Sustainable gift guide

Gift consciously with our sustainable gift ideas, including vintage gems, upcycled one-of-a-kind and plastic free gifts. 

It’s more important than ever to shop small and support independent brands that care about our planet - here’s our sustainable gift guide to get you going..

plant based & zero waste cooking

As we now know one of the most eco friendly things you can do for the planet is go on a plant based diet (or more plant based) so what better Christmas gift than a planet friendly cook book. In EAST Meera Sodha takes cooks on a vegan and veggie journey across Asia, while Max La Manna helps you on your low waste journey with More Plants Less Waste.

Mamma Peep Pouches

Flora pouch - perfect for stowing your prescious vintage

Our new range of sustainable eco-friendly glasses cases and sunglasses pouches. Lovingly handmade by ‘Mama Peep’ from vintage deadstock fabrics to keep your eyewear scratch free.

Small batches of one-of-a-kind glasses pouches. Whether taking long walks or trips to the beach your sunnies will be kept safe and stylish.

Face masks with a cause

The B Collection supports CoppaFeel charity

We love Eliza Eliza’s organic cotton face masks - triple layered for extra protection, they’re reusable and the masks are adjustable - either tied around the head or altered so that they can be hooked over the ears. They support a number of different charitable causes with each style of mask too - also pick up matching sleep masks, scrunchies and lovely eco friendly bags.

washable wipes

Rifle Paper prints

These reusable face wipes from My January Baby are completely plastic-free. You can also choose your favourite print from the set to embelish the wash bag. Made from 100% cotton on the top and organic, hypoallergenic bamboo on the back, making them suitable for all ages and skin types. They make a great eco-friendly gift.

artisan art

There are some beautiful handmade artisan gifts on Etsy like the ones our friends over at Two Peas make. Their gorgeous one-of-a-kind Art Plates, hand painted onto beautful vintage plates will make your walls sing with joy.

wearable works of art

Treat yourself or a special someone to a vintage pin - what’s not to love about this 1980s brooch from Honeykins Vintage with a keep fit style lady in classic era appropriate neon colours! The perfect conversation starter at any party.

vintage glasses chains

Infamous - 1970s Trifari link chain

Glasses Chains are back. Never lose your sunglasses or glasses again with our one-of-a-kind vintage glasses chains. Remove the loops and wear as a necklace. Take a peep at our collection of the coolest rescued and adapted vintage chains - quite possibly the perfect present if we say so ourselves.

the eco friendly hamper

One for the Bee lovers

LFHP have a lovely selection of eco friendly hampers and if you’ve got a green fingered friend the Bee Garden Set is the perfect gift. We all know how important bees are and this bee garden is the perfect way to ensure they can thrive in your giftees garden. Designed to increase pollination rates through growing attractive flowers, these seed bombs make the garden bloom into a bee friendly destination. They also have a great gift guide for men in your life.

upcycled jewellery kits

I’m loving these cute upcycled jewellery making kits from Readorn London. Each kit contains everything you need to make a beautiful piece of upcycled jewellery. Every kit is unique and has been lovingly curated to bring you one of a kind designs. Such a lovely and mindfull gift idea.

vintage homeware

Who doesn’t love a bit of unique vintage homeware to brighten up their pad, like this vintage 60s West German pottery vase in Green and Orange four petal floral repeat from the gorgeous Miss Pigeon Vintage - get it while it’s hot.

virtual gifting

If you don’t want to gift more stuff why not give the gift of an experience instead - online classes or workshops from cooking to pottery are great ways to learn or develop new skills. Take a peep at Tea & Crafting for some lovely craft classes and workshops.

Happy Gifting!

Jo

A Slow Fashion Revolution

It’s Fashion Revolution week and the spotlight’s on the sustainable slow fashion movement. It’s also our second birthday this month and in celebration we’re giving away some upcycled loveliness.

We’re living in a throwaway culture where newness is KING. In a world of over production and over consumption – it’s time to live more simply and more slowly.

300,000 tons of used clothes go to landfill in the UK every year. Worryingly over the last 15 years clothing production has doubled and the number of times a garment is worn has decreased by 36%.

Once they hit landfill, decomposing clothing releases methane, a harmful greenhouse gas. But the good news is for every ton of discarded textiles that is reused, 20 tons of CO2 is saved from entering the atmosphere.

So where do we start?

Become a Conscious consumer

We’ve turned shopping into hobby, perhaps forsaking the pastimes of yesteryear like embroidery and art. Instead we’ve turned to retail therapy and it’s costing us all. Are we looking for happiness in all the wrong places? It’s not too late, we can choose to slow down and consume more consciously.

Brooke Cagle

Being a conscious consumer sees us making eco-friendly choices alongside humane working practices. It’s about considering our impact on people and planet.

Shopping Vintage + Second Hand First

Shopping preloved is an adventure and more of an experience than a chore. When you shop second hand you’re supporting causes and saving clothes from landfill, so feel good factor is way up!

Artem Bali

Shopping vintage develops your personal style. You soon learn what looks good on you and select garments on fabric and fit over seasonal trends. You can shop all eras at once and vintage pieces are easy to fall in love with as they’re unique and evoke memories.

