Style Yourself Sustainable: swapping, shopping, sewing and more...

Trying to make changes to our wardrobes can feel overwhelming, and ethical and sustainable brands are at a disadvantage when fast fashion has such an overwhelming presence both online and on the high street. But for those of us who are looking for something a little more personal, both in terms of style and shopping experience, a community of likeminded people are working together to make this happen.

Rachel Kan, founder of Style Yourself Sustainable, put together a great event at Hackney Showroom,  showcasing many different but stylish options for a more mindful wardrobe. The day included talks, sewing workshops, vintage and sustainable brands, and a swap shop, demonstrating that there are a wide range of solutions to the current problems with the fashion industry.

Sustainable brands were represented by Komodo and WYNAD clothing, and Rob from WYNAD, along with Lizzie from We Resonate, Alicia from Bourgeois Boheme and Kate from Fabrikk took to the stage to talk about the stories (and struggles) behind their businesses. 

Rob spoke honestly about the difficulty of keeping track of the supply chain. He worked with NGOs like SAVE, who were able to direct him to Jacob’s Well, a garment factory which trains and employs vulnerable women and pays them a living wage. He also had to work hard to find a dye house that was environmentally friendly. WYNAD clothing are pioneering the use of Lotus silk, made from the stems of lotus flowers. It is soft and wrinkle-free, and an ideal cruelty-free alternative to traditional silk.

Lizzie from We Resonate makes her one-off dresses from vintage silk scarves. She recognised the importance of employing a good seamstress who could work with luxury fabrics, and wanted her brand of sustainable luxury to be truly handmade and unique.

Lizzie and Kate from Fabrikk both talked about the high price points of their products relative to high street fashion. Huge economies of scale combined with the use of sweatshops has made the price of clothing and accessories artificially low. Paying a seamstress a London wage for her expertise means that We Resonate dresses are a good reflection of what good quality, unique clothes actually cost to make.

Fabrikk make bags and accessories from cork, combining sustainable vegan materials with wearable tech to create handbags with interiors lit by LEDs; perfect for finding your wallet or keys in the dark! Like Bourgeois Boheme, who make smart and stylish vegan shoes, Kate wanted to find a leather alternative that wasn’t plastic-based, and had its own set of aesthetically pleasing qualities rather than simply being a substitute for leather.

Alicia from Bourgeois Boheme talked about her interest in working with innovative new materials: while the leather industry is a major source of pollution (not to mention cruelty to animals) simply replacing leather with plastic poses its own set of sustainability problems. Bourgeois Boheme use materials like Pinatex, which is made from pineapple fibre, but working with new materials takes a lot of development and time, and many new sustainable materials are not at a stage in manufacture where they can be scaled quickly.

While I love bold and striking sustainable innovations, I realise that statement dressing might not be everyone’s cup of tea. We also need to make sure the everyday clothes in our lives are sustainable, as these are the things that are going to get worn (and replaced) most often. Komodo make eco-friendly wardrobe staples: soft organic cotton t-shirts and jumpers, and colourful bamboo socks, as well as stocking jeans from brands like MUD and Monkee Genes. Seeing such a range of ethical brands was really encouraging; showing that sustainable fashion isn’t just one style but is available for everyone is really important.

Of course, another excellent option is to buy secondhand, and Style Yourself Sustainable had a great selection of vintage sellers, who have each curated a beautiful selection of desirable vintage clothes. Lucinda Vintage has antique theatre costumes amongst her sparkly stock, Honeykins Vintage has a kaleidoscope of eye-catching prints and colours, and Retold Vintage has a very contemporary looking collection of classic pieces. There was also statement jewellery by Twisted Vintage, made from upcycled pieces of broken vintage jewellery cleverly remade into something unique.

Manifesto Woman had a great selection of good quality secondhand clothing, including designer labels at very reasonable prices. Style Yourself Sustainable also had a swap shop rail; I took along a few unwanted items and came away with a beaded vintage jacket! It’ll be making an appearance on Instagram soon, so keep an eye out for it!

Sewing is an important skill when it comes to maintaining a sustainable wardrobe, and combined with some creativity we can use these skills to transform our clothes. Kate from Time to Sew taught a workshop where participants made a zero-waste skirt in an hour, showing that sewing doesn’t have to be time-consuming or complicated. The Style Yourself team taught a bag-making workshop; a good-quality tote bag is a must-have for a sustainable lifestyle, and a quick sewing project like this can improve confidence if you’re new to using a sewing machine.

