Chamomile tea is well known for its light, floral taste. It has been shown to reduce anxiety and stress. It’s commonly used to help induce sleep for its relaxation properties too. It has also been shown to boost your immune system and reduce inflammation, making it a great tea to drink for menstrual cramps. Furthermore, studies have shown that it can help aid in digestion.
Green tea is full of antioxidants like EGCG which has been shown to reduce your risk of cancer. Green tea has also been shown to boost your metabolism, possibly making it easier for you to loose or maintain a weight. It’s also full of vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, zinc, and magnesium. Green tea may help calm and relax the body.
Mint tea is a wonderful way to aid in digestion. This is due to the menthol within the mint relieving inflammation within the stomach. Many studies have show that it can soothe an upset stomach and also prevent nausea with its antispasmodic properties. Mint tea can also help to combat common colds, reduce fever and treat bad breath. Furthermore, mint tea can help improve the overall health of your skin and hair.
Some of the most common black teas are Assam, Ceylon, Darjeeling, and Yunnan. They can be brewed individually or combined for specific blends. The benefits of black teas are vast with studies showing they can help aid in heart health and ward off cancers with their antioxidant properties. Black teas offer amino acids like L-theanine and caffeine that may help with focus and energy too.
White teas are true to their name, brewing a light coloured, smooth tasting tea. Some common varieties of white tea are White Peony, Silver Needle, and Darjeeling White. Similar to black teas, white tea offers antioxidants and caffeine that may stimulate the body and brain, giving you more energy and focus. It has also been shown that it may help speed up a metabolism and slow free radicals which can lead to cancer, diabetes, and ageing.
It’s easy to see why so many people choose tea as their favourite hot beverage. We love so many tea flavours and often like switching it up depending on our mood or time of year. Which ever tea is your favourite, it’s sure to benefit your daily self-care routine even if to take pause and unwind at the end of a busy day.
]]>There are a few options when it comes to eco-friendly cards for mothers day. You can always make one yourself, which your mum will love no matter what your age is! If you’re in a time crunch and can’t make one yourself, why not try a plantable seed card. Not only are you giving your mum a lovely card but she can also plant it to grow a flower or herb garden!
Switching to organics can help save chemicals from leaching into our waterways and also help pollinators. This mothers day, why not treat mum to a lush organic gift set, and even better if it includes a bottle of wine!
Terrazzo is a beautiful, eco-friendly material made of various natural materials like marble, granite, and quartz. It’s a compostable material and a great sustainable solution for homewares like vases, decorative dishes, and candle holders.
If you can’t be with mum in person this year, why not send her a sustainable box of beautiful flowers. With brands like LÖV making it easy for us to do so, what’s not to get excited about. They’re committed to reducing their carbon footprint by keeping as many materials local as possible while delivering in eco-friendly materials.
Treat mum to a gift that keeps on giving, with an organic eco-friendly chocolate bar subscription box. Seed and Bean are a lovely UK brand that are committed to bringing you quality, ethically sourced, organic chocolate that you can feel great about enjoying.
If you’re like us, theres always a spare egg carton laying around. Why not save if from the recycle or compost bin and upcycle it into a fun kids craft like an egg carton alligator, panda, or other animal.
If you have clean, spare cans in your home, you can repurpose them into a variety of crafts from bird feeders, decorated figurines, lanterns, or even make a tin can phone!
DIY seed bombs are an excellent way to connect your child with nature and have fun playing in the mud. We also love seed bombs because they help encourage kids to pay attention to a few things, the growing season, the importance of flowers, and can also be a fun lesson in the benefits of bees and other pollinators.
Most of us have spare loo rolls, and they make for many fun eco-friendly kids crafts. Toilet rolls can be used for a variety of crafts like figurines, gift pouches, mini buildings, and more. We love how something so simple can really get the creative juices flowing.
Feeding the birds is a fav of my little ones. Why not help your children connect with nature by teaching them how to make a simple bird feeder with some cereal, such as cheerios and a bit of string or wire.
Do you have extra magazines laying around? Maybe some left over paper from Christmas or a recent birthday? No problem! Get in the party spirit and celebrate some time off with the kids by making easy DIY confetti.
Rocks are a great canvas for decorating with crayons, paint, or markers. They’re also a creative way to connect with seemingly ordinary natural objects. Let your child’s imagination run wild with ideas for decorating their rocks from animals, space themes, bugs, or maybe they would like to write their name.
Fairy houses can be made with so many house hold objects, from old cardboard boxes, clean milk jugs, or juice cartons. Adorn them with natural materials from the garden, like sticks, leaves, bark, or pinecones, and allow your child to paint or marker them with embellishments.
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Veganuary is a campaign observed throughout January to encourage people to try a vegan lifestyle. The Veganuary campaign was created in 2013 by Jane Land and Mathew Glover, a vegan couple looking to inspire and encourage a vegan way of life. Beginning with only a few thousand participants, the 2021 Veganuary challenge grew to nearly 600,000 participants. Veganuary is now a registered charity in England and Wales inspiring the world to try vegan in January and throughout the year.
Being vegan means you eat a plant-based diet and do not wear or purchase products that have animal bi-products in them. A plant-based diet does not consist of animal products like honey, eggs, milk, fish, or meat. Other items you would steer away from if considering to go vegan would be purchasing a new leather belt or pair of shoes, but there is debate about vegans wearing vintage leather goods.
People participate in Veganuary for 3 key reasons, to protect animals, to protect the environment, and for health benefits. Animals are intensively farmed more and more every year with growing populations and demands. This often means that animal welfare goes decreases. Going vegan, even for a day, can help counteract this trend. People also try vegan for the environment. There is a growing scientific link between climate change and the farming of livestock. This is due to deforesting the land required to farm. Farming livestock also increases soil, water, and air pollution. Lastly, people participate in Veganuary for the health benefits of a vegan diet. Many people who switch to a vegan diet report improvements to their health, from better skin to improved digestion. Remember, it's always good to talk to your doctor before considering a diet change.
