Don't mind the random giggles in this episode, it's what happens when your guest doesn't know how to turn off her zoom filter!
I had the great pleasure of interviewing one of my beautiful friends, Tara. An environmental and human rights advocate who is studying a Bachelor of Environmental Science, majoring in Wildlife and Conservation Biology.
Tara shed light on some of the detrimental effects that some animals have on our environment, along with her knowledge on the negative effects of fridges, fast fashion and the beauty industry.
If you have enjoyed this episode, let me know! Leave a review, or DM me on my Instagram page, @oursustainablelifestylepodcast

Nicole's motto is, “ no animal should ever suffer for human vanity.”

After you hear this episode with Nicole, you will definitely agree with her!

Nicole committed to helping save animals, and she does this through her volunteer work with the Australian, non profit organization Choose Cruelty Free. An organization she has volunteered with for nearly 2 decades, as their official campaign, hair and makeup artist and PR Director, and in July 2019, she took over the voluntary role of President of Choose Cruelty Free.

Nicole has her own vegan health and safety blog LivingSafe.com.au where she writes about the importance of using more natural, safer and cruelty free cosmetic products.

Nicole has worked in the fashion, advertising, music and bridal industries. She has been fortunate enough to have worked on some very exciting jobs both here in Australia and overseas, with some incredibly talented international recording artists including; Tina Arena, Vanessa Amorosi, Ricky Martin, Jimmy Barnes, Kylie Minogue, Lauren Hill and actress Madeleine West.

Around 18 years ago she started volunteering as a hair and makeup artist for the non-profit organization Choose Cruelty Free

Once she understood how animals are tortured and killed for cosmetic testing, she vouched to never work for brands that test on animals. She also refused to work at the Australian Fashion Week as it is run and promoted by L'Oreal ( they test their products on animals)  and for any fashion labels that used real fur and exotic skins in their collections.

Nicole was truly inspiring to speak with. She is full of  knowledge about the cosmetic industry and how they are still testing on animals to this day! Her passion shone through and I could have continued to speak to her all day! 

About Choose Cruelty Free

They are an independent, non-profit organisation based in Australia. They actively campaign to end animal testing that facilitates to market cosmetics, toiletries and other household products.

Since 1993 they have produced the Choose Cruelty Free List for Australian consumers; to help make the right buying choices. By right, they mean ethical, morally-sound companies that don’t test on animals, even when required by law in some countries such as mainland China.

They survey and accredit cruelty-free companies selling cosmetics, toiletries and household cleaning products to Australian consumers: online and retail. Their work is performed largely by volunteers who believe in a cruelty-free lifestyle.

Choose Cruelty Free App

Designed to give you the peace of mind you need to make informed choices. The free app details the CCF Lists for on-the-go convenience when choosing to make cruelty-free purchases for your cosmetics, personal care and household cleaning.

You can find Nicole, and Choose Cruelty Free through their websites and social media:

www.nicolegroch.com.au
@nicolegroch_hairmakeup

www.choosecrueltyfree.org.au
@choose_cruelty_free

I spoke with the beautiful Astaria from EcoPact Groceries. Astaria is truly passionate about reducing her ecological footprint, and her passion for reducing food-waste shines through.

EcoPact has been open for a year and a half, and is your go to sustainable shop, making sustainability simple. You can find everything from fruit, nuts and vegetables, to dairy products, laundry and cleaning products.

In this episode, Astaria explains the process of the production of the food we buy, to how it ends up on  our shelves. Some of the facts she shares with us are mind blowing! I hope you all love this episode as much as I love creating it.

You can find EcoPact Groceries at:
http://www.ecopact.com.au

208 Nicholson Street, Footscray, VIC, 3011

And on social media @ecopactgroceries

If you liked this episode, let me know :) You can rate this episode, email me at [email protected] or follow me on instagram- @oursustainablelifestylepodcast

Growing up in his family owned  bed and breakfast, Nic had a fun filled childhood, meeting tourists everyday and learning about this great planet we live on.

He quickly grew a passion for tourism and travelled the world. On his journeys, it wasn't long until he noticed how the tourism industry effected this beautiful planet.

