Tuesday 17 October 2023
Welcome back to the green pulse!
Hello sustainable fashionistas!
I hope you’re all doing well this October. This week in our fortnightly Green Pulse newsletter I’m bring you yet more sustainable home, fashion and beauty discounts, upcoming events, my favourite sustainable fashion quote and a highlight of the latest sustainable fashion news. Plus of course the latest from Good Maker Tales.
This week there is quite a focus on sustainable materials, particularly clothes made from biomaterials. Are we soon going to be able to compost our clothes in the garden? I hope so, would be a lot better than the current system of sending it to landfill!
On that note check out our interview with Heike Petersen Cunza, the pioneer and founder of Wellicious who bring you just that – biodegradable yoga clothes. More and more brands are starting to produce compostable clothes but it’s particularly impressive for sports clothes due to the stretchy component which is normally synthetic and far from biodegradable.
We also bring you our 2023 round up of sustainable gifts for her for all budgets, check it out for a heap of inspiration and ideas! And if you’re looking for a sustainable way to update your bed, have a look at our round up of great organic mattress toppers for a sound and non-toxic sleep.
Enjoy and have a great fortnight 😊
Conscious discounts
- Wellicious (pictured): See our interview with their founder below. For biodegradable yoga clothes, take an exclusive 10% off with code: GoodMakerTales10
- Green People: For organic beauty & natural wellbeing. Until 30 October get 25% off their sale and a free Heritage Trio Kit with code BOO.
- Ethical Bedding: For sustainable & organic bedding, gifts & mattresses. Take 15% off spends over £200 until 31 Dec with code AFFETHICAL15. See more about them in our organic mattress topper feature below!
- Fuchsia Shoes: For gorgeous woven artisanal ballet flats and slides, take 20% off orders over $98 with code: GOODMAKERTALES.
- Trii skincare: 15% off all plastic and cruelty free solid skincare at Trii sold through Veo.
- Peruvian Connection: For artisan fair trade clothing and products from Peru, up to 20% off marked full-price and sale items.
Quote of the week:
“As a designer I like to work with fabrics that do not bleed. That is why I avoid all animal skins.”
Stella McCartney- Fashion designer (Elle 2012)
Upcoming events
World Vegan Month
November is World Vegan Month. Run by The Vegan Society, it celebrates everything vegan including food, clothes, beauty products and more. So you’re likely to see more vegan products in stores.
You can support them by spreading the word and by trying out the vegan lifestyle yourself (or elements of it like vegan fashion which is taking a huge turn in popularity!).
International Conference on Sustainable Style and Recycled Clothing
From 27-28 November in London (although hosted digitally), leading scientists and researchers will be meeting to discuss everything about sustainable style and recycled clothing. We’ll keep an eye on this space to learn about the results..
Lates: Sustainable fashion at the Natural History Museum 20 October
We mentioned it last time but it’s happening this week! A FREE night of catwalks, clothes swops, talks from museum scientists, bespoke collection tours & textile & crafts workshops all at the Natural History Museum.
Styling & Sustainable Fashion Event. 31 October London
Only 20 tickets are available for this event in London with Anna Berkeley and Jane Shepherdson to help you style a piece of clothing you struggle to style. Tips on how to shop your wardrobe and be an ethical consumer. £15.
Interviews with sustainable brands and latest posts
55 best sustainable gifts for her in the UK (2024)
We’re making eco gift shopping a breeze. Our green gifts guide has the best ideas for sustainable gifts for her in the UK, updated for 2023!
21 gorgeous organic baby gifts in the UK under £50 (2023)
Looking for the perfect sustainable baby gift? From the practical to the delightful, these are some of our favourite organic baby gifts in the UK.
7 top brands for a natural & organic mattress topper UK
A good night’s sleep is vital for a healthy life. Making every night toxin-free, we’re showcasing 7 UK brands for the perfect natural and organic mattress topper.
Wellicious pioneer on biodegradable yoga pants & loungewear
Do you ever think about composting your yoga pants? Wellicious founder Heike did. Here she tells us how she made biodegradable yoga & loungewear possible.
What news? Sustainable fashion in the press
European players launch new non profit ReHubs to boost textile recycling
2025 is fast looming and with it the EU’s compulsory collection and sorting of textile waste. The industry has responded and 20 players including Mango and Euratex (European Apparel and Textile Confederation) have launched a new non-profit Rehubs Europe which has the ambitious goal of recycling 2.5 million tons of textile waste by 2030.
Green Fashion Revolution: The Rise of Biomaterials
Under pressure from a more demanding market, stricter regulations, and investors, brands are turning to innovative biomaterials.
Copenhagen Fashion Week featured MycoWorks’ Reishi, a mycelium (fungi)-based material, Balenciaga in Paris unveiled LUNAFORM, a vegan, plastic-free leather alternative from microbes created by GOZEN. Modern Synthesis is creating nanocellulose fibers by feeding sugars to bacterial organisms and Ganni are trying out the fabric for one of their handbags!
And then there is Jet Technology and Deakin University who are exploring bio-based textiles from organic waste. Things are moving fast and it will be interesting to see how many of our clothes are made from plants in just a few years!
Bolt Threads is Going Public
On the subject of biomaterials, biomaterials pioneer Bolt Threads is merging with Golden Arrow Merger Corp to become a publicly traded company.
They are valued at $250 million which is a huge decline from their 2021 peak of $1.2 billion. The merger reflects the industry’s challenges despite strong interest in biomaterial innovation. Bolt Threads is renowned for its sustainable materials like b-silk and mycelium-based Mylo and has previously partnered with Stella McCartney.
Stella McCartney hosts a sustainable street market alongside her Paris show
Speaking of Stella McCartney, during Paris Fashion Week, she hosted a sustainable street market alongside her show which showcased her spring/summer ’24 collection.
The street market consisted of 21 of the sustainable partners she’s worked with such as LVMH’s deadstock fabric supplier Nona Source, Mabel Industries (vegan leather supplier), Natural Fiber Welding (plant-based leather manufacturer) and Nativa (traceable wool supplier).
H&M teams up with Central Saint Martins to offer student grants
Applications open this month for a new collective £16,000 grant which will be shared by four students, three from the BA in Fashion Design course and one from the BA in Fashion Communication Journalism. The winners will be announced in April ’24 and will be those who have shown the most commitment to sustainability along with evidence of academic excellence and financial need.
That’s all for now…
I hope you enjoyed this fortnight’s newsletter. Let me know what you enjoyed the most and what you’d like to see more of.
And sharing is caring, please share with any friends that you think might enjoy!
Have a great fortnight.
All the best
Julie
