H&M: Garment Collection Initiative

I noticed a leaflet next to the till last time I was in H&M, proudly proclaiming their Garment Collection Initiative. Intrigued, I took to the web to find out more - H&M are one of my favourite stores for basics so it's always nice to know that they're working hard to be a ethical, responsible and sustainable company!

Essentially, H&M are aiming to create a better life cycle for fabrics, by recycling and reusing clothes. They're accepting donations from the public and giving old clothes new life :)

 

They've put together this little video, detailing the initiative and it's aims - the most shocking statistic for me was this quote:

"Of the thousands of tonnes of textiles that people throw away every year, as much as 95% could be re-worn or recycled"

95%! That's nuts! Most of my old clothes go to the charity shops, but I must admit I've thrown away damaged or stained items in the past because I didn't think that anyone would take them.

H&M are collecting clothes of any brand, quality and condition, so don't worry if you didn't buy the clothes from H&M, you can still donate them to be reused :)

There are three ways that H&M are proposing to repurpose the unwanted garments:

• Rewear – clothing that can be worn again will be sold as second hand clothes

• Reuse – old clothes and textiles will be turned into other products, such as cleaning cloths

• Recycle – everything else is turned into textile fibres, or for other uses such as insulation.

They're also planning to invest any money they make from this service into social projects, as well as research and innovation projects on how old textiles can be turned into new fibres. Good job, H&M! :)

Ethical Festival Fashion

It's festival season here in the UK so I thought it'd be fun to have a look for some ethical versions of the festival essentials. Festivals can be one of the worst culprits for encouraging 'fast fashion' - you worry that things will get lost or broken so you stock up on cheap items so that if they do it's not such a big deal, right?

Maybe instead of buying lots of cheap things that you don't care about, how about buying something that you love, so you're encouraged to look after it and keep it safe? Ethical goods aren't always prohibitively expensive, despite what a lot of people thing :) You'll be minimising waste, supporting the ethical community and not becoming a slave to fast fashion - triple win! :)

So, first up - let's look at the clothes! As much as we expect the summer to be wall to wall sunshine, every year it rains (it's raining right now in fact!) so it's worth stocking up on items like a good mac and a pair of wellies, to try and keep yourself as dry as possible. I also love this 'dress in a bag' - no one wants to carry a giant rucksack around with them so something that can fit in a wrist bag sounds great to me! :)

I've also picked a bright t-shirt to help your friends spot you in a crowd, a cosy hoodie for when the nights cool down and some sunglasses in case the sun does decide to make a rare appearance ;)

Wellies - £50

Dress in a Bag - £16

T-Shirt - £12

Sunglasses - £22

Hoodie - £35

Leggings - £20

Jacket - £39.95

But of course, clothes aren't the only things you need to take with you to a festival, so lets look at the other essentials you'll need. There don't seem to be a lot of ethical tents on the market at the moment, but hopefully that will change in the coming years. A tote bag will help you carry your bits during the day, and this reusable drinks bottle helps to keep your drinks cool while not contributing to the millions of bottles that get left at festival sites every year.

I've also thrown in some eco-sunblock (sun safety first, kids!) a super cosy sleeping bag and a cute purse to keep your phone, camera and cash in :)

Sunblock - £10.95

Gin - £10.36

Camera Case - £2.40

Drinks Bottle - £18.99

Sleeping Bag - £55

Tent - £160

While I was researching this post I also came across Love Your Tent, which is an initiative designed to encourage people not to leave waste at festival sites, which I think is a great idea! :)

Are you going to any festivals this year? Would you be more inclined to bring things home if you'd paid more money for them?

Love

Sarah

A Little Inspiration: Some Awesome Sewing Blogs

It's official - I've caught the sewing bug. I've bought patterns, I've got my sewing machine set up and I've been found stroking the fabrics in John Lewis on more than one occasion...

I've actually been wanting to get into sewing for a while now, but it's thanks to some rather lovely sewing blogs that I've finally taken the plunge so I thought I'd share them here in case anyone else is considering it! :) (Thanks also to my mum who has leant me her spare sewing machine. Now I really have no excuse!)

Tea for Two

First up: Tea for Two. Jen and Elena are twins who share a love of crafting as well as a blog! :) They took part in Me Made May this year and it was fun to see what they came up with for the challenge. I'm hoping that by the time it comes around next year I might be able to participate!

What Katie Sews

Katie is one of the original crop of bloggers that I have been following for years. She recently branched out from her main blog to this dedicated sewing blog and the pieces she has created in a relatively short period of time are so inspiring! 

Notes From a Mad Housewife

 Lisa is new blogger to my roll but I'm already enjoying her infectious style - check out these beautiful pink trousers! She also took part in Me Made May, I'm so impressed by all these bloggers! :)

Gertie's Blog For Better Sewing

Gertie's blog is really one of the greats. Not only does she sew fabulous dresses (like this gorgeous hot pink number or this wonderful flapper dress!) but she also has a range of her own patterns and she does guided sew-alongs for them. Yay!