I also taught a short workshop, showing some easy options for mending clothes. I brought along some samples from previous blog posts on hemming, and invisible mending, as well as demonstrating a basic darning technique and handsewing stitches. I wanted to show that sewing is accessible to anyone who can get their hands on a needle and thread, and an expensive sewing machine or fancy gadgets aren’t essential when it comes to repairing your clothes.


Another important aspect of a sustainable wardrobe is, y’know, actually liking your clothes and wearing them! Alex from Sewrendipity, who describes herself as a “sustainable living striver” talked about her rules for owning a more mindful wardrobe. Alex advises shoppers to think carefully about what we add to our wardrobes, and to look for garments that will be with us for the long haul. She is a woman after my own heart, emphasising the importance of knowing what’s in your wardrobe and keeping track of what you wear regularly and why to inform future purchases. Alex also makes most of her own clothes, and talked about the way it had helped her to see her wardrobe differently; she knows how long clothes take to make, and the effort that goes into them.

Roberta Lee from the Ethical Brand Directory also appeared via video to dispense some holistic style advice. Wearing our values should be a key factor in deciding what to wear; as well as reflecting our personalities and aspirations, our clothes should reflect the positive change we want to make in the world. Roberta’s work as a stylist, coach and sustainable fashion advocate are closely linked, and her stance on fashion resonates strongly with me: enjoying clothes and taking care of your appearance isn’t shallow, but it needs to align with your values to be truly empowering.

The weather took a turn for the worse during the course of the day, with grey skies and pouring rain reminding me that I didn’t have a stylish waterproof coat. As if by magic, a gold rain mac caught my eye at Retold Vintage. I had planned to buy something in a neutral colour, but when I put the coat on in front of the mirror I couldn’t help but giggle with glee - the thought of putting on an actual ray of sunshine on a dreary morning really appealed. I also treated myself to a pair of earrings from We Are Africa so I can sparkle even on the gloomiest of autumn days! To me, this is what sustainable style is all about: clothes that bring you joy, that you can’t wait to wear over and over again.

Personal style meets personal values: the Ethical Brand Directory's Conscious Christmas Showcase

Happy Black Friday everyone! Since shopping is at the forefront of everyone’s minds at this time of year, I’ve written up a shopping event and panel discussion I attended that focussed on centring your personal style and personal values in the purchasing decisions you make, rather than being persuaded to panic-buy deadstock according to the whim of advertisers. 

"The more you know... the harder it is to shop!" Roberta Lee jokingly summed up the panel discussion at the Ethical Brand Directory's Conscious Christmas Showcase. It felt relatable (no high street impulse buys for me any more), and reflected the feelings of 'overwhelm' that can sometimes come with trying to make more ethical or sustainable life choices, but the whole event was actually a really positive exploration of the ways in which personal style and personal values intersect. 

The Ethical Brand Directory is an online listing for ethical brands, including homewares as well as fashion and beauty, that is searchable by the products you need and the causes that are dear to your heart. The Conscious Christmas Showcase was an opportunity to check out stylish designs and innovative fabrics, appreciating artisanal skill and the wonders of modern technology. Sleek and sophisticated occasion wear from Annaborgia would have paired well with a hand-tooled clutch bag from Embellished Truth, while cosier Autumn/Winter looks were represented by super-soft bamboo sweatshirts from Lyme Terrace and adorable printed scarves by Where Does It Come From?. Starseeds were following up their collections of bamboo and organic cotton active wear with workout clothes made from recycled coffee grounds, while Fresh Lifestyle had come up with packaging that would prolong the life of their natural skincare range, and which customers could return in exchange for discounts on future purchases. 

Stylist and founder of the Ethical Brand Directory Roberta Lee was joined for a panel discussion by Claire Couchman of Couchman Bespoke, a tailor specialising in alterations and bespoke menswear made from sustainable fabrics, Lucas Windhager from Alive, an online Vegan accessories boutique, and Olivia Pinnock, fashion journalist and founder of The Fashion Debates, a series of panel discussions focusing on ethics in the fashion industry.

Claire and Roberta discussed a topic close to my heart; how alterations to your store-bought wardrobe (and even the occasional bespoke piece if you can sew or can afford it) can be a key element of being a conscious consumer. Roberta explained that personal style and fast fashion are often at odds with one another; we make impulse purchases without thinking about who we are and how the clothes we buy will fit into our lives. Personal style is about knowing who you are, and when you know this you won’t buy so many things that end up being discarded. Ethical shopping and living doesn’t have to mean going without, it’s more about keeping the things we do buy for longer. 

