The Vital Few

If you're trying to figure out how to divest from fossil fuels, here's an easy way to send a letter to your superannuation fund, to find out where they stand on fossil fuel investments.  Take a look at The Vital Few's website.

Op shop finds and second hand challenge update

I thought it appropriate that I finally get around to summing up my 2012 challenge of buying no new clothes for the family (on March 1st!)  Underwear, shoes and school uniforms were exempt from the challenge, and I had 3 get out of jail cards for times when I couldn't source clothes second hand, or wanted to support a fellow dressmaker.  I think I did pretty well, and actually found a lot of school uniform items second hand, some to put away for the coming years, I have 2 girls so they can be passed down as well.  I also found many clothes and shoes to put away for the next few years.  It was quite easy, as my local shopping strip (quite a long one) now has 4 op shops in it, and there are a few more just a little further away.  It's easy to drop in regularly when I'm walking past them a couple times a day.  Towards the end of the year, I bought a few new items for Christmas presents, and the change of season- I was wanting a few summer dresses, as I realised it was the first summer in 7 years that I wasn't pregnant or breastfeeding, so I could actually wear dresses again.  I did find one second hand one though, that I had to take in a bit.  So I did cheat a bit, but I have so much put away for the next few years, that I can forgive myself, as I figure it all evens out.  And at the end of the challenge, I decided that I wanted to focus on upcycling in my Etsy shop, so that makes me feel better about the resources I use.
The picture above is of a few of my favourite recent op shop finds- a pair of vintage bed sheets which I'll use to make upcycled nighties or pyjama pants for my shop, a gorgeous St. Albans mohair rug, and a brand new pair of Ish shoes (handmade leather shoes from the Otways), that will fit Evie in a few years ($2!)
As for a challenge for this year- I plan to buy no meat from the supermarket.  I'm trying to not buy much at all from the supermarket, I'll get food from other places where possible, and support small local businesses.  It has been made easier with a local business (in my local shopping strip) called Warren & Hutch, who sell free range and organic meats, local where possible.  We don't eat a lot of meat, and I mostly eat chicken and fish, but when we do, it must be ethically sourced.  Warren & Hutch has new owners who have given it a fresh renovation, and are bringing in more local foods, I'm now buying Shultz's organic milk from there too.  This challenge should be quite easy!

A Quirky new stockist

Sorry about the reflective photos, it's terribly difficult to photograph through windows!  The lovely new little shop in my local shopping strip became a new stockist of Evie & Liv yesterday, and today one of my blanket dresses is in the window.  Very exciting!  Quirk is a great new retail store and art space that sources local, independent, ethical and sustainable wares.  Some of my blanket dresses and vests are in store now, ready for the change in seasons.  I'll be back soon with better photos!

Wood fired lamb roast

 We went to the Bannockburn Farmer's Market on Saturday morning, always a good day out.  I picked up 3 new raspberry plants ($3 each!) to replace those that I drowned when I moved them into half wine barrels.  We also bought some honey, a huge punnet of organic strawberries, and a butterflied leg of lamb from Barwon Lamb.  I don't really eat meat other than chicken or fish, but I will make allowances occasionally when Andrew wants to roast something, on the proviso that it is local, and ethically sourced (and I really don't like beef).  Andrew wanted to try out a roast in the wood oven, so that's what we did last night.  With the addition of a couple of large potatoes I bandicooted from the potato patch, some of our fresh garlic harvested last week, and some organic pumpkin, it made for a very satisfying meal.  We also realised that I was drinking my homemade lemon cordial, and he was drinking his homemade ginger beer with our fantastic meal.

Andrew wanted to make the most of the left over heat in the wood oven, so he and the girls whipped up a chocolate cake, and baked a few potatoes that we'll have with dinner tonight.  What a life!

Ethical shoes

On the topic of ethical clothing, here we have some ethical shoes. These are my new Ish Shoes, that I bought with my earnings from my market stall at Ecofest. They are handmade in Barongarook, a little over an hour from here. They are made from soft leather, which moulds and stretches over your foot as you wear them. They felt a bit tight when I first wore them, but now they are quite comfy. You can have them made to order in all sorts of styles and colour combinations, it's fun to choose. Evie had similar ones last year in a metallic aubergine colour, with silver flowers on them, and they were very durable for kids feet, we will be able to pass them on to Livinia when she's a little bigger. They are also competitively priced, with kids shoes around $35 plus postage if you can't get to their showroom or a market they sell at.

Ethical menswear

I was just thinking that Andrew needs a new shirt for Christmas, and wondering where I'd get one ethically made (much too time consuming to make one myself!) I thought I'd check in at Eternal Creation, as I'd always hoped they'd branch out into menswear, and guess what? They have! So Andrew has an outfit coming his way for Christmas, even though he doesn't like getting clothes for Christmas (too boring!) They have 25% off everything that isn't already reduced today only, and are very reasonably priced. Don't worry Andrew, we will find you some little surprises too :)

Don't forget my giveaway!

Ecofest

Just a reminder to local green minded folks that Ecofest is on this Saturday 10am-3pm, our whole family will be there, I will be sharing a market stall with Bec.
This pretty little number will be on my stall, it was a pillowcase a few days ago, picked up in an op shop, and it is beautifully soft, as only second hand bedding can be. It's a size 1 by the way. See you there!

Pants to Poverty

While I think we need to donate money to charities in times of crisis, I also think we need to think about where our dollars go when we make purchases. People in developing countries are often taken advantage of, to provide cheap labour for richer countries, we all know that. By supporting businesses like Pants to Poverty (and Eternal Creation who I mentioned a few weeks ago), we can give people in developing countries a job that pays them fairly, with good conditions, that doesn't endanger their health. Pants to Poverty began as part of the Make Poverty History campaign in 2005. They make underpants for men and women from fairly traded organic cotton, in factories with high ethical standards.

From the Pants to Poverty website:

"Infested with pesticides, these bad pants support a system that, according to the World Health Organization, lets over 20,000 farmers die and millions more suffer chronic diseases each year from pesticide poisoning. Many of these deaths are very preventable and could be overcome by the actions of the communities if they were supported with Fairtrade and organic farming methods."

An average of 26 farmers per day commit suicide in the nearby region due to unfair trade, yet there have been no suicides amongst the 5,000 farmers who work for Zameen organics, who supply Pants to Poverty with organic cotton.

To find out more and purchase, go to the Pants to Poverty website.

My new pyjamas

My new birthday pyjamas arrived today, they are rather lovely. The photos on Eternal Creation's website didn't do them justice, as you can't see the fabric up close. The pink buttons are sewn on with green thread - cute and quirky detail I like! I like to have an in between pair of PJ's, these are made with a light weight cotton, good for autumn and spring. It's nice to know your consumer dollars are not being used to make huge profits for some, and very low wages for others. There's more information on how this business treats its workers fairly on the website. We bought my mum the sakura kimono for Christmas, and Evie has the sakura pyjamas for this winter. Livinia has also been wearing a couple of Evie's hand me down PJ's from there too.