Sustainably Influenced

Bespoke tailoring can be seen as an inherently sustainable business as it encourages slow fashion. High quality fabrics are used and the outfits are tailored specifically to the individual, to fit them well and be worn across many years. 

As 80% of the tailoring process is done by hand, the carbon footprint is incredibly low. For the issue of wastage in tailoring, a skilled cutter is generally quite efficient in using the cloth so very little amount of fabric waste would ultimately end up in the disposal. It is also common practice for larger design houses to donate off-cut cloths and trimmings to students. Compare this to mass-produced garments where, on average, 35% of all materials in the supply chain end up as waste before the final product reaches the consumer.

Sources:

• https://tmtailor.com/pages/sustainability
• https://goodonyou.eco/altering-clothes-sustainable/

Special thanks to Byron Austin for providing a comment in today's episode. You can follow us over on @sustainablyinfluenced and email [email protected] with questions, feedback and guest suggestions.

You can also catch us weekly on The Gadget Show on Channel 5 @7pm (GMT).

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During a child’s first few years of life they go through an obscene number of nappies. It’s estimated that nearly 3 billion nappies are thrown away in the UK every year – that’s roughly 8 million nappies a day.

The Environment Agency estimates that some components of disposable nappies can take up to 500 years to biodegrade. On the market today, there is no disposable nappy that is 100% biodegradable. Even most biodegradable brands only claim to be made of 60 % to 80% biodegradable material. The most environmentally friendly choice would be to go for reusable nappies. 

A baby goes through around 5,000 disposable nappies before being potty trained, if they made the switch to reusable, they’d only need around 20 to 30 reusable nappies. Even if just used part-time as little as two changes a day – that’s about 700 nappies a year you’re not sending to landfill.

Sources

• https://mossy.earth/guides/lifestyle/reusable-nappies-vs-disposable 
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45732371 
• https://www.madeformums.com/news/reusable-nappies-not-catching-on-suggests-new-research/

Special thanks to Imriel Morgan for providing a comment in today's episode. You can follow us over on @sustainablyinfluenced and email [email protected] with questions, feedback and guest suggestions.

You can also catch us weekly on The Gadget Show on Channel 5 @7pm (GMT).

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As a rule, blacksmith art is eco-friendly because it comes from a naturally occurring material, iron, and then lasts for a very long time.

“Blacksmiths have always been great recyclers," says Blacksmith Artist Jay Silber. "From the very earliest days of the Iron Age, metal was a scarce commodity. By repairing items instead of trashing them, that means less for the landfill and less energy spent making new metal.”

Today's guest is Callum Cooper who is a traditionally trained architectural blacksmith, at 29 Callum decided to retrain and learn a craft and trained at Plumpton College in Sussex for 2 years. Initially his business Ferrous Wheel provided architectural and sculptural projects in metal before later expanding and starting Meal Deal Workshop where they offer blacksmithing, fabrication, machining in the metal work department and have a joinery workshop. They also offer design capabilities with a team producing 3D models of projects and full technical drawings. Meal Deal now has a full time staff of 9 people. We are currently based in Forest Hill in South East London. 

Sources:

https://www.monash.edu/engineering/about/news/articles/2019/making-sustainable-materials-through-the-ancient-art-of-blacksmithing

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/20/blacksmith-recycles-canisters-into-cult-kitchen-knives-for-zero-waste-foodies

Thanks to our special guest for today's episode. You can follow us over on @sustainablyinfluenced and email [email protected] with questions, feedback and guest suggestions.

You can also catch us weekly on The Gadget Show on Channel 5 @7pm (GMT).

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Welcome back to another episode of Sustainably Influenced. In today's episode we are discussing the world of leather and asking the question, can leather ever be eco-friendly? We are joined by Emily Rea, co-founder of The Restory

Source: https://moralfibres.co.uk/can-leather-be-eco-friendly/

The Restory are a retail company that provide aftercare for Luxury Fashion. They have previously partnered with Harrods, Manolo Blahnik, FarFetch, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols among others. They revive and repair bags, shoes and clothing. 

Their team consists of specialists brought together from all over the globe to ensure items are in the most capable and passionate hands. They are also training the next generation of masters to ensure the best and brightest are retained and have room to grow and develop their careers.

Thanks for listening today, you can follow us on @sustainablyinfluenced

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This week we are asking the question, why is Jewellery unsustainable? What’s the problem with the Jewellery industry? 

There are two types of jewellery- fine jewellery and fashion jewellery. 

The main ingredient of fine jewellery are precious metals and gemstones that are mined from the ground, stripping the earth of its natural resources. 

Guests:

Arabel Lebrusan founder of brand Lebrusan Studio. Spanish born Arabel’s roles include designer, leading artist and as one of the world’s very first Fairtrade Gold licensees, a key founder of the ethical jewellery movement. 

Darren Sherwood is a London based designer who studied at the world leading centre for art and design education, Central St Martins College of Art and Design. Sherwood Jewellery has made it their mission to strive every day to better themselves and reach perfection, to earn the confidence and trust of their clients by meeting and exceeding their expectations of quality, service, and unsurpassed value.