Claire discussed her plans to work with ethically made fabrics as much as possible, but emphasised the sustainability of bespoke clothing: consumers can have input into the design, so their new clothing will work well with their existing wardrobe. A bespoke piece of clothing should fit perfectly, promoting confidence and body positivity. Roberta pointed out that throughout history, people have gone to dressmakers and tailors for bespoke clothes, and would have expected to get clothes altered to fit. It’s only recently that we have fallen out of love with alterations (although Roberta is still a big fan of getting her clothes altered). It seems like a big jump for consumers to go from the immediacy of fast fashion to the delayed gratification of bespoke clothing or alterations, but Claire emphasised that even if you buy the most expensive brands from a department store, you are still buying a generic size, and compromising on fit. Getting your clothes tailored to fit you is a great way to support a local seamstress or small business, and you’ll be following in the footsteps of plenty of people in the public eye. Clothes don’t magically fit celebrities better than anyone else; they get a lot of custom alterations done!

Roberta talked about her “evolution” into a more ethical consumer, and the difficulties she’d found when trying to make better choices. In her discussion with Lucas she brought up the issue that vegan, cruelty free and eco-friendly brands aren’t always the same thing, and asked Lucas how he chooses brands for Alive boutique that don’t contradict one another. Lucas had chosen not to include PVC or polyester products, as they are vegan but not eco-friendly. His customers expect his boutique to adhere to their values which he described as “fortunately - or unfortunately - more important than money!” The carefully curated collection in the boutique is an authentic reflection of Lucas’ values, but he stressed that there was only so much one person could do, and Olivia heartily agreed: “no one can be 100% ethical!”

Olivia spoke about the joys of embracing your personal style and finding your community through the clothes you wear. The internet makes finding independent businesses and style influences so much easier, and consumers no longer have to rely on the brick-and-mortar high street stores for their fashion fix. She emphasised the importance of not writing off the high street completely though; Olivia and Roberta (and most of us in the audience, I imagine!) still own high street clothes, but are planning to keep them til they wear out, rather than throwing them away in a futile gesture that will only add to landfill. There are also plenty of people who work in fashion who don’t want their work to be seen as disposable, and are working to change the industry from the inside. 

As well as emphasising aspects of our personality, clothes also reflect what we believe morally and ethically, and what we want our lives to be about. As more attention is drawn to the harm done by the fashion industry, to people and the planet, the harder this is to ignore. As the panel pointed out, it also makes good business sense to put sustainability at the heart of fashion, otherwise brands will lose customers in the short-term, and will run out of raw materials in the long-term! Roberta and Olivia agreed that it was more productive to respect the things that companies are doing to improve the fashion industry, and ask for more of the same, rather than just criticising them for the things they aren’t doing yet. They acknowledged that far-reaching change, from within the industry as well as outside, was needed. With less brand loyalty amongst consumers, brands with a more positive ethical identity could encourage consumers to switch to buying their products, which might encourage more brands to improve their practices to keep up. 

There were lively audience questions and comments, which made me reflect on what a wide-ranging and complex topic this is! For an industry with a global supply chain and many different manufacturing processes, improvement in one area of production is always going to highlight problems in another. Supporting brands that are doing good, and switching our shopping habits from trend-driven impulse buys to thoughtfully planned purchases that will make us feel good every time we wear them, are sensible ways to make a positive change. 

It was a pleasure to chat to the founders of the ethical businesses that were showcasing their products; they were all passionate about fair wages, quality fabrics and flattering, wearable clothes. Focusing on a capsule collection and understanding their customers rather than trying to scale too quickly and be all things to all people hopefully means that these brands will stick around and attract more like minded shoppers.

Roberta concluded the panel discussion with the quote from Anne Lappe: “every time you spend money, you are casting a vote for the kind of world you want” this quote has become the unofficial motto of the online ethical living community, and if it’s become ubiquitous it's probably because it resonates with more and more people, and it’s worth bearing mind as the holiday season becomes an endless stream of shopping events.

Ethical Clothes Shopping; a quick guide to finding information, inspiration and wardrobe essentials

I've been so encouraged by friends asking me for ethical fashion recommendations recently that I thought I'd write a quick post, more of an FAQ than a fully formed directory, to speed up the searching process for anyone interested in doing some ethical shopping.

