What’s Going On Here? The hyper-consumerist behaviour encouraged by events such as Black Friday is detrimental for the environment. However, increasing awareness around climate change is one of the reasons 2021 saw the biggest independent Black Friday boycott in history. What Does This Mean? According to the British Independent Retailers Association, 85% of independent businesses boycotted Black Friday: the highest number that…
I’m starting to feel my age. Hipster businesses are emerging with ‘innovative’ solutions to steer us towards more environmentally friendly everyday products. But, like a 90s boy-band revival, it would seem that there’s nothing new here! Now, don’t get me wrong – I don’t doubt that it’s the vigour of today’s vicennials that can lynchpin our ecological hopes with action. Indeed, their…
There are currently enough clothes on Earth to clothe 6 generations, yet we are consuming at least 400% more than we did just two decades ago. The fashion industry tells us to “shop til we drop”, bombarding us with constant new products and surrounding us with images that tell us if we just buy this new top or that new dress then…
Illustration Source: Alicia Martín Santos The development of plastics has been one of chemistry’s most influential inventions in recent history. A cheap and versatile material that can turn any design idea into reality, its contribution to technology, medicine, art and more is immense. However, today it seems that everyone wants to make it disappear. Grocery bags, soft-drink straws, beer plastic rings, and…
My food shop has been made up of ‘Yellow Stickers’ for the last decade; the food reduced by stores on its best before, use by, date, to avoid it being wasted. Food products can also be reduced to manage stock, because of faulty packaging, changes in products; reductions can be as big as 90% off! When I’m not knee deep in supermarket…
What’s going on here? Clothing made by UK’s largest online fashion brands contain staggering amounts of virgin plastics despite their marketing campaigns flaunting environmentally-friendly clothing, according to new analysis. On average, 49% of the items listed on these popular websites were found to contain materials made from synthetic fibres. What does this mean? This research, carried out by The Royal Society for…
This week (19th – 25th April 2021) is Fashion Revolution Week, an annual event to raise awareness of the social and environmental issues associated with the fashion industry. Fashion Revolution was started as a response to the Rana Plaza tragedy in 2013, when 1,134 garment workers were killed in a factory collapse in Bangladesh. But has anything changed in the last 8…
What’s Going On Here? An area larger than China is used to grow food that is never eaten, and the average UK family throws away £730 of unused food a year. That’s why the fact that already over 3.4 million people around the world signed up to anti-food-waste apps made us smile this week and further shows that eco-conscious consumerism is on…
What’s Going On Here? Over 280,000 tons of food is reported to be wasted by the UK’s ten largest supermarkets every year. This amounts to the equivalent of a whopping 190 million meals. What’s Does This Mean? Data for 2019-20 revealed that a substantial amount of edible food produced by Britain’s supermarket giants is either used for anaerobic digestion or to feed…