Participating in the Veganuary Challenge is easy and flexible. You can pledge to go completely vegan for the whole month of January or scale it back to a couple of weeks, or even just a day. It's entirely up to you. You can also participate in Veganuary by fundraising or donating to the organisation, which helps fight animal cruelty and climate change.
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Like most families, we love Christmas, and from the start of December we’re in full-festive swing, anticipating the arrival of Santa. This year, you may have seen that we embarked on a fun project to create our own reusable advent calendar. Counting down to the big day is how we build the Christmas magic in the Scott household.
Last month, we were approached by another small business, Lapland Letters, to see if we would review their personalised letters from Santa, and of course we said yes! We provided information for each of our three children, and the result was a delivery of three beautiful, authentic looking, personalised letters from Santa.
Lapland Letters is your direct access to Santa’s workshop! They offer high quality, beautifully designed, personalised letters signed by the big man himself. Each one arrives in a bright red envelope bearing a Lapland post mark, and can be delivered to children and families anywhere in the world. If you live in the UK, delivery is free on all orders!
Each letter is personalised to include a child’s name, age, address and the town where Santa is to visit them on Christmas Eve. It mentions a best friend’s name, and the gift the child would like on Christmas morning. It can be signed by either Santa or Father Christmas, and is finished off with a magical P.S note that you can write yourself - ideal for highlighting a special achievement, milestone, or memory.
They have 10 fantastic letters to choose from, each one with Santa’s Secret Map printed on the reverse. We chose a different letter for each of our children, as we felt it made the letters even more believable. For example, Zara received a letter that specifically talked about it being her first year at school, which she absolutely loved!
Our letter included Santa’s bumper activity pack, which has loads of lovely festive themed games and activities for the kids to do, which are printed on really good quality, think paper that won’t break if they use a felt tip pen. Jude loved colouring in the door hanger, and Leo particularly enjoyed challenging me and his Dad to a game of Christmas tic-tac-toe! At the moment, if you order the activity pack with your letter, you’ll also get a free personalised Good List certificate, as well as a free countdown chart and Santa treat sheet!
There are also many magical extras available, from personalised Santa keys to reindeer food, each one designed to deliver even more excitement.
As parents, we absolutely loved watching the look on our children’s faces when they found the three red envelopes sitting on our doormat! The look of excitement and wonder as they read details about themselves in their individual letters was priceless, and this is definitely something we organise again next year.
As for the kids, in their own words, the letters from Santa were….
You can find the team from the Lapland Workshop on Facebook and Instagram, where they’ve just started sharing some lovely elf activities for the kids to do at home, or you can buy their personalised Santa letters at laplandletters.co.uk.
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Method
This vegan peppermint hot chocolate recipe is great because you can customise it to your liking. Add a bit more sweetener or extract to your taste and enjoy with your loved ones, or why not leave a cup out for Father Christmas.
Happy Christmas everyone!
Shop with a small business
This might seem obvious but to support small business on Black Friday and throughout the holiday season, it’s incredibly helpful to purchase from them. Small business rely on the holiday season as the big push to get them through the financial year. Every seemingly small purchase goes a long way, and helps spread the holiday cheer, making every indie biz owner do a little happy dance with every item sold.
Shop local
Shopping local, such as the small business on your high street, not only keeps this traditional business community alive and thriving, but also reduces your carbon footprint, because the item is not being shipped, or traveling a long distance to get to you.
Share your purchases on social media
So, you’ve purchased an item from a small business, (Yay!), you can take that enthusiasm even further by snapping a quick pick, and sharing it to social media. Remember to tag the business and if they don’t have a social, let your friends know how to shop with them.
Share your favourite small businesses on social media
If you haven’t purchased from your fav indie business but still want to give them a shout out, I can’t stress enough how helpful it can be. A lot of small businesses rely on word of mouth. Because many small businesses need to charge a bit more than big retailers, the word of mouth helps potential customers know it’s worth the extra quid.
Shop early
So many small businesses are run by a small team, often by one single person. Shopping with them early, can allow them to know how much stock they will need, and give them the time to best prepare their products, whilst also giving them the opportunity to enjoy the holiday season too.
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There can be a lot of fake flavours to watch out for tho, so I thought, why not share how to make pumpkin spice and also a few of my favourite pumpkin spice flavoured recipes.
Pumpkin Spice
If you live in the U.K., you might not have realised that you’ve been eating pumpkin spice for quite some time, it just goes by a different name, mixed spice. A nearly identical mixture of spices and used in beloved recipes like bread pudding and minced pie. You can make your own pumpkin spice mixture with the recipe below, but feel free to add a bit more or less of something to suit your tastes.
Ingredients
Method
Combine all ingredients and store in a cool dry place
Pumpkin spice lattes and autumn go hand-in-hand. Coveted by many, and not officially fall for some until they’ve had their first sip of the liquid goodness. Famed by major coffee chains, it’s actually quite easy, and equally delicious to make at home.
Ingredients
Method
In a saucepan add milk, puree, spices, vanilla, sugar and coffee, whisking until all ingredients are combined and it’s hot. Distribute into mugs and top with fresh whipped cream and a dash of pumpkin spice
Breakfast is a great way to start the day off with a touch of comfort. And recipes like pumpkin spice porridge are a wonderful way to get some added protein and incredible nutrients, like magnesium, potassium and zinc, into your diet without a fuss.
Ingredients
Method
Using a sauce pan, add the milk, pumpkin puree, spices and sugar until combined. Add your oats and stir until creamy. You can add extra milk if you prefer a less thick porridge. Serve topped with pumpkin seeds and crushed walnuts.