• Be open minded and try pieces on

• Don’t rush, slow down and savior the experience

• Go for natural fibres like cotton, wool and linen

• Details and lining indicate quality

• Seek out heritage brands like Jaegar + Aquascutum

Check out Oxfam’s handy vintage clothes care guide

how to shop sustainably

Sustainable fashion is about changing our mindset and exploring new ways to shop. Again it’s about slowing down and stopping to think before we make a purchase. It’s quality over quantity, investing in pieces that will last and when they start to wear, repairing and restoring.

Brooke Lark

Support small business and companies doing good things, offsetting impact and helping people and planet. Apps like Good On You and Co Go and websites like Compare Ethics can help you make good decisions.

• Buy only what you need

• Aim for 30 wears per piece

• Fits into your current wardrobe

• Shop vintage and second hand first

• Shop sustainable and ethical brands

• Shop local, handmade and fairtrade

upcycled giveaway

In celebration of Fashion Revolution and Peep turning two we’re giving away an upcycled package for you and a friend to have your favourite frames completely refurbished.

We’ve also teamed up with the lovely Ella at Bear Shark Embroidery and she’s going to hand embroider the lucky winners a personalised glasses pouch made from recycled vintage fabric!

Scratches, dents and dinges will be a thing of the past. They’ll be looking like as good as new when we’ve finished polishing, primping and preening. Add a new prescription into your cherished vintage glasses or change them up and go for a coloured sunglasses tint.

Enter over on Instagram and tag in a friend here goes live Monday 22 April. Update: Giveaway is now closed.

Join the Fashion Revolution and show support by buying the Fanzine, reposting on social and asking our favourite brands ‘Who Made My Clothes?’

Jo

You Say You Want a Revolution

"We all want to change the world

You say you got a real solution
Well, you know
We'd all love to see the plan"

Revolution, The Beatles 1968

In the words of the fab four we all want to change the world and Fashion Revolution Week is the perfect place to start.

Lets start a revolution

All week long events are taking place across the UK and globally to raise awareness and celebrate Fashion Revolution Week 23-29 April. Making us question our attitude to fast fashion, how and where we source our clothing. We want to know that the clothes we buy don’t come at the cost of people or the planet.

The manufacturing of clothes uses up massive amounts of water, energy and land with so much of our clothing ending up in landfill. "The average British woman hoards £285 of clothes they will never wear, the equivalent of 22 outfits left hanging in valuable wardrobe space, or, £30 billion of unworn clothes. That’s a lot of unloved clothing" Fashion Revolution. 

Stats by Fashion Revolution

Our Fashion Love Story

Begins with vintage denim - the look, the feel, the tones. A little 80s stonewash, a lotta denim on denim. Pull it out the closet, ease it on and greet it like an old friend. The more you wear this classic, the softer the feel - it just gets better with age.

The perfect denim jacket can last a lifetime, will never date and can take you anywhere. The journey of my well-loved vintage jacket has seen me through boogie nights and babies, pairs beautifully with my grandad's ancient paisley scarf and my recent Pucci style vintage day dress (best find ever) and even shows up in our latest Spring/Summer campaign. Source a vintage treasure and you'll never look back. Cool wash and hang dry for best results.

be the change

Sign the Manifesto, Ask a brand #WhoMadeMyClothes or do a Fashion Love Story like us. 

www.fashionrevolution.org

Let's make a difference and #BeTheChange

Jo

Wake Up Your Wardrobe

cottonbro

We're using January to do a little fashion refresh for the coming seasons and urge you to do the same. Feel a little lighter and fall in love with your clothes again...

Wardrobe Wrestle

Fed up wrestling with your wardrobe and rotating the same few items? Wardrobes bursting at the seams are both a distraction and a drain on your time. The time is nigh to set aside a few hours to play dress-up and be brutal.

To earn a coveted place in your wardrobe each piece needs to be either beautiful or practical and should make you look and feel good. Think minimal - colour coordinate... it may change your life.

"Modern Minimalism is about simplicity, whether quality or trend, longevity is the key to a consciously curated wardrobe" we couldn't agree more Sophie Benson, one of our fave style bloggers - check out some of her fab sustainable fashion posts and make your wardrobe work for you. 

Style Challenge

Pick a piece from your wardrobe (not pants) and get creative. Wear your staple piece for the whole week, mix and match with other items and wear it a differently every day. You might surprise yourself and it will reset the way you think about your clothes.

Recycle and Repurpose

Every year an estimated 300,000 tonnes of used clothing goes to landfill in the UK, so dispose of anything that doesn't fit or flatter in the following sustainable ways...

Donate - good quality clothing to your favourite charity, avoiding landfill and helping a good cause = feel good factor

Clothes Swap - a good excuse for a soiree and you get to go home with a new outfit = win

Recycle - let Clothes Aid collect your unwanted clothes and benefit UK charities. Or locate your nearest Clothing Bank.

Sell - we're over Christmas and onto the Alps - who doesn't need the readies for that extra pair of ski goggles - try a little eBay for the fondue kitty.

Check out the fab Love Your Clothes website for lots of lovely tips on upcycling and make do and mend; salvaging our favourite finds.

Now you've achieved all this you can go right ahead and feel smug until at least March - enjoy.

Keep your peepers open for our new launches coming soon!

Jo