He knew he had to make a change, and found his purpose. Nic owns and runs Wild Adventures Melbourne. A tour company that not only takes you to secret sites around our beautiful city, but making sure we respect and treasure the land we walk on. 

You can find Wild Adventures Melbourne on social media
@wildadventuresmelbourne

website:
wildadventuresmelbourne.com

If you enjoyed this episode, let me know about it! You can send me a DM @oursustainablelifestylepodcast on Instagram or email me at [email protected]

In this episode I speak about the importance of changing to cruelty free products. I cover how testing on animals is still a large problem globally and what these animals are subjected to. I also speak about how choosing cruelty free benefits us and the planet.

Shout out to my fellow podcasters from Social JustUs, a podcast that covers topics on social injustice around the world. They interviewed Emily Rice from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). If you want to find out more about animal abuse, particularly in horse racing, I recommend you jump on their podcast and listen to episode 19, season 2.

For more information on my podcast, feel free to email me at [email protected]
Instagram: @oursustainablelifestylepodcast

Sources used in this episode:
https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/animals-laboratories/

https://www.humaneresearch.org.au/statistics-of-animal-use 

Hey everyone! I thought it would be a great idea to go back to basics, break down some key terms so we can really understand how our small changes can make such a big difference.

In this episode I chat about climate change, green house gases, the ozone layer and small changes we can start implementing in our day to day life to help reduce our carbon footprint.

There are some crazy facts in there, especially about Australia and the impact we are making towards climate change, there is talk about cows farts, and how not all water is good for us.

Please let me know what you think about the episode by leaving a review, emailing me at [email protected], or by following me on Instagram @oursustainablelifestylepodcast

Please see below the links to the sources of information used in this episode:
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/climate-change/
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/fossil-fuels/
https://www.activesustainability.com/climate-change/how-greenhouse-gases-contribute-global-warming/
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/ozone-layer/
https://www.wwf.org.au/what-we-do/climate/causes-of-global-warming#gs.m00q2f

Hey everyone! This is my first solo episode, so I hope you enjoy it. In this episode I talk about my back story and how I came to where I am today. 
More importantly, I speak about common chemicals that are found in our everyday products, how they are harmful for humans and the environment.
You will notice I find some words hard to pronounce! HAHA!
So here are the common chemicals that I spoke about, also a list of sources that I used while conducting my research if you wish to read further.
Please let me know what you think about this episode by writing a review, emailing me at [email protected], or follow my page on Instagram, @oursustainablelifestylepodcast, and/or @yourtimebeauty
Chemicals:
Sulphates
Parabens
Phthalates 
Alcohol
Formaldehyde 
Fragrances
Petrochemicals

Sources:
https://www.botanikboutique.com.au/2016/08/what-are-petrochemicals-skincare/
https://www.choice.com.au/health-and-body/beauty-and-personal-care/skin-care-and-cosmetics/articles/chemicals-in-cosmetics
https://www.insider.com/bad-ingredients-in-skincare
 https://www.elle.com/uk/beauty/skin/articles/a36356/what-are-parabens/
https://dermaenergy.com.au/blogs/news/p-strong-are-sulfates-bad-everything-you-need-to-know-about-sulfates-in-skincare-strong-p-p-p

Kim has been mixing and blending with the magic of essential oils for over 10 years and in 2015 she had an idea! An idea about a beautiful store where we could all come in and mix in our own choice of essential oils to pure, organic skincare bases, to create skincare for our own unique needs. Plants have so many beautiful healing properties that can help us achieve that natural healthy skin we all want.

At the Botanical Store you get to pick your size of bottle or jar, choose which base you want to use and then you get to stir and mix in your choice of essential oils. Choose your oil blend based on your skin needs or because it just smells really good.

We believe that as human beings we come from nature, are made from the same elements as nature and that everything we could ever need to be our best selves is provided for from nature. We believe in the innate wisdom of our body and that if we get right back to basics and allow the pure magic of plant power to feed and nourish ourselves, that our true beauty will always be able to shine. That when we let our true beauty shine, we show up in the world as our best selves, with confidence and joy, ready to make an impact in the world. So that we can then grow our world to a place where we work in tandem with nature, giving back and deepening our connection to Mother Earth so that we can make our world a better place for all of us to live and love.

