jewellery that rusts, breaks and defies the whole purpose of these ornaments. Thankfully, some handmade accessories are unique, including jewellery- reaching peoples’ hearts as small businesses focus on quality, design and ethical production. The beautiful thing about local, handmade jewellery is that no two pieces are […]
The sun may have been shining recently, but storms of discontent have been brewing across the world. On Saturday 13th June, the ever cold waters off the coast of Brighton were warmed with solidarity. A brave community of swimmers, paddle-boarders and surfers ventured into the sea in a heartfelt display of peaceful protest against systemic racism. Brighton’s ‘Solidarity in Surf Paddle Out’ was organised by RubyMoon, in collaboration with The Holistic Journal and Mr Bongo, in wake of the tragedy of George Floyd’s murder and the resulting rise in awareness of racism embedded deeply within our societies. The event preceded the main Black Lives Matter demonstration in Brighton. The paddle […]
Can Capitalism and Sustainability Go Hand in Hand? Facts on Plastic Waste Plastic pollution is a major problem in the world affecting wildlife, habits and even humans. Millions of animals are harmed and killed every year, both in the sea and on land; fish, dolphins, turtles, whales, seals, birds, cattle, elephants, tigers and many more. Some of the animals get trapped and others eat the waste, killing them. The most pertinent issue is the effect it has on our health. Plastic waste not only affects animals but also human beings through the food chain process. If smaller animals ingest plastic or microplastics (less than five millimetres in length), then bigger […]
It feels like 2020 has been cancelled. Work has altered, going out has become a privilege, shops and restaurants have been shut for months and events all around the world have been cancelled. Yet, staying at home has made us think and reflect on our life and the world around us. With the stop to the ‘normal’ repetitive life, we’ve become aware of all the problems and injustices that occur every day behind our backs; climate change, the destruction of the planet, social injustice and discrimination. We’ve woken up from a very long sleep and are finally seeing that we can’t keep living like this. We don’t want to live […]
The Future Life is uncertain; we don’t know what will come our way and what the future holds for us. The truth is, nobody knows about the future but, isn’t that a great thing? It’s like going to watch a suspense thriller movie, we don’t want anyone to spoil it for us, we want to be surprised and amazed. We can make all the predictions we want “I think this will happen” or “I think this person will do this”. We watch the movie and nothing that we predicted happens, and that’s when we say “wow that was a wonderful movie”. We were captivated during the whole movie, intrigued by […]
Britain’s first black textile designer of international standing. Althea McNish was an influential textile designer who sadly passed away at the age of 95 on the 16th April 2020. We would like to celebrate her life and her contribution to British Textile Design She was truly an inspiration and a revolutionary black woman who managed to radiate lively colours in Britain during its postwar greyness. Althea was born on the 15th May 1924 in Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago. Since a young age, she had been an enthusiastic painter, exhibiting her first work when she was only 16 years old. In 1951, at the age of […]
Rest now, e Papatūānuku Breathe easy and settle Right here where you are We’ll not move upon you For awhile We’ll stop, we’ll cease We’ll slow down and stay home Draw each other close and be kind Kinder than we’ve ever been. I wish we could say we were doing it for you as much as ourselves But hei aha We’re doing it anyway It’s right. It’s time. Time to return Time to remember Time to listen and forgive Time to withhold judgment Time to cry Time to think About others Remove our shoes Press hands to soil Sift grains between fingers Gentle palms Time to plant Time to wait […]
We’re really excited to have Laura as a guest blogger – Today she’s releasing her short film Hydrotherapy ⬇️ A short film exploring the reason a swimmer swims throughout winter has been released. The project was a collaboration between Laura Sanderson and Friction Collective, “Friction Collection wanted to create a film short about someone who uses swimming throughout winter to improve their health” explained Laura. After a near death experience in 2018 and several blood transfusions later Laura started to suffer with muscle and joint pain which was later diagnosed as Fibromyalgia. It was the recommendation by a doctor to try cold water showers that spurred Laura on to start […]