Creating comfort foods with the change of seasons is a great way to bring warmth and relaxation into the home. Butternut squash and lentil soup is a delicious, hardy soup that is great fresh, or can be stored frozen for a day when you really need a little extra comfort.
Ingredients
Method
In a soup pot, sautée your garlic, onions, celery, and butternut squash until the onions start to become translucent. Add your vegetable broth, lentils and seasonings. Cook on a low boil until the butternut squash starts to break down and the lentils are cooked. Using a blender, or emersion blender, blend all ingredients until smooth. Serve topped with pumpkin seeds or croutons.
Packaging free / helping the environment
Refill shops allow you to repurpose your own containers, which means the shops are often completely packaging free. If they do offer packaging, they’ll typically be eco-friendly options, such as kraft paper bags. Reducing and eliminating this packaging waste takes thousands of tons of single-use rubbish out of landfills.
Competitive pricing
It may be surprising to some that you can get competitive pricing or quality items at refill shops. Because they are buying in bulk, they get a better price, which means, so do you.
Better quality and organic products
Refill shops are also known for their variety of high quality and often organic products that are also helping to fight climate change by omitting the use of chemicals in their production.
Save money
Because you can purchase as little or as much as you want when refilling your own container, you can save money by purchasing the amount that you need, which is often less than you’d think. Also, many of these shops offer discounts or rewards for an added money saving bonus.
Support small, local businesses
Many refill shops are operated independently as small businesses, supporting them helps boost your local economy. Also, keeping local helps to reduce your traveling footprint of some of your items, for example, many refill shops support local farms.
We hope that you enjoyed reading about our favourite reasons to shop at a refill shop near you. What is your favourite part about shopping at them? Do you have a refill shop in your area? Leave a comment below to share the small business with our community.
]]>The Plastic Free July campaign was founded by Rebecca Prince-Ruiz in 2011 in Western Australia. It has since become an award winning campaign and one of the most influential environmental movements in the world. Millions of people around the globe take positive action towards a plastic free future thanks to Plastic Free July. Many of which carry these new habits into their daily lives, leaving single use plastics behind.
How has Plastic Free July created positive change?
The Plastic Free July organisation conducted a comprehensive report with inspiring findings. The month-long campaign is not only helping to reduce plastic consumption, but providing a positive sense of well-being for its participants.
How can you participate in the Plastic Free July challenge?
The Plastic Free July challenge makes it simple for you to take part, by breaking it down into manageable amounts of time. This is great because you can be realistic with your commitment, and only go a day, week, or more as you see fit. It’s also broken down into 3 categories to make it even more realistically achievable, they are:
Not sure where to start? Here’s 5 simple plastic free swaps you can try this Plastic Free July
Using a reusable travel cup when you’re out shopping, running errands, or on holiday can help reduce millions of tons of single use plastic from going to landfill each year. Not only does it prevent it from going to landfill, but it also prevents it from becoming litter that pollutes our streets, meadows, streams, and ultimately, our oceans. By preventing this unnecessary waste, we’re helping to keep natural spaces and all their inhabitants healthy and clean
Not only do our cups reduce single-use plastic waste from going to landfill or becoming a pollutant, our travel cups help to reduce waste even more. Our travel cups and lunch boxes are made using rice husk, a natural bi-product from the production of rice. When rice is produced for food, the outer shell of the rice (rice husk) is removed.
Rice is one of the most widely consumed grains in the world, which means the production of rice creates a massive amount of waste. If this waste is not properly discarded it can become a pollutant to our planet, this is why we’ve found a way to repurpose it into a reusable, hard wearing, eco-friendly material.
How do you remember your reusable travel cups when leaving the house? Leave a message below to share.
*Exclusions - offer excludes lunchbox and travel cup bundle items and expires 11:59pm 20th June 2021
]]>It’s really simple, pollination is the transfer of pollen from one part of a plant to another. By doing this, you can produce plant seeds, thus having more plants. Pollination can be done in two ways called biotic or abiotic processes. Biotic processes means pollinated by living things, such as the honey bee we mentioned earlier. There are thousands of pollinators, from insects like beetles, flies, and butterflies, to mammals like mice, bats, and squirrels. Humans are biotic pollinators too! Abiotic pollination is pollination that is done by non-living forces, like wind.
Pollinators are incredibly important to the survival of life on the planet. It’s how plants reproduce, and create food like fruits and vegetables which humans and animals need for nutrition. Without pollination, we wouldn't have trees and other plants that oxygenate and clean the air. And we surely wouldn’t have beautiful flower gardens to marvel at every spring. Pollination is so important that plants and pollinators have even evolved to attract each other, ensuring that their species survive.
You may have heard about the rapid decline of pollinators within the last few decades. In the last 50 years, half of the bee, moth, and butterfly species within Europe have declined. This is due to several factors:
While pollination decline is concerning, you can help pollinators and a variety of fun and easy ways.
Earth Day is considered the most widely celebrated secular observance on the planet. Commonly known as a day to celebrate the Earth, it began with a bigger purpose. Earth Day began in 1970 in America, as a day to organise ‘teach-ins’ within colleges. First held on 22nd April 1970 (and held every 22nd of April since), between Spring Break and Final Exams, to ensure a large student turnout.
The event began to educate participants about how the earth was being put at risk through pollution, deforestation, and other human activities. The event was able to unify the American people and government on both sides which led to the creation of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).
Throughout the decades, Earth Day became a global movement, unifying environmental leaders, politicians, and everyday people to learn and educate themselves about the climate crisis we’re facing.
Many Earth Day events throughout history have been through public demonstrations, protests, get-togethers large and small, and also acts of environmental kindness. However you decide to commemorate the day, no action is too small.