I quite like the research process I'm going through before I make clothing purchases; I'm learning about innovative fabrics, international supply chains and discovering fashion's Next Big Things, but I realise that doesn't work as a shopping strategy for most people.

We all want good quality, wearable clothing at a price we can afford, and I'd like to think that if you're reading my blog you probably want the clothes you buy to do more good than harm. So here are some suggestions to set you on the path towards a more sustainable wardrobe.

Let's get back to basics:
Plain, stretchy vest tops, t-shirts, leggings and tights form an all-important base layer for our wardrobes at this time of year. We want them to keep us cosy, save outer layers like shirts or dresses from constant washing or dry-cleaning, and look good as an outer layer by themselves when summer comes around.
Rapanui sells vests and t-shirts for a great price, and it works out even cheaper if you buy several items at once. They also sell hoodies and sweatshirts, and partner with Teemill, so if you buy from them you know you are still supporting an ethical business!
Thought sell bamboo tops, leggings and tights which make great base layers, as well as a range of organic cotton and bamboo clothing.
People Tree are probably one of the best-known ethical brands, and as well as classic and fashion-forward pieces, they do an Essentials range of multi seasonal clothes in organic cotton.

I couldn't mention Teemills without giving a shout-out to my friends at The Suffragette City who are making the most of their moment of fame (a photo of them dressed as Suffragettes at the Women's March went viral) by selling T shirts and bags, and donating all profits to the charity Abortion Rights! 

Ethical Brand Directories: the excellent women who searched the whole of Google so you don't have to!

The Ethical Brand Directory was set up by stylist Roberta Lee because she was tired of the endless Googling it took to find great ethical brands. Some of the businesses she showcases specialise in a specific product, others, like Sheer Apparel and Birdsong London, feature multiple small brands. All the brands do a great job of demonstrating how stylish and exciting the world of sustainable fashion is!

Roberta is running a live event, the Conscious Christmas Showcase, on Wednesday 15th November, so pop along if you want to check out some of the brands from the Ethical Business Directory in person,  and hear from some amazing speakers! Tickets available here.

Ethical Fashion blogger Tolly Dolly Posh has compiled her own Ethical Fashion Directory; her list of brands was such a useful resource for me when I first started looking for ethical alternatives to the high street. One of my favourite things (there are a lot of them!) is how supportive and encouraging the online sustainable fashion community is; everyone is happy to share their knowledge. There is an understanding that everyone has a different financial situation, shopping habits and personal style, so the emphasis is on encouraging people to do what they can, rather than criticising for appearing to not do enough.

Conscious Consumerism on the High Street

If it's impossible to find what you are looking for from an ethical brand (sadly that's still possible; a lot of ethical brands are small start-ups that can't produce a vast amount of stock, in every size, for a low price), not all high street brands are equally unethical! Most big companies are much less transparent about their supply chains than smaller ethical brands, but fortunately there are people to do the detective work so you don't have to. If you want to reward good behaviour by high street chains (or avoid financially supporting bad behaviour), these resources will only take minutes to use:

Ethical Consumer Magazine grades brands who produce a range of consumer goods as well as clothes, so you can see at a glance which companies score high (or low) on their chart. You can also subscribe to the magazine which gives you access to more detailed content.

Not My Style is an app developed to rate high-street clothing brands according to their ethics and transparency. Download it for instant access to important ethical info when you're out window-shopping!

The other thing I think we all forget is that we can ask brands to be better! Multinationals might not improve their practices out of the goodness of their hearts, but they will have to if they see a drop in sales, or come under pressure from concerned customers.

Ethical Brand Directory Live: showcasing a stylish and sustainable eco-friendly lifestyle

One of my favourite things about the ethical fashion community is finding out the 'origin story' of new brands and businesses; the lightbulb moment or slow realisation that led a person to their understanding of just how broken the current fashion system is, and their decision to do something positive to fix it. 

For Roberta Lee, a stylist and self-confessed "former fast fashion junkie", it was the realisation that brands making beautiful clothes with ethical values and sustainability at their heart were much harder to find than their fast fashion counterparts. Tired of wasting time searching online, she set up the Ethical Brand Directory, a site that showcases stylish ethical brands and the people behind them.   

The Ethical Brand Directory Live event was an opportunity to hear from ethically-minded entrepreneurs who don't want to compromise on style or sustainability, and to hear words of wisdom for anyone who wants to be a more ethical consumer.