Show notes:

The Goldsmith's Centre

Kimberley Process

Fair Mined Jewellery

Sources: 

• https://www.tun.com/blog/how-sustainable-is-your-jewelry/
• https://www.sustainablejungle.com/sustainable-fashion/sustainable-and-ethical-jewelry/
• https://www.forbes.com/sites/andreahill/2018/08/29/the-challenge-of-creating-responsible-jewelry/?sh=270b48192fe6

A huge thanks to our guests for joining us on today's episode!

Follow us on @sustainablyinfluenced for new episode alerts and other great content, thanks for listening

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In a traditionally male dominated industry, Emma Buckley is championing young, female beekeeping and is using her entrepreneurial spirit to transform the family business, Buckley’s Bees, founded by her father David Buckley, together they have over 65 years of beekeeping experience. Emma’s drive to raise awareness and create new opportunities is taking the skill of beekeeping to new places and to younger generations, raising awareness on the importance of all pollinators and the environment. Emma has quickly become one of Britain’s most exciting beekeeper’s, creating her Beecause Campaign that looks to enhance the viability and success of natural pollinators and imparting their expert beekeeping knowledge to educate and encourage future generations of the importance of pollinators. To date Buckley’s Bees are supporting organisations including Bentley Motors, Yeo Valley and Taylor Wimpey to name a few.

Sources:

https://www.lbka.org.uk/beekeeping.html

https://www.agricology.co.uk/resources/beekeeping-and-sustainability

Mentioned in this episode:

• https://www.nature.com/articles/s42949-021-00046-6
• https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/food-drink/shopping-guide/honey

A huge thanks to Emma Buckley from Buckley's Bees for joining us on today's episode!

Follow us on @sustainablyinfluenced for new episode alerts and other great content, thanks for listening

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Butchery is an age-old trade with their duties dating back to the domestication of livestock; its practitioners formed guilds in England as far back as 1272.  Even though a growing number of the population are opting for vegetarian or vegan diets, high end butchery is on the rise, with more young people turning to roles in agriculture.  I personally love going to my butcher because, unlike their supermarket equivalents, ethicality, traceability and quality are among the things that actually matter.  Today we are looking at the ethics of butchery in a modern age as well as the rise of young people turning to the trade.

Article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/meat_environment

Show Notes:

Tackling Climate change through livestock https://www.fao.org/3/i3437e/i3437e.pdf 

Mentioned in this episode:

PFLA - Pasteur For Life https://www.pastureforlife.org/

Ground Swell - conference on regenerative agriculture https://groundswellag.com/

Sustainable Food Trust - Feeding Britain https://feedingbritain.org/a-hunger-free-uk-report/

A huge thanks to Glen Burrows from The Ethical Butcher for joining us on today's episode!

Follow us on @sustainablyinfluenced for new episode alerts and other great content, thanks for listening

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This week we are coming to you live from Sustainable Fashion Week in Bristol.

The conversation around sustainability in the garment industry often forgets about the people in “people & planet”.  So today we are here to discuss just that, the human story in fashion.

"Seeing The Human Story" Panelists: Anna Bryher from Labour Behind the Label, Delphine Williott from Fashion Revolution and Kristian Hardiman from Good on You.

Good Clothes Fair Pay demanding a living wage for the people who make our clothes 👕

Become a Labour Behind The Label Activist Now

Follow us on @sustainablyinfluenced for regular updates and listen in for another new episode, next Wednesday!

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Welcome back to season 6 of Sustainably Influenced.

This week's guest is Vanessa Butt of Vanessa Butt Upholstery. Vanessa runs a small, Lambeth-based upholstery business with expertise in both modern and traditional upholstery. They market themselves as upholstery with sustainability at it’s core.

Upholstery is a very inherently sustainable practice. If you are considering having your furniture repaired and reupholstered then you are already helping preserve raw materials and reduce waste. Traditional upholstery is one of the most sustainable crafts in the UK. This is mostly due to the natural materials that are used to build a strong and comfortable padding from the frame of the chair. The majority of work is done by hand tools, and the upholstery should last generations.

However, not all upholsters have a focus on sustainability and some of the materials used by them have questionable environmental impact. To embrace sustainable practices, upholsterers should focus on using natural, sustainable, eco-friendly materials- coconut fibre, Jute and Flax are becoming increasingly used. Wool is also an eco-friendly material and recycled Polyester is commonly used.

Sources: 

• https://www.furniturenews.net/resources/articles/2021/11/51751589-why-does-sustainability-matter-upholstery-sector
• https://www.vanessabutt.co.uk/sustainability

Thanks to Vanessa for joining us. Please follow us on Instagram & TikTok @sustainablyinfluenced. Season 5 of SI is available to listen now on all good podcast platforms!

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Welcome back to a brand new season of Sustainably Influenced the podcast guiding people through the minefield of sustainability, with your hosts, Charlotte Williams and Bianca Foley.

This season is all about the people behind the product. In a society where everything has become so disposable and waste is one of the biggest problems affecting our planet. We wanted to go back to a time where what you owned was treasured. Come with us on a journey this season where we chat with experts who are taking us back to a time where craftsmanship and ethical consumption were key, but making it suitable for today's modern society.

Follow us on TikTok and Instagram @sustainablyinfluenced

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