Plant a tree
Planting a native tree is a great way to improve your local habitat and give wildlife a place to thrive. A native plant is a plant that grows naturally in your environment, for example, some trees native to the U.K. are the English oak, the common lime tree, and English Elm
Plant native wildflowers
97% of UK meadows have been lost since the 1930s, they’re an essential habitat to many of our pollinators. Wildflowers are a great way to add beauty to any space but also give pollinators a place to thrive. Some native wildflower plants you can try are primrose, wood anemone, cornflower, and poppy.
Enjoy your local park
By visiting a local park, you can spark a new or existing passion for the wild space in your area, giving you the motivation to learn and protect the habitat and wildlife that may be otherwise, somewhat overlooked.
Learn something new
In the spirit of the first Earth Day and one that continues on, is education. By learning about how we can take actionable steps to fight climate change, we can help to reverse it, no action is too small.
Join an Earth Day live event
While many of us are prohibited from being in groups, there are still great virtual events going on throughout the week of Earth Day. To learn more about the variety of events you can join, please visit earthday.org
We hope you’ve learned a bit more about Earth Day and have inspired you to celebrate and learn more about how you can fight the climate crisis!
]]>For many of us, Easter is also a time celebrated with our family and children, enjoying all of the traditional festivities we’ve grown to love, from dying easter eggs to hunting for easter eggs, and everything in between.
What’s not to love, is the single-use plastic options that have become synonymous with the Easter holiday. For example, tons of easter grass, eggs, and baskets are made from plastic and used only once before being discarded. But luckily, there are so many beautiful, sustainable, and affordable options that can be used year after year. Check out our list of our favourite eco-friendly Easter swaps and tell us which you’d love to try in the comments below.
Wooden Easter Eggs
Wooden Easter eggs are an incredibly versatile and fun way to celebrate the holiday. They make a wonderful project for your entire family and take a fun step away from the ‘norm’ of dying easter eggs. Decorate your eggs with paints, markers, fabrics, and more, for a unique egg that you’ll love to hide and seek every year.
Easter Egg Fillers
So you’ve gone with wooden eggs, and have them all decorated and ready for filling, but what to fill them with? Why not try vegan and/or plastic-free sweets, that help to reduce single-use plastics and also fight climate change with plant-based ingredients. You can also fill them with handwritten messages or jokes, handmade toys from up-cycled materials, or plastic-free toys like crochet dollies or figures.
Plastic Free Easter Baskets
For those of you who don’t use the same basket every year, or if you have a plastic one, opting for a basket that is made from natural grasses is an eco-friendly and sentimental way to enjoy Easter. If grass baskets aren’t your ‘cup of tea’, perhaps a metal, fabric or felted basket would work better for you and your family. Your children will love seeing their personal and unique basket every year, building fond memories and also something that can be handed down to the next generation.
Natural Easter Basket ‘Grass’
Filling your Easter basket with all of its goodies often requires grass to make it feel lush. Luckily, there are several great options rather than the plastic kind which often is littered and turned into micro-plastics. For natural Easter grasses that can be reused, recycled, or composted try paper easter grass, also known as hamper filling. You can also make your own by cutting unwanted paper into thin strips, an eco-friendly way to up-cycle unwanted newspapers, magazines, or packaging.
What are some of your favourite sustainable Easter traditions that you enjoy every year? We’d love to know in the comments below.
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Statistically, women are affected more than men when it comes to the climate crisis. For example, according to the UN, 80% of humans displaced by climate change are women, a staggering statistic. With all of the changes we’re facing due to climate change, it’s inspiring to see so many women not only fighting for climate change, but holding their ground in male-dominated industries such as science, law, and activism.
We wanted to bring to light a handful of empowering women who are fighting climate change and create climate crisis solutions with innovative and practical methods.
Tessa Khan, United Kingdom
Sector - Law
About - Tessa is a human rights lawyer and co-founder of Climate Litigation Network. Using the law to create and reinforce environmental policies within governments. Tessa is actively fighting climate change by holding governments accountable to their human rights obligations threatened by the climate crisis. She recently helped to launch Uplift, an organisation that will assist the UK to become fossil fuel-free.
Quote - “Litigation empowers ordinary people living with the impacts of the climate crisis. They have their voices heard in a forum that puts facts above everything else.”
Greta Thunberg, Sweden
Sector - Activism
About - Born in Sweden in the early 2000s, Greta has become an international household name through her climate crisis activism in addition to her diagnosis with ASD. She grew to international status after shipping school during the 2018 Swedish parliamentary election, to bring awareness to climate change. Each day more and more people joined her movement, which is now known as 'Fridays for Future' or 'School Strike for Climate'. Strikes have since been held internationally. Greta is a speaker and activist, passionate about solving the climate crisis. She gives courage and hope to her generation and beyond.
Quote - “No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference”
Miranda Wang, United States
Sector - Inventor
About - Miranda became passionate about solving the world's plastic problem after a high school field trip to a waste transfer facility. Later, after studying engineering and science at University, she partnered with her friend, Jeanny Yao, to create Novoloop (formerly BioCellection) in 2015. Novoloop is finding innovative, scientific solutions to breakdown and repurpose discarded plastic waste into sustainable products that are useful and practical to our modern world.
Quote - "We heard that, globally, only 9% of plastics is recycled. And of that proportion, even less is effectively recycled. So, while most of us might think that recycling starts and ends with putting things in a recycling bin, that’s really not true."
Isatou Ceesay, The Gambia
Sector - Environmentalism/Activism
About - Born in a small village in the Gambia in 1972, Isatou sold the cow she had inherited, enabling her to attend Gambia Technical Training Institue, and later joining the peace corps where she learned more about the plastic crisis. Later, Isatou and her sister began to upcycle plastic bags to crochet purses and other useful products, which they sold and taught other women to make and sell, empowering them to reduce and repurpose their plastic and giving them an essential source of income giving them financial independence. Isatou is also a writer, speaker, and multi-award-winning international activist who has trained over 11,000 people.
