Yes it’s that time! Here are my ethical and sustainable gift guides for 2021!

It’s always my hope to help you buy better when you need to! Whether you have no idea what shopping more responsibly looks like, or whether you’re a pro but just need some ideas- let this be for you!

I have been hit with the realisation more than ever this year as I was writing the word “stocking fillers” that I then quickly deleted, that we don’t need things to fill a gap- make up a present count- or just because it was a bargain. Let’s buy differently and let’s figure out why we’re buying. I recently wrote an article over here if you want to know more about buying responsibly on dotte diaries -an awesome secondhand platform.

Thanks so much for joining me for my latest series. I really hope you found it useful. I thought to make things more accessible I would post a list of the brands I featured based on cost. This of course is tricky to do especially when there is a range of items available, and what is affordable is so different for each person, so these brands aren’t fixed in these categories it’s just to give you a general idea and to help you shop more consciously when you need to. Please let me know any other ethical brands you know of and value, I would love this to become a growing list!

It can be so overwhelming when you have a baby to not think you need a wipe warmer and every singing and dancing toy going to pacify your baby all hours of the day.

The truth is shops wanna sell, but do you actually need it? I found we didn’t need a lot, I learnt that from doing without but also from having things that went unused or made the house feel cluttered. So, I hope this helps.

I can’t quite believe it, but September is fast approaching which for us means my daughter is starting forest school (ARGH). Alongside me, parents and carers across the country are handed kit lists, school supply lists and are probably googling something along the lines of ‘what do I really need for nursery?’…

We made it! You made it! It’s the final day of the series- day 9!

Today we’re taking a look at activewear- let’s just say i’m not that active right now (but…in anticipation of a local netball team starting up wahoo!) and had never worn a pair of leggings unless I was doing sports until after I had Moses and a friend gave me a pair of girlfriend collective leggings and wow- life changed.

Day 8 comes with a list of amazing brands for wardrobe basics; mainly plain tees, cami’s and jumpers. If you are at the start of an ethical journey and looking to buy more sustainably, slowly replacing old basics as and when you need is a great place to start as they are more affordable than the bigger items and it’s usually the cost of ethical clothing that is one of the biggest barriers to why people don’t or can’t buy more sustainably.

It’s day 7 of the series. We are almost at the end! Are you discovering new brands you didn’t know about? Today we are looking at ethical and sustainable knitwear. Again, this has been a favourite because I absolutely LOVE a knit and always welcome autumn with open arms with a chance to layer up with the maximum amount of knitted items.

Welcome to day 6 of the series where we’re taking a look at jumpsuits and dresses that are sustainably and fairly made! Wow! I had SO much fun creating this incredible collection of brands below- I am an absolute sucker for a jumpsuit and apparently now dresses after drooling over how many incredible options there are available. I am in love. I’ve always been a pretty play it safe clothing-wise kinda gal. My wardrobe has always been small and because I spent a lot of time travelling and in need of easy clothing the majority of what I have owned was black, or very dark colours.

Welcome to day 5 of the blog series…YES, i’m still here! Today we are focusing on outwear, something I am so glad to say we won’t (hopefully) be needing this bank holiday weekend. Outerwear is probably the weakest part of my wardrobe and one that I will have to most probably look into for next winter as I noticed this year my vintage jacket is a little small and my Everlane jacket (a company I rated when I bought it and since have had some concerns over) is in need of some repair/some way of making it a bit warmer. With that in mind, I will be looking in sales of some of the brands below to make it work for our budget, second-hand and saving up and selling on what I already have to find something that works!

Welcome to day 4 of the blog series. If you’re still here well done! Today we’re taking a look at denim. The denim industry takes one of the biggest tolls on the environment due to the washes, dyes, chemicals and overall water usage needed to create one pair of jeans- it’s thought that it takes around 2,000 gallons or 7,600 litres of water! That’s a lot! Good on you wrote: “Over 10% of the world’s population is currently deprived of access to clean water, a staggering statistic which puts an alarming perspective on our thirsty denim purchases.”

Welcome to day 3! We’re taking a look at sustainable and ethical loungewear and sleepwear today! Take a look below at some of the best companies I found below some I have bought from and loved and some are new to me! Let me know any you know of! If you missed why this is all going on and want to know some more details about buying ethically why not head here…

Welcome to day 2 of the series where we’re taking a look at footwear! Incase you missed it, the aim of the series is to introduce you to a bunch of brands doing great things for the people and the planet and to empower you to buy well when you need to. My priority in shopping is always that those who have made my clothing have been paid fairly so you will see that all of these brands mentioned here, and across the whole series mention explicitly on their website or in answer to my questioning on emails or Instagram that they pay a fair wage, a living wage or above. Feel free to dig into these brands yourself though and ask them the questions you need to ask that allow you to feel comfortable in buying.

Welcome to day 1 of the series! Below are some incredible underwear and swimwear brands! Most of these brands aren’t limited to only these things, while some are! My priority in shopping is always that those who have made my clothing have been paid fairly so you will see that all of these brands mentioned here, and across the whole series mention explicitly on their website or in answer to my questioning on emails or Instagram that they pay a fair wage, a living wage or above. Feel free to dig into these brands yourself though and ask them the questions you need to ask that allow you to feel comfortable in buying.

‘How do I know if a company or brand is ethical?’ is one of the questions I find myself answering the most in my private messages. That question often comes hand in hand with other questions about the cost of ethical clothing, where ethical clothing brands can be found and where on earth to start with creating an ethical wardrobe. While I don’t have all the answers- (I’m very much figuring things out as I go) I wanted to create a space on here for those questions to be answered, looked over, and to hand you a bunch of resources to make buying ethically and in turn buying well so much more accessible.

As with most things, living more sustainably often takes a mindset shift. With the switches below, it’s unlikely that in a year 4 craft competition Heppy won’t have a shiny, glittery, luminous green offering (there’s nothing wrong with this), but she certainly will have something just as cool made from things we can find, probably cost less and is way kinder to the planet.

I thought I’d write a quick blog with some ideas on how it’s possible to reduce waste with art supplies. Before you know it it’s so possible to have a cupboard full of googly eyes, glittery craft paper and plastic glue sticks. I’ve found some really simple solutions that will mostly save you money but more than that, cut down on plastic and toxins too!

I remember the days when TRESemme took off. I was in high school, straightening my hair between classes in the girls’ toilets whilst applying lancome lipgloss. I was washing my hair every day because somehow it seemed that overnight it got greasy; I had no idea that was probably because of the particular products I was using, and I gave no thought to how many bottles I was throwing away every few weeks.

I’m a secondhand geek. There’s a running joke in our family that if you want something, anything…i’l be able to find it second hand for an absolute bargain price. Like the Kayak we got from facebook marketplace for my father in law’s Christmas present, the le creuset frying pan my dad really wanted but was way out of budget new and the cashmere ‘Caramel coat’ that I got from ebay for £5 but was on their website for £200- oh and let’s not forget the double medela pump I needed whilst in New Zealand because mine had stopped working and after scouring multiple used sites found a lady on the other side of Tarunga selling one barely used.

I was a little surprised when I saw how captivated Heppy was by the simple act of hanging up scraps of fabric with a peg, taking them down, folding them and putting them in the basket, only to then repeat the whole task again a few minutes later! All you need is some string, some pegs, some scrap fabric (old t-shirts or towels)- you could even go as far as cutting into the shape of items of clothing, and then maybe a little bag or basket for it all to be kept in.