Roberta Lee chatted with Bel Jacobs, a fashion journalist who now focuses on ethical fashion and sustainability.Bel emphasised the importance of buying from ethical brands if we want to see them succeed, and how worthwhile it is to keep increasing our knowledge of the subject, as it inevitably leads to us making positive changes in other aspects of our lives as we become more environmentally- and ethically-minded consumers. 

I'm always impressed by the positive and supportive atmosphere the ethical fashion community has created on social media, so I was really pleased to hear Bel talking in terms of respect and compassion for everyone, including ourselves. While she was fashion editor at the Metro, she promoted trends that she now considers unethical, and she described the guilt she felt when she first learned more about ethical fashion. Roberta agreed that we need to make more thoughtful choices once we know more, but throwing away all our high-street purchases doesn't help as that only adds to the problem of clothes going to landfill. 

Bel spoke about the need to reach out beyond the sphere of people who are already enthusiastic about ethical and sustainable fashion, wondering "how can I have more dialogues without freaking people out?" She had managed to get a discussion going about fur at a mainstream fashion event, which felt like progress, but had noticed how defensive people could get if directly confronted about their unethical fashion practices. She thinks gentle conversation is the way forward; we are all on a journey towards becoming more ethically-minded consumers, and we are all at different points on that journey, discovering more as we go along. Bel described the ”epiphanies” she had experienced that had led her to change her diet and lifestyle alongside her fashion habits.

When Roberta asked "how can we have a meaty discussion (without the meat)?", Bel was full of useful suggestions; she emphasised the power of social media in getting a positive message out to more people, and letting products speak for themselves. Beautiful design will appeal to customers in a way that scare tactics won't: too many dire warnings about the environment, and people will feel overwhelmed and won't do anything. She also spoke about the importance of collaboration over competition, especially with other women who are setting up other ethical businesses. At first Bel felt disheartened when she saw that someone else had set up a similar online ethical magazine to the one she was working on, but realised she could see the differences in their ventures as well as the similarities, meaning there was potential for wider audience reach and collaboration.  

Roberta reminded the audience that comparison can be a confidence killer, to remember our purpose and see the success of others as an opportunity.

Bel was honest about the distance that ethical fashion brands have to go to compete with high street chains; she and Roberta discussed the necessity of being able to make a profit as an ethical brand. Even though the current fashion system isn't working and has led to great environmental destruction, the founders of ethical businesses still need to make a living so that they can continue to have an impact and disseminate their message. Bel also emphasised our power as consumers, advising us to ask established brands to make the changes we want to see, and encouraged us to complain more!

We heard from two ethical business owners: first up was Julie Kervadec, the co-founder of AmaElla lingerie, an underwear and nightwear brand that launched their first capsule collection of organic cotton clothing with a crowdfunding campaign.

Julie listed the top three selling points of her brand: the fabrics are responsibly sourced and earth-conscious, they are free from toxic dyes and chemicals, and the brand is focussed on long lasting quality. Her business idea was inspired by the lack of good quality, beautiful organic cotton lingerie available. She and her business partner were both frustrated with their corporate careers and wanted a more meaningful life. She had worked as a buyer for fast fashion brands and had experienced bad practice, so she wanted to set a higher standard with AmaElla. 

Julie discussed the pitfalls of starting up a new small business with Roberta: the need to be resilient because everything that could go wrong, will go wrong! She described the challenges of finding factories to work with when she wasn't an established brand and wanted smaller minimum orders than high street shops, and the technicalities of textile manufacturing that can lead to product development taking longer and costing more money. 

Ethical and sustainable business practices are at the heart of AmaElla for Julie: she has visited the factories she uses for manufacturing, and has checked every aspect of the supply chain, so she knows that every piece of trim on her products has been sustainably sourced. She operates a paperless office, and even cycles to work! She uses official organic cotton certifications for her products, and keeps consumers informed by detailing the company's story in their website. She is hopeful for the future of fashion, and described her dream of an industry where far more products are made to order (similar to the pre-order model of a crowdfunded collection) so fewer materials are wasted, and less unwanted clothing ends up in landfill.