Quote - "As a habit [in The Gambia], people are accustomed to pouring their garbage behind their house, and because it is not visible, they forget it. But the bad effects again knock on your door very quickly"
Kate Marvel, United States
Sector - Climate Science
About - Dr. Marvel is an enthusiastic person actively working towards demystifying and speaking the truth about climate change. Starting in theoretical physics in Cambridge, she later found her passion for finding scientific solutions to climate change. Working with the likes of NASA and Columbia University, to name a few, Kate is passionate about finding solutions and informing people about climate change. Kate is also an author, teacher, and speaker, well known for her 2017 TED talk titles “Can clouds buy us more time to solve climate change?”
Quote - “I love that everything on the planet is connected. I love that things are both predictable and very complex.”
Chocolates
What’s more classic than a box of chocolates on Valentine’s day? This year, opt for a sustainable option. With a wide range of plastic-free, fair trade, vegan, and ethically sourced chocolate companies, it won’t be hard to find something your special someone will absolutely love. Some delicious brands to try are PLAYin CHOC which offers dairy, nut, and gluten-free chocolate all sustainably packaged. Another is Fetcha, which also offers a range of vegan, organic, and gluten-free chocolates that are ethically packaged and handmade in the UK.
Diamonds
If you’re looking to ‘pop the big question’ this Valentine’s day, what better way to do so than with an ethical and eco-friendly diamond. The best way to do this is to buy recycled diamonds. You might be asking, what is a recycled diamond? It’s one that has been sold and repurposed into new jewellery or vintage or antique diamonds, like a family heirloom or one bought at an antique shop.
Buying recycled and repurposed diamonds is a great way to ensure that you’re avoiding conflict diamonds or unethically mined gems. Etsy.com is a great source to not only buy repurposed jewellery, but also to support small independent businesses (a double eco-friendly win)
Candles
Get romantic this Valentine’s Day with an eco-friendly candle. While it might be easy to buy something quickly off the shelf, giving a candle a bit more thought can make all the difference. This Valentine’s, Day, opt for a soy wax candle rather than the common paraffin wax alternative. Paraffin wax is made from crude oil, the production of which is hazardous to the environment. Luckily, soy wax is naturally made from the soy plant, a renewable resource. It burns nearly doubly as long as a paraffin candle and is also clean burning and easy to clean if wax splashes onto a surface. What’s not to love?
Flowers
Flowers are a great way to say ‘I love you’ any day of the year, but especially on Valentine’s Day.. This year, opt for sustainably harvested blooms from companies like Bloom and Wild, who deliver their flowers in recyclable letterbox packaging and are working hard to offset their emissions. You can also opt for a dried flower arrangement, a twist on the flower-giving tradition that will give your loved one the opportunity to enjoy the preserved buds for years to come.
Cards
Last but not least, it’s not Valentine’s Day without a Valentine’s Day Card. Possibly the most traditional of gifts on the day, a tradition spanning back centuries, with it first growing in popularity in England during the 1700s! If you’re keen, have a go at making your own with some paper you have on hand. Your partner will love the effort and thought. Alternatively, if you’re purchasing a card, avoid the glittery card wrapped in plastic. Have a rethink on this traditional favorite with a sustainable option that uses recycled materials or can itself be recycled. It surely won’t disappoint. Check out these fabulous makers from Etsy.com that will pull at your heartstrings.
Celebrating Valentine’s Day doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice sustainability. It’s amazing to see how makers big and small are rethinking their eco-friendly efforts enabling consumers to make ethical choices more easily.
Veganary was first launched in 2014, as a way to inspire more people to try veganism. Being vegan means you wouldn’t eat any meat, fish, or animal byproducts like eggs, yogurt, or honey. Being vegan also means that you wouldn’t wear or use any products that contain animals or products that have been tested on animals. For example, you wouldn’t buy a new leather belt, wear a wool jumper, or use makeup that has animal byproducts in it or has been tested on animals.
Switching to a vegan lifestyle has been growing rapidly in popularity over the last decade. The reasons vary, from people simply no longer want to eat animals, to people becoming aware of the unethical and negative environmental practices associated with animal farming.
While I’m not a vegan... In a nutshell, I’m a pescatarian that doesn’t eat a lot of fish and mostly eats plant based (I know it’s complicated lol). Either way, with so much going on in the New Year, I wanted to make things a bit easier for you to try Veganary by sharing a few of my favourite vegan swaps. They’re all simple to swap, easy to find, and I think you might love them so much, you’ll make them a permanent addition to your diet.
Vegan Wine, Beer, and Spirits
Did you know wine, beer, and spirits aren’t always vegan? Because I sure didn’t. Sometimes it’s obvious that a beverage isn’t vegan, for example, a honey ale but many beers contain animal byproducts that you wouldn’t have thought of. Most beers and wine include gelatine and isinglass, these are both animal byproducts called ‘fining agents’, which are used to refine and clarify the final beverage. Wine may also contain other (pretty surprising) fining agents like blood and bone marrow, crustacean shells, and milk proteins. Luckily, sprits are all typically vegan unless it uses honey or is a cream-based liqueur such as Bailey’s, but it never hurts to check first.
With all that said, do not fear! Many beer and wine are making delicious vegan options, and these too can be found widely in your major grocery stores.
Vegan Mayonnaise
Vegan mayo isn’t anything new, but it has gotten a lot better in the last few years. Mayonnaise is made with eggs making it vegetarian but not vegan, but not to worry, many companies have been perfecting their vegan mayo recipes and are easily accessible at your local grocery store. Hellmann’s, BIona, and Vegenaise are all great brands to try and typically offered at major retailers.
