We have decided to take a break from the podcast for a while as we both a lot going on in our personal and professional lives.

We are still very passionate about the honest conversation we have about living life sustainable and will be back to continue creating content that empowers and educates.

We will be working behind the scenes planning future episodes and will continue to post content on our social media so if you don’t follow us already, head to @doyouneedabagpodcast on Instagram and Facebook to stay up to date with all our goings on!

So for now it’s not goodbye, just see you real soon!

In this episode we welcome Jen a zero waste, vegan chef and baker. Jen had been a chef for over 20 years and now works for an award winning female led business The Zero Waste Company, a zero waste shop and cafe in Kent. We hear all about how Jen’s eco journey began, her experiences in the food industry and how it’s now changing with consumer demand for more varied food (vegan, gluten free, dairy free). We hear her amazing top tips on what to do with overripe food or food thats starting to go off, how to bake the best vegan cakes and how to cook zero waste style! We loved this episode and hope you do too!!

We are huge fans of second hand shopping. We love a bargain and giving a second life to an item that could have ended up in landfill.

In this episode we discuss the trend of second hand and vintage that has been sweeping the nation these past few years and how excited we are about it.

Fast fashion causes so much harm to our planet from the awful conditions the factory workers endure, to the amount of energy and water needed just to make one garment. We do what we can to avoid fast fashion where possible to use our spending power and voices to say no more to this toxic industry.

Amy also has experience in selling second hand and offers some great tips and advice on how she has made around £1000 in the process.

Music credit: Highway by Trinity.

In Episode 8 we are so excited to welcome Izzie, one of the members of the ReWorked team! ReWorked is a fantastic company who take extremely difficult to recycle materials and ‘re-work’ them into new items! We spoke to Izzie about how the idea of ReWorked came about, what they do with the difficult to recycle items and how they make responsible disposal of these items more accessible to us, the consumer. Take a listen today to see what amazing work they do, how you can benefit from their work and get involved, also find out the answers to questions like why recycling is so difficult!

To find out more about ReWorked you can check out their website at https://www.reworked.com/ and you can find them on socials at @reworkedgb

Thank you to Izzie for joining us!

NOTE: Unfortunately we have experienced some technical difficulties throughout this episode but we really hope you still enjoy it.

In this episode, we talk about Plastic Free July, a global movement created to help raise awareness and offer advice on how to reduce single-use plastic. We share our experiences with Plastic Free July and our tips on where to start or if you are already on your journey, what you could do next. Will you take the challenge? 

Music credit: Highyway by Trinity.

In this episode we speak with Lauren, Owner and Founder of the Manchester based zero waste shop, Earth Friendly Rocker.

Lauren has been a practicing witch since she was 13 years old. She is also a big influence in the UK rock scene and speaks about how wasteful the industry is with the likes of merchandise.

She started her personal journey to reduce waste which quickly filtered into the rock industry and then to her local alternative and wicca community in Manchester in the form of a physical shop.

Listen to Lauren talk about her life and passion as a sustainable business owner, her struggle with her physical and mental health and how it hasn’t held her back and the influence she is having on the next generation of eco warriors!

Music credit: Highway by Infinity

This episode guides you through how to incorporate the 5 R hierarchy of zero waste into your sustainable journeys. Amy and Sophie talk about their experiences of living in line with the 5 Rs. They talk about how you can Refuse things and learn how to say no to consumerism, number 1 in the hierarchy. How you can Reduce the things you own and do not need, number 2 in the hierarchy. How you can Reuse things and give them new life, number 3 in the hierarchy. Recycling and how it really isn’t the answer, number 4 in the hierarchy, and finally Rot, number 5 in the hierarchy, all about considering if at the end of something’s life it will breakdown and go back into the earth. Music credit: Trinity - Highway.

In this episode we talk about how large corporations are using clever marketing ploys to appear greener than what they are. As consumers are demanding more sustainability in the manufacturing and materials used in products, the pressure is on the big companies to ensure we are happy with their practises and will keep spending our hard earned cash with them. Sophie explains what green washing is, offers her tips on what to look out for and guides us through the minefield of red flags she recognises when making her purchases. Music credit: Trinity - Highway

In this episode we chatted with Charlotte, one of the owners from the award winning female led business The Zero Waste Company, a zero waste shop and zero waste cafe, based in Kent UK! 

We are so excited for you to listen to this episode, we spoke to Charlotte about being a young mum on a sustainable mission, juggling family life and a passion for making zero waste living more accessible to her community. We hear about how their journey began, how Charlotte and Holly came up with the idea of combining a zero waste shop and cafe, Charlotte's personal eco journey struggles and advice for any listeners who would like to start their own eco shop!

This episode is packed full of inspiration and motivation for anyone on their eco journey, for any of you who have a dream of starting a sustainable business and for any of you who own a sustainable business!

As people who eat meat and fish, we give our frank and honest opinions on the documentary that is sparking conversations about the damaging effects of the fishing industry. JUST A NOTE: We had a few technical issues with this episode so the quality is not the best, but we hope you still love it! Music credit: Highway by Trinity.