We also heard from Charlie Ross, the founder of Offset Warehouse, who was shocked to learn the realities of the fashion industry while watching a documentary as part of her fashion degree. She wanted the fabrics she used and the clothes she made to be beautiful, but she knew that couldn't come at the expense of people or the environment. On top of her regular studies, she began to research the textile industry, to find out how and where she could source fabrics that had been manufactured without exploiting anyone. At the end of her degree she put her research online, and was amazed by the response it got; she was inundated with requests for help with buying ethical fabrics. Often these would-be customers wanted fashion forward fabrics in smaller amounts, so realising how much her expertise was needed, she set up Offset Warehouse. Roberta emphasised how important good fabrics are when it comes to making desirable clothes, but it is often the area of fashion that we think about the least. Charlie agreed; as well as sourcing ethical fabrics that don’t compromise on beauty, she is also obsessed with new fibres and the technology behind them. Surprisingly, H&M is the biggest buyer of reconstituted polyester and organic cotton (although it’s still only a small percentage of their total output), and zip manufacturer YKK is using reconstituted plastic in its products. In order to ‘close the loop’ of production and stop waste going to landfill, new fabrics are being developed using coffee grounds, banana fibre, reconstituted microfibres (from the washing of polyester) and even hagfish slime: the secretions of a deep sea creature that has elastic properties! 

Akhil Sivanandan, the founder of Green Story, joined the live event from Canada, and gave a presentation on how businesses can increase sales by emphasising their green credentials in a way that draws the consumer in and makes them feel connected. Echoing Bel Jacobs’ point about the unhelpful nature of too many statistics, he outlined the reasons customers might not make a purchase based on the company’s ethics or sustainability: a lack of understanding about the specifics of a vague claim of ‘sustainability’, a lack of understanding about the impact their purchases might make, and the price of the product being sold. Although most consumers have good intentions about buying ethical or sustainable products, most of the time that doesn’t translate to actual purchases. 

Akhil advises his clients to calculate the environmental impact of the raw materials and utilities they use, and compare this to a less sustainable business model. These studies are unlikely to be of interest to consumers in their raw data form, so by converting this into units of measurement a customer will understand it’s possible to draw them in and get them thinking about the impact their purchase will make. This makes perfect sense to me: “1 ton of C02” is a fairly meaningless measurement to me, but by reframing it as “20 cars off the road for a year”, I would feel that my purchase was going to have a positive effect on the world. Centering the environmental impact of a sustainable business is also key to success in terms of sales; emphasising ethical credentials in social media or marketing will draw more attention. 

Although I’m not running an ethical business myself I found the presentation really interesting, and made me think about what drives my online purchases; according to Akhil, the average consumer only looks at each product for 7 seconds! I really liked the idea of interactive visuals illustrating the impact a customer’s purchases will make; it’s easy to feel powerless as a consumer and this can lead to inaction, so hopefully this positive message will leave consumers feeling more empowered.

The final speaker was Vicky Smith, the founder of Earth Changers, who spoke to us about ethical tourism, appropriately enough it was World Tourism Day! Vicky pointed out the parallels between the worlds of fast fashion and package holidays; both are global industries that employ huge numbers of people, and both are responsible for pollution and the exploitation of workers. She set up Earth Changers to research and promote positive impact tourism, after working in the travel industry for 20 years, and realising that holiday-makers were almost completely detached from their environment while on a package holiday. Working on community development projects gave Vicky a good understanding of how conservation tourism could support local environments, but sadly what should be a force for good usually isn’t. She wrote her thesis on the online volunteer tourism industry, and exposed the exploitative practices of a number of companies, and their negative impacts on the communities they claimed to be helping. Vicky emphasised the importance of thorough research when it comes to ‘voluntourism’: there are great grassroots organisations to volunteer with, but it’s not always easy for consumers to know which ones to trust.

Earth Changers is growing slowly and organically; Vicky’s definition of ethical is that every decision in the supply chain should be made with environmental and social impact in mind. This is logistically complicated, and a lot of people don’t want to think about these complex problems while they are on holiday! However, it is worth thinking about: almost 10% of the world’s GDP comes from tourism, 1 in 10 jobs worldwide are in the tourism industry and it is a huge growth area. 2017 is the international year of sustainable tourism, but making sustainable holiday choices isn’t as simple as choosing not to take a long-haul flight. Tourism is an important source of income for many countries, and people aren’t going to stop going on holiday, so Vicky gave us her top tips for sustainable travel: Book a local hotel directly, take public transport and frequent local businesses!

As well as finding the speakers interesting and inspirational, I also really appreciated the message of respectful advocacy for the causes we believe in, and letting beautiful and useful products speak for themselves! Online resources like the Ethical Business Directory are so helpful when it actually comes to finding these fab new businesses, so in keeping with my promise to put my money where my mouth is, this will be my first stop when I need to replace any of my old clothes.