Biscuits
After a long day, what’s better than a cuppa tea and some biscuits? Eating vegan during Veganary shouldn’t mean you have to sacrifice anything. Luckily, when it comes to vegan biscuit brands, there are some pretty great options. Oreo might arguably be the most popular vegan cookie but did you know that Rich Tea, Hobnobs original, and Bourbons are vegan too? You can also add Jammie Dodgers to the list, as they’ve updated their recipe in 2020 to become completely vegan friendly.
Burgers
Going plant-based doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a great burger, with ‘cheese’ even! Plant-based ‘meats’ have become better and better within recent years, making them more accessible and affordable to many. With soy-based meat-free products headlining the list, a growing popularity in pea protein and other vegetable-based proteins has been rising, alleviating the need for vegan meats by those adverse to soya products. Famous brands like Linda McCartney, Birds Eye, and Quorn are all great entry points for vegan burgers with many large chain grocers adding to the list from Asda ‘Plant Based’ brand to Sainbury’s ‘Love your Veg’. Want to make it a cheeseburger? Check out Vitalite, Asda’s Free From range, or Violife vegan cheeses.
Ice Cream
When you think of January, you probably don’t think of ice cream, but you should be! It’s an all-year treat that can be easily swapped for vegan options. From lollies to churned ice cream, the selections have been expanding! Some of my favourites that are easy to find are Magnums Vegan Classic, Swedish Glace, Ben and Jerry’s, and even Cornetto makes a wonderful vegan option now!
Even if you’re not participating in Veganary, I hope you’ll try some of these delicious vegan swaps. You might not even be able to tell the difference!
With so many ups and downs in 2020, we wanted to take a breath to highlight some off the positive moments we had at Huski Home.
And with that sentiment, we're sending a heartfelt thank you to all of our fabulous supporters. With your support we were able to continue our sustainability goals throughout 2020 and are looking forward to 2021.
We entered 2020 with big goals, kicking off the year with a collaborative event with Eat Troo, and SMEG UK at their London headquarters.
We proudly spotted our sustainable rice husk travel products and coconut products at retailers such as Planet Organic, Earth Evolution, Urban Outfitters, and The Refill Store.
We are over the moon to be the winner of the BBC's "The Customer Is Always Right"! This was an incredible experience, a fond memory we'll cherish for a lifetime.
We launched several new products this year including our Winter Neutrals Collection and natural coconut wood plates. But we're incredibly proud of our innovating coffee husk travel cup. Created using natural coffee husk, also known as coffee chaff, this material is widely wasted and we're just so proud to have found a way to repurpose it into a hard wearing travel cup that helps to fight single use plastics.
With your help, we successfully raised over 50 items of non-perishable food for our local hunger fighting charity, The Bexley Food Bank.
We could not have done all of this with out your support. Thank you for championing small businesses and climate change solutions. Together, we can make a positive difference in the world!
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The holiday season can be a wonderful opportunity to show loved ones how much you care. Especially because it’s the season for giving. And with this sentiment it can be a great way to introduce someone to sustainable, eco-friendly gifts, that are often handmade with ethically sourced materials.
To help you get started, we’ve created a quick gift guide including some of our favourite brands to help you spread the holiday cheer.
Organic Cotton Clothing
A popular gift for this time of year is clothing, especially socks and pyjamas. Switching to organic cotton is a great way to give these gifts sustainably. Organic cotton is not grown with chemicals, which can be harmful for the environment and your body. It’s also needs less water to be produced. Organic cotton has a luxuriously soft feel and often last longer, meaning you can enjoy it for years to come if cared for properly.
Jewellery
When we think of jewellery, we don’t always associate it with climate change or waste but in fact the jewellery industry is responsible for unnecessary mining and labour cruelty. Luckily many makers and brands are creating jewellery responsibly with recycled and ethically sourced materials.
Plastic Free Makeup
Makeup is a popular Christmas gift and makes a great stocking stuffer. This year, keep an eye out for brands that are made with natural materials, cruelty free, vegan, and plastic free like the ones we’ve listed below. Eco-friendly makeup is a great way to avoid chemically created makeup that is often harsh to your skin. Many of these companies are also great for those who have sensitive or acne prone skin.
Eco-friendly bar soap and body products
Another brilliant eco-conscious gift is soap and body products. Switching to bar soap can help reduce millions of unnecessary plastic body wash bottles from going to landfill every year. Bar soap and other eco-friendly body products like lotions, scrubs, and masks can offer vegan, plastic free, and ethically sourced options. Some sustainable companies like UpCircle Beauty find ways to not only offer their products plastic free, but repurposes natural waste into their natural items, something that we’re very passionate about as well!
Eco - wood toys
Let’s talk toys! One of the best moments of Christmas morning is watching children open their presents and what a great opportunity to create lasting memories, sustainably. Wood has been used to create toys for thousands of years and is a fabulous alternative to plastic. Wooden toys are great for sensory learning and often wear much longer than plastic toys, making them something to be enjoyed for generations.
Eco-travel cups and lunch boxes
A wonderful and easy way to become more sustainable to reduce your single-use plastic consumption, especially when it comes to take-away items. By bringing your own coffee or bringing a reusable cup to your favourite cafe you can eliminate millions of single-use coffee cups from going to landfill or littering our environment. Similarly, by bringing your own lunch, you can reduce and encourage others to reduce their single-use plastic consumption which is a key component to the rubbish problem the world is facing today.
We hope you find our eco-conscious Christmas gift guide helpful! Happy Christmas for the Huski Home team x
]]>Black Friday, as you might know, is a popular shopping day in November that has grown widely commercialised causing the mass buying of unethical and unsustainable goods.
So why are we participating in “Green Friday” As an eco-conscious brand, our mission is to make sustainable goods widely accessible to all, with affordable price points and products that are not only made ethically, but reduce waste, help fight climate change, and single use plastics.
By flipping the traditional “Black Friday” script, to highlight eco-friendly products and brands, we can make a bigger effect on a positive future for us all.