Bonne Chance

Angela's blog is a relatively new one to me but I like her style and perseverance when it comes to making practice pieces (I'm so impatient that I want to dive in and make the real deal first but I know 'practice makes perfect' is a well known phrase for a reason!

Seamless

You might remember Elena from the interview I did with her about her 'Seamless Pledge' back in January. Len has a 'can't jar' that she's slowly working her way through, and is currently creating a maid of honour dress. Talk about pressure! :)

Tilly and the Buttons

And last but certainly not least, lovely Tilly! She's just released her first pattern book (which is fabulous and very yellow, I'm in love ;) ) and her blog is chock full of resources, tips and beautiful, inspiring projects. What more could you need? :)

What sewing blogs do you read? Are you getting the urge to start making some of your own clothes? :)

Love

Sarah

Marks & Spencer's 'Best of British' Campaign

I spotted a "Best of British" poster as I wandered through my local Marks and Spencer a few days ago, and made a mental note to take a look at the website when I got home. It turns out that M&S have put together a Summer 2014 collection, using only British designers, fabrics and manufacturers. Pretty nice, right?! :)

"Best of British is part of a three-year partnership between M&S and the British Fashion Council. Working to champion our best homegrown fashion talent, the collection celebrates a return to traditional manufacturing and world-class British design."

Here are my picks from the collection - including some bits for the boys because look at those shoes! Beautiful. It's not the cheapest collection on the planet by a long shot, but given their reputation and sources hopefully these pieces will last and last, so they could be a worthwhile investment if you're looking to replace something worn out! :)

Jumper - £149

Bow tie - £19.50

Jacket - £450

Shoes - £235

The menswear is mostly a neutral palate (although there are a couple of splashes of pink in there, and some fun patterns to liven it up). Classic pieces, for the most part, with a few little twists to keep it interesting. You can browse the full menswear collection here.

Shoes - £165

Dress - £59

Satchel - £299

Shirt - £69

The womenswear collection is a much brighter affair, with bold patterns and prints and bright fuchsia pinks and coral reds to really make the clothes pop. How delicious are those white brogues, by the way? :) Be still my beating heart! 

I'm not going to lie, there are a few items in this collection I'm not brave enough to attempt, but there's still enough items that I'd would be happy to walk down the street in, phew. (Let's start with that gorgeous bag, shall we?). See the full womenswear collection here.

It's nice to see a brand really embracing British fashion - hopefully we'll see some others starting to follow suit!

Love

Sarah

One Ethical Dress, Three Fashion Looks

I know I'm probably not the only person who keeps hold of clothes that no longer fit, don't look great or don't really go with anything else that I own. I've been trying to mend my hoarding ways recently, by clearing out things that would better serve someone else - that dress I love on the hanger but which makes me look waistless - the charity shop with you! Jumpers with holes in, tights that are sagging, anything that isn't working anymore: gone.

It's really tempting to replace everything I get rid of with new things - the lure of the shiny and new bombards me every time I walk down the street, but instead I've decided to try and create a capsule wardrobe. Buying a few staples and working a multitude of outfits around them. That way I always have something to wear and I don't feel like I have a crazy amount of surplus clothing taking up space in my house. Everybody wins.

With that in mind today I've put together three different looks using the same dress, to show how you can dress up, dress down and switch styles with one core piece of clothing :) As always, these pieces were all sourced from ethical retailers, since there's no reason looking good can't also be helping to look after the planet too. Double yay!

First up, I've put together a look for when the days are bright and the evenings are warm enough after work for a quick visit to the local beer garden. Mm. Sunshine...

dress - £59

shoes - £55

hat - £25

sunglasses - £105

bangles - £8

belt - £15

watch - £27

Next up we've got an office casual look. For people working somewhere a bit more formal you might not be able to get away with this, but I know a lot of people are working in more casual offices these days and I think this outfit more than fits the bill.

dress - £59

shoes - £40

blazer - £115

scarf - £18

bangle - £10

satchel - £85

necklace - £16

Last but not least an outfit for those chilly, rainy days of spring that we get every year. Throw in some tights to go with it and you can still wear your beautiful dresses even when it's pouring down outside :)

dress - £59

duffle coat - £175

bag - £50

trainers - £56

scarf - £30

cardigan - £68

The trick to a capsule wardrobe is to buy versatile clothing - something that can work with lots of different pieces. I'm off to do some window shopping to see what else I can find ;)

Love 

Sarah

Me Made May 2014

It's that time of year again - wow! Me Made May is a fun challenge created by Zoe from 'So, Zo...What Do You Know?' to encourage sewers to wear and love their handmade items. As someone who is super interested in sewing but hasn't actually plucked up the courage to make anything yet (I know, I know) I'm hoping the participants this year will inspire me to plug in my machine and get crafting! Who knows, maybe by the time Me-Made-May'15 rolls around I'll be taking part ;)

If you've never heard of "Me-Made-May"and have no idea what I'm going on about then read on...