We’re here to help you but we also exist as a way to give back to the world of nature that supports us. We donate 1% of our revenue (so everything we make, not just our profit) to the Merri Creek Environment fund. You can also choose to donate $2 to the fund when you purchase a product from us. We collect and pass this on to the Merri Creek Environment fund on a monthly basis. We’ll keep you update via our blog as to what this means for our local Northcote Creek.

You can find the Botanical Store at 70 High Street, Northcote Victoria.
Facebook and Instagram- @thebotanicalstore
www.thebotanicalstore.com.au

For more information on this episode and/or podcast, please contact Jo from Your Time Beauty through Instagram, @yourtimebeauty.com
or at [email protected]

Who is Kenny? He is the lovely bird in the background of this episode! :)

Meet Poppy, (Kenny's owner) and owner of Kenny and the sunshine girls. She is an award winning, creative hairstylist who is considered something of a hair-up 'magician' in the industry. She considers hairdressing not only as work, but an incredibly fulfilling passion and hobby. 

After aspiring to become a hairdresser from the age of 8, she began working in Brisbane in 2000 where she accumulated skills as colourist and stylist and also created looks for a television network. In 2005, Poppy moved to Melbourne and took a senior position at a renowned salon, where she never looked back.

Meet Sarah, the salon manager at Kenny and the sunshine girls. Sarah is an extremely talented and experienced hairstylist. Not only is her positive vibe infectious, she is a friendly, enthusiastic and intelligent environmental advocate. In this episode she shares her knowledge and tips on making easy changes in your everyday life.

Poppy and Sarah share their life experiences in becoming wonder women in the hair industry, but also share their knowledge on how to start saving the beautiful planet that we live on, as well as talking about how they are a sustainable salon!

Kenny and the sunshine girls is located at 113 Errol street North Melbourne. You can find them on Instagram @kennyandthesunshinegirls
www.kennyandthesunshinegirls.com.au

As a degree qualified naturopath, Bridget has always been passionate about natural but effective ways to help people improve their health. She started her career in complementary medicine research, before running a naturopathic clinic, where she used nutrition, supplements, herbal medicine and lifestyle changes to remedy people’s health issues.

In her clinic, she started noticing that many of her clients had skincare concerns. For some it was ageing skin, for others, sensitivity, acne, eczema or rosacea. She too had skin challenges, having experienced acne in my teens, scarring in her twenties and signs of ageing in her thirties. However, her clients and herself were faced with a lack of skincare products on the market that were gentle and made from natural, organic ingredients but still able to deliver powerful results and the luxurious experience of conventional high-end skincare. So, she decided to develop her own, and Clémence Organics was born.

She started off experimenting with blends, and noticed a real change in my skin. As word of mouth grew, clients came to her requesting individualised skincare formulations. A trip to southern France in 2015 cemented her resolve. She visited several well-known natural skincare companies, and realised that she offered something unique for those with an appreciation for luxury, authentic organic skincare, that truly alleviated their skincare concerns.

The product of over a decade of knowledge and experience, Clémence Organics isn’t about marketing hype or ingredients that claim to improve your skin but instead bombard it with harmful chemicals. It’s about using naturopathic principles to create nourishing, non-toxic skincare, plus a commitment to the planet’s health, through recyclable packaging and ingredients which are not harmful to the environment.

On a personal note, Bridget lost both her father and sister to cancer in the period of 2009 – 2016. Their stories fortified in her, a passion for nurturing health and reducing cancer risk wherever possible. The role that skincare plays in health may seem small and insignificant for some, but when the body absorbs around 80% of what we put on it, she doesn't  feel we can take it too lightly. 

For more information about Clemence Organics, you can visit their website:
www.clemenceorganics.com
Or you can find Clemence Organics on social media, @clemenceorganics

For more information about this podcast, you can contact me at [email protected]
You can also find me on social media @yourtimebeauty.com