Furthermore, starting today, we’re donating an item of food for every order placed with Huski Home this week until midnight Sunday (29/11/2020). Donations will be made to our local hunger fighting charity - the Bexley Food Bank.
To learn more about this amazing charity or to make a donation directly to them, visit bexley.foodbank.org.uk
** UPDATE 30/11/2020 **
With your help, we're pleased to announce we'll be donating over 50 items of food!! Thank you so much for all of your help <3 The Huski Home Team
]]>We absolutely love the change of seasons, each one bringing a new beginning and fun family activities to enjoy together. One of our favourite activities being pumpkin carving for Halloween and with that, making some delicious pumpkin flavoured foods like cookies, porridges, and especially pumpkin seeds.
Pumpkin seeds are an amazing snack and can also be added to salads, trail mixes, bread recipes, and can be made sweet or salty.
Pumpkin seeds might be small but they are jam packed with nutrition. They’re an excellent source of protein, and fibre, making them a great snack to help you feel full. Pumpkin seeds also contain unsaturated fats making them heart healthy and are also full of antioxidants which have been shown to reduce your risk of cancer. What's not to love?
With this simply delightful seasonal food offering so much, why not try making pumpkin seeds yourself? We love this recipe, because it’s a zero waste way to enjoy halloween too!
Method
Using a knife, carefully open your pumpkin by cutting a circle around the stem, large enough to fit your hand through.
Use a metal spoon to scrape out all of the seeds. Separate the seeds from the pumpkin flesh and rinse thoroughly to remove any pumpkin sticking to the seeds.
How to measure your salt and water - For each cup of pumpkin seeds you harvest from your pumpkin(s) add 2 cups of water plus 1.5 tablespoons sea salt.
Measure your pumpkin seeds to salt and water ratio and boil until the seeds become partially translucent. When boiled, strain and add to a lined baking sheet then add your oil and seasoning with an extra ½ tbsp of salt
Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius until golden brown and crisp.
Allow to cool and enjoy! Add extra seasoning such as salt, as desired.
Store in a cool, dry place for 3-7 days, but we doubt they’ll last that long!
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You might know someone who has been an avid allotment gardener throughout the years, possibly a relative or neighbour. But how have allotments grown in popularity throughout the years and how are they beneficial?
How allotments have evolved over the years
Growing fruit and vegetables on allotments may seem like a new venture, but in reality, it dates back to the Anglo-Saxon era. It has since evolved over the centuries giving allotments their modern roots during the 19th century as a way to give the working poor sufficient growing space.
The 'Small Holdings and Allotment Act' of 1908 gave local authorities the requirement to provide citizens with adequate allotment space. After the first World War land was made sure it was available to everyone, with a focus on aiding those returning from war. In 1925 a new law was passed making sure local councils and authorities could not sell allotment land without Ministerial intervention.
What are the benefits of allotment gardening?
Health & well-being - Recent research by the UK government has shown a direct connection with health and well-being and the environment. Simply put, the more time we spend in nature, the happier we become. A study from the Netherlands has shown even a small increase in the time you spend in nature could add years to your life and could also improve your mental health.
A sense of community - Renting space on an allotment or volunteering your time there can help grow your connection with your community and to those within it. Many often find they make new friends and meet neighbours they've never been introduced to before through allotment gardening, not to mention the pride they receive from taking part in the communal activity.
Eco-friendly produce grown locally - Growing your own produce is incredibly rewarding but also great for the environment, especially when grown organically. It helps build the ecology within your community, providing bees and other native bugs and wildlife a space to thrive while helping to pollinate your vegetables and fruits. It also can reduce your carbon footprint, by purchasing less produce from the grocery store, that might have traveled hundreds of miles to get to your table.
The future of allotment gardening
With a growing demand for allotments in many communities, councils are doing their best to meet the demand with many increasing their number of allotment spaces.
Growing fruit and vegetables on an allotment has shown steady growth in popularity. Whether it is because of a desire to become healthier or wanting to become more connected to nature and one's community. Either way, allotment gardening is a great way to help fight climate change and create a positive change in your community.
Taking a step away from liquid body wash (if not being bulk bought) is a great way to become more sustainable, what's even better, is making your own bar soap! It's a lot easier than you'd think with the help and convenience of melt-and-pour soap bases. These bases come in many varieties, including natural and organic options.
Exfoliating soap can be achieved naturally and often with items you already have in your household too. Exfoliating soaps help to gently remove dry, dead skin from your body leaving your skin smooth and nourished.
Add fragrance - Once your soap has been completely liquified you can add in your fragrance - General rule of thumb is to add 1/2 tablespoon of oil to 10 oz. of soap base.
Add exfoliant - Add 1/2 cup of exfoliant to 10 oz. of soap base, and use more or less to your preference. Start adding a little at a time to see what you'd prefer to use.One of the first habits you can adopt to become more sustainable is making sure the items you have in your home live the longest life possible. Some of which might need a bit of extra care, especially the natural ones.
Our coconut bowls are made of coconut shells that have had the fruit removed. Rather than send these beautiful coconut shells to landfills, they're given a new purpose.
Similarly, our coconut wood utensils are handmade from coconut trees that no longer bear fruit. The trunks would be sent to the landfill, creating a large amount of unnecessary waste. By utilising this natural resources we're able to create a renewable product from coconut wood that otherwise would have been wasted.
Like most natural wood products, they need to be regularly oiled. Oiling the wood rehydrates it prolong its life. Oiling your coconut products is simple and only takes a few minutes.
We like to use coconut oil, but other oils work well like olive or sunflower.
Using a rag add a small amount of oil to it and rub thoroughly into the wood. Once you're done you can continue using and washing your bowls and utensils as normal. It's that simple, but this little helpful tip will allow your coconut wood products to last a lifetime.
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One of our go-to smoothie bowl recipes to make is peanut butter and banana. It’s a favourite because the flavour combo is not only a crowd favourite in our household but its also easy, quick and the ingredients are almost always on hand.