What is Me-Made-May?

"Me-Made-May is a challenge designed to encourage people who sew/knit/crochet/refashion/upcycle garments for themselves to actually wear and love them. 

Participants decide the specifics of their own pledge - a very common pledge is for a participant to aim to wear one self-stitched or refashioned garment each day for the duration of May 2014. The participants can also choose to document their challenge with daily photos (though this is in no way compulsory for taking part)."

Why should I take part?

Zoe put together a helpful list of reasons of why you might want to participate (thanks Zoe!):

• Do your handmade items often get left in the wardrobe rather than worn as part of your everyday wardrobe? Participating in this challenge can give you a bit of a nudge to help you to integrate your self-stitched items into your daily life.

• This challenge may also be useful for discovering the 'holes' in your wardrobe so in the future you are able to focus your precious garment-creating time towards making things that will be useful. 

• If you feel that what you tend to wear, day-to-day, doesn't really suit you or represent who you are, this challenge is a way to spend a monthfocussing on getting out of your wardrobe rut. 

• You may enjoy an excuse to focus on finishing off lingering UFOs (un-finished objects), or to start a project you've had on your mind for ages. 

• If you have been creating clothing for some time and already wear a lot of your me-mades, this challenge might help you to bring newer self-stitched items into regular rotation. If you tend to make all kinds of garments, you may even want to see if you can get by all month entirely without shop-bought garments (with undies or outerwear as notable exceptions, but not necessarily!). 

• There is also guaranteed to be a lovely online community of fellow participants to give support, advice and inspiration.

How do I sign up?

All you have to do is copy the pledge below and post it in the comments section of this post adapted to include your details and the personal specification of your challenge before 1st May:

'I, (insert name here and blog address if you have one), sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear......................................................... each day for the duration of May 2014'

This is YOUR challenge, write the pledge any way you want, just remember: IT IS A CHALLENGE and not meant to be easy or what you do usually. Push yourselves! :)

You can find all the details about the pledge on Zoe's blog here, and there's also a Flickr group and Pinterest board you can join and post your photos too :) If you're on Twitter you can use the using the #MMMay14 hashtag to keep up with the conversation. Make sure you sign up ASAP tho, as registration is only open until today!

So what do you think, will you be signing up? :)

Love

Sarah

Fashion Revolution Day: 24th April 2014

Have you heard about Fashion Revolution Day?

No? Don't worry, I hadn't either until today! Luckily, it's not until April 24th, so we've all got time to find out a bit more and get involved. Phew! :)

Okay, so first things first: what is Fashion Revolution Day? 

The global fashion industry is coming together to highlight the challenges of the fashion supply chain, from exploitation to pollution, with the inaugural Fashion Revolution Day on the 24th April 2014, when a series of global events and initiatives will highlight the fashion industry's most pressing issues and engage local communities to demand greater transparency throughout.

In part, a response to the terrible tragedy in Bangladesh last year, where 1133 sweatshop workers lost their lives when the building they were working in collapsed. Fashion Revolution want you to ask

"Who made my clothes?"

Because chances are, if you shop on the high street, then the company is seeing far more of your money than the person who made it. Sadly, it's often pretty difficult to know which high street chains use sweat shops and which don't.

With one simple question: "Who Made Your Clothes?" Fashion Revolution are asking everyone who’s taking part in Fashion Revolution Day to be curious, to find out and do something about it - by wearing an item of clothing inside out, photographing it and then sharing it with the hashtag #insideout on all social networks.

That way, people all over the world – designers and icons, high street shops and high couture, cotton farmers and factory workers, campaigners, academics, the media and any individual who cares about what they wear – can come together to demand greater transparency.

Sounds like a plan, right? Of course, they can't do that on their own - which is where you lovely lot come in! So, what can you do? Fashion Revolution say:

We want hundreds of thousands of people to take part! Together we can use the power of fashion to catalyse change and reconnect the broken links in the supply chain. In order to raise awareness within the fashion industry and beyond, we want to encourage them to continue to try and make things better. 

• On Fashion Revolution Day 24 April, please Tweet: Today I’m wearing my (shirt/dress/T-shirt etc.) #InsideOut because I want to ask @(brand/retailer) Who Made Your Clothes? 

• Get in touch with your Country Coordinator about holding your own event for Fashion Revolution Day!  

• Tell your friends, family and colleagues about Fashion Revolution Day and get them to wear something inside out

"We hope that Fashion Revolution Day will initiate a process of discovery, raising awareness of the fact that buying is only the last step in a long journey involving hundreds of people: the invisible workforce behind the clothes we wear."

You can find out more at http://www.fashionrevolution.org, where there's also a pack available to download as a PDF :)

Don't forget to like Fashion Revolution on Facebook and follow @Fash_Rev on Twitter, too! :)

Love

Sarah