I remember growing up waiting so patiently for December 1st to come around. You see, growing up in church meant that Auntie Barbara, Doris and Daphne all made sure to get me my own advent calendar on top of the one already been given by my parents and soon I had five advent calendars lined up, some making it til Christmas day and others consumed before

Hello! You may have seen earlier last week, this years gift guides went live! They were all gifts from shops I love and believe in and brands that have a high value on ethics. You can find them here!

Can you believe it! November is here which means…. here are my ethical and sustainable gift guides for 2022.

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!

This year more than ever before, I’ve been really challenged in my buying. Buying responsibly is great, buying secondhand…better, but, do I even need to buy at all? There’s lots of questions being asked and conversations being had. Let’s buy things to be loved and well used, passed on even. Let’s dig into a companies ethics before we commit, let’s linger rather than buy on impulse, let’s support the small guy, the start-up and minority-owned businesses.

It’s Organic September, and my last post was an introduction into the world of Organic buying and why we choose to do that plus some ways we save money whilst making it a priority. You can find that blog here.

This is just a quick intro to 12 of my favourite organic brands. What are some of yours?

5 years ago, my experience of ‘organic’, was a shelf barely visible in the chilled section of the supermarket and charging at least three times the prices of the vegetables that sat next to it. It wasn’t until I got pregnant in 2017 with Heppy that I watched ‘The True Cost’ movie and instantly began to unpick the many areas of my life where I was buying because of what I’d be told, sold, or shown rather than discovering for myself what my family and I really needed.

It almost feels like yesterday that I removed my Motorola razr phone from my school trouser pocket and tried my hardest to flip it open with one sudden movement of the wrist to answer my mum’s phone call, or received my LG chocolate slider phone one Christmas morning.

I remember my first period sat in a Year 7 Geography lesson, I felt a warm surge between my legs and quickly excused myself. A little unexpected, I was one of the first in my friendship group to start, I remember looking down at the blood on my underwear, stuffed some toilet paper into my pants and slipped back into class to whisper into my friend’s ear that the time had come with a smug look on my face as if I’d graduated the ranks.

The arrival of these Tree Dasher 2’s from Allbirds was the motivation I needed to get back to moving my body for the first time really (minus the failure to see Joe Wicks workouts through as part of my new year’s resolution in 2021) since I’ve had the kids.

This has to be one of my favourite times of year. The door in the kitchen that remains firmly shut in the winter prises open each day at 8am as the once hungry bellies, now full with porridge, descend on the garden to tinker, potter and climb. The areas of my garden where I doubted life would and even could spring forth display their buds and blooms and feet live outside of shoes with dirt under nails just as it should be.

The clocks have changed and the sun is out which can only mean one thing…we’re all itching for a spring clean?

This time of year many take to the shops filling their baskets with conventional supermarket cleaners. Whether it’s bleach, de-greasers, air fresheners, window-cleaner or floor polish these products, while getting the job done could actually be detrimental to your health… known to be packed full of toxins and chemicals. It doesn't take long to fire up a quick google search or look at the warning signs on the back of the bottles we’re using to ask the question of whether these really are safe for us and our families?

Activism has been brought centre stage with the intensity and pressures of the past few years. With the tragic death of George Floyd, the release of David Attenborough’s ‘A Life on our Planet’ and the Netflix ‘Seaspiracy’ documentary to name a few things, our news feeds were full of petitions, crowdfunds and marches signifying a group of people wanting change. I too wasn’t satisfied with my black square or my repost of something that had moved me in the moment, I really wanted to really make a change that would last but, I didn’t know-how.

The majority of us have just spent the past two years indoors, but do we have any idea how clean the air is we have been breathing?

Poor air quality can be caused by a number of things. We may automatically assume poor air quality is a result of pollution from factories and cars but the truth is it can be from what we clean with, the nail polish we choose and the candles we’re burning.

I loved putting together my Christmas gift guides and so thought it might be fun to do a semi-regular sharing of some of my favourite products.

I absolutely love when others share of the products they find or discover that make their life easier. I find this especially so when trying to live more consciously as it’s required a lot more trial and error.

Enjoy!

Let’s face it, we’ve heard lots about bamboo and it’s being heralded as the world’s most renewable material, but is it really that good? Join me as I take a look at why so many companies are using bamboo, ask if it’s really sustainable and take a look at why Boody really are top of the class!

I thought it was about time to get into one blog, a list of places where we shop the most. I have tried out countless places, looking for what works best for us as a family and these are our most loved. They will most probably change and evolve over time. I am always looking for ways to cut down our spending yet find things that don’t come at a cost to people and the planet.

As millions of trees are about to go up all across the UK this coming weekend with branches begging to be decorated I thought i’d write a list of places to find sustainable decorating options.

Also remember that although all these brands I’ve listed are great- still the most sustainable option of all is using the decorations you already have…i know you didn’t want to hear it!

enjoy! and let me know of any other brands you know of!

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!