Peanuts are an excellent way to get extra protein in your diet, they’re affordable and easy to find in grocery stores. They’re full of vitamins such as vitamin E and B and minerals such as iron and selenium.
Bananas as most of us know are great sources of potassium, but did you also know they contain antioxidants? Studies have also shown that they may improve digestive health making them excellent resources for weight loss and gut health.
This smoothie recipe is super simple, and only includes 3 ingredients! We like to make it with frozen bananas, but it will be just as delicious if using room temp bananas.
Ingredients
Optional toppings: bananas, granola, coconut, chocolate chips, crushed peanuts
Method
Share your creations with us on our Instagram page @huskihome!
Check out our range of sustainable coconut bowls and coconut wood cutlery!
]]>Hummus is a recipe that’s been around for centuries, arguably because it’s so delicious! Hummus is simple to make, with few ingredients that packs a health punch. It’s also a wonderful way to eat less meat and introduce plant proteins into your everyday diet.
Are chickpeas healthy?
Yes! Chickpeas are a great addition to a balanced diet. They are packed with fiber and protein. Chickpeas are also a source of calcium, iron and a great way to add folic acid into your diet. Chickpeas have been shown to have a low glycemic index meaning your body will digest chickpeas slowly.
Can you use dried chickpeas to make hummus?
Yes, of course! There are a few things to consider when choosing dried or canned beans for any recipe. One being time, if you’re on the go and want to make this recipe quickly, you won’t have time to soak your chickpeas overnight for this recipe.
How to make hummus easy
This hummus recipe is as easy as adding ingredients into a blender and pushing a button! Not to mention it tastes amazing.
Ingredients
Method
Keeps in the refrigerator for 1-2 days but I doubt it’ll last that long!
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Seems like only yesterday the BBC team was in our home to chat about our sustainable travel cups and our other homeware products, to learn a bit more about us and why we do what we do.
We proudly make sustainable homewares from natural waste, such as rice husks. Rice husk is the outer shell of a grain of rice that makes an incredible renewable, natural resource. Because we eat rice in abundance, we have a vast quantity of husk that needs repurposed. If the husks are not disposed of properly, it can become a potentially harmful to the environment. This is why we find it so important to find ways we can repurpose natural waste into new, durable products that can last a lifetime.
Thank you so much to everyone at the BBC for this opportunity, it has been a wonderful experience that we've shared with the whole family. We hope you tune in to watch us and the other incredibly innovative businesses on BBC ONE - 'The Customer Is Always Right' this Thursday 30th April 2020.
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Thats why we've teamed up with some incredible companies to bring free gifts to you with every purchase!
Any order under £14.99 will get a free pack of CHEWSY plant based plastic free Gum (flavours may vary)
Why we love CHEWSY Gum: All CHEWSY gums are naturally plant-based, vegan and biodegradable, and free from sugar, aspartame, plastic, artificial sweeteners and flavours.
Any order £14.99 or over will gets a free UpCircle Pampering Kit worth £5.99!
The Pamper Kit includes:
Why we love UpCircle: They're committed to repurposing unwanted natural wastes bringing them back to life as beauty products your skin will love, ethically and naturally.
A special thank you so much to CHEWSY and UpCircle for working with us to bring these amazing products to our customers!
To get your free gifts, no code necessarily, simply add items to your cart! *Gift determined with purchase total excluding the cost of shipping.
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What is melamine
Melamine is a compound of chemicals that when mixed create a hard resin. Melamine has a large range of uses such as floor tiles, glues, and tableware.
Why is melamine used
Melamine is an extremely durable material and because of this has become quite popular in the manufacturing of plates, glasses and other items used to serve and store food.
Can melamine be harmful?
Various health organisations such as the FDA have approved melamine for use within tableware as long as these items are not heated higher than 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Heating melamine higher than that can cause the item to decompose, potentially leaching chemicals into your food or body. It’s important to note that melamine is often mixed with chemicals such as formaldehyde to help ‘improve’ its functionality.
Bamboo and melamine
Melamine is often used in bamboo products. While bamboo is widely considered to be the best solution to a sustainable future, it’s often heavily treated with chemicals and uses melamine as a binder to transform it into new materials such as fabrics and plastic-like items. Furthermore, while bamboo is a wonderful sustainable item, with its growing popularity, means transforming natural landscapes into farmland to meet the demand for this crop.
Do we use melamine?
Huski Home has decided not to use melamine in any of our products. We feel that the potential risks outweigh any of the benefits. We strive to create products from eco-waste such as rice husks, which if not disposed of properly, can be a potential biohazard. By recycling waste, we create truly sustainable products that can be used and cherished for a lifetime.
An easy way to repurpose toilet roll tubes is to use them for seed containers. Simply cut one end of the tube in 4 opposing places, about 2-3cm long and then fold them into each other, as shown in the image below. You can then add your compost and seeds as directed on the seed packet!
This is one of our favourites as the shell works in two ways. First, it works as a planter for the seedling to grow and mature, secondly, when you plant the seedling in your garden, you can gently crunch the egg, and plant it in the ground with the seeding. This gives the plant nutrients while it further matures.
If you’re not using your cardboard egg cartons to hold your eggshell planters, then they’re perfect for growing your seedlings. Simply fill the compartments with compost and plant your seeds as instructed on the packet.
A simple and eco-friendly way to plant your seeds is to reuse pages from a newspaper.
Orange peels are a great way to get your plants started this spring, simply cut your orange in half and scoop the fruit out with a spoon before eating. Then the peal works as a nice cup to add compost and your seeds!
Reduce and reuse principals are so important to everyone at Huski Home and with a little effort, we can all make a big difference! We hope you enjoyed our list of eco-friendly seedling containers, what are your favourite ways to start your spring garden?
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