Here comes another post about consumerism... ...I wrote a post about consumerism back in February and since this topic is still one I think of every single day, I decided to write another one. When I watched the movie The True Cost I came across the term "fast fashion" and I want to share a few thoughts on this term and the whole topic behind it.
The movie The True Cost is basically a summary of why the way most of us consume, namely using clothes as disposables, is everything but sustainable.
The main problem is our approach to fashion, to fast fashion. Too many of us buy a new dress for every party! The documentary elaborotes on the topic; on the effects of genetically modified cotton (and why 250.000 cotton farmers comitted suicide in the last years), the use of pesticides which bears the blame for thousands of disabled children in the Punjab area in India (and other areas in the world), the working conditions of garment factory workers (and beatings by bosses who resent unionization and requests for higher wages), the different collapes and fires of garment factories (with thousands of deaths), and the effect our used clothing has on the local factories in countries of the Global South (e.g. Haiti and different African countries) - since they local industry has no chance to compete with the much cheaper imported second hand clothes. Furthermore, the movie explains the environmental impact of the fast fashion industry (additionally to the impact of genetically modified cotton and pesticides), with emphasis on the enormous amount of trash and chemicals. In my opinion the documentary is not very well made (chaotic, no real order, difficult to follow different arguments, difficult to understand the connections when you do not have a certani background knowledge) but it still is great food for thought and I wish everyone out there will watch it (or has already watched it!?) At least, it made me (once again) think of my behaviour as a consumer. I am thinking about this a looooot in years already, but sometimes its good to watch a documentary like this one to remind myself why again I am thinking so much about it. Its like with me being vegan. Sometimes I just have to read a little bit on the environmental effects of eating animal products, or I have to watch a documentary on the topic, to remind myself why I am vegan and why it is the only sustainable diet. So this documentary certainly reminded me again, why I want (in theory) to consume less and more sustainable. In practice, I find this really difficult to be honest. I tried so often to stop shopping, to buy second hand only, to buy organic only, etc. but I failed, failed and failed again. I am making the My Purchases posts here on my blog to be able to analyse and criticize my shopping behaviour and to be aware of how much I buy. Well, also this did not help much so far (in contrast, in May and June I bought more than ever...). Thats why I decided to watch The True Cost - it made me set new goals once again. So, once again, I decided that I want to stop buying cheap clothes, that I want to buy second hand or fair trade and organic only, that I want to buy a lot less and a lot better! I stopped e.g. already a while ago to cooperate with companies like "sheinside" because this is not sustainable fashion at all. I will continue to use my blog as a reminder to myself and I will continue with the My Purchases posts to be able to analyse and criticize my shopping behaviour. And I would LOVE TO KNOW if some of you have similar thoughts and if you want to share your experiences with me.
Maybe we can help each other, reminding each other, posting reminder to eachother every once in a while, writing reviews on documentarys or books, sharing stories etc. We could even design a cute little button which says something like "conscious blogger" and put it on our blogs to make us become a little community (or maybe even a big community!? :)).
What do you think? Is anyone out there in? Do you have other ideas? Please share this idea with your followers and lets try to reach as many people out there as possible. We should not forget that we only have this one world to live in and I really want to see my daughter grow up in a beautiful world, not one where more than half of the world poulation is suffering and where the environment is close to collapse. Lets change this world together :) Sending much love!
The color I wear most often definetly is blue... ... I love all different shades of blue and here I am wearing a royal blue shorts and a blouse with light blue stripes. The shorts is a rather old one from the French brand ETAM. I bought it back in 2010 when I lived in Paris. The blouse was part of my last my purchases post since I bought it in June this year. Its from MANGO and I wear it a lot... like once a week or so :) I am also wearing my blue earrings that I have been showing in more detail in my last post and that I am wearing every second day at the moment :)
How do you like this blue on blue look?
I hope you all had a wonderful week!? Mine was filled with really nice day trips - one to Hamburg, one to the small town of Oldenburg, and one to a small village in the area where lots of artists are living and where there are plenty galleries and museums. I loved to spend the entire day in different museums, looking at amazing artwork. We had lunch in a really nice restaurant where we were sitting in the garden and I had the most delicious zuccini filled with quinoa :)
I also enjoyed to explore the town Oldenburg which is really pretty. I was so busy admiring the town and having fun with my cousins that I did not take any pictures to share with you. Its so wonderful to do all these nice activities with my baby which is happy with everything and which seems to enjoy all these small adventures as much as I do :)
I wish you all a wonderful weekend and sending much love!
Remember my last "my purchases" post? If not you can find it here :)
In this post I have been showing the pencil skirt and the blouse that I am wearing here. I have been wearing both pieces a looooot. Like at least once a week. They both turned out to be some of my new absolutely favorites and I love to combine the skirt with all different kinds of blouses and the white blouse with all different kind of skirts and pants. Here is a combination that I have been wearing a couple of times before I took some pictures for the blog the other day. How do you like it?
The oversized kimono that I am wearing here wih the MANGO short sleeve blouse and the H&M pencil skirt, is a new-in that I bought a couple of weeks ago on sale. By the way, I am still thinking a lot about consumerism and the way I consume. I posted a few thoughts on the topic here and I decided that I want to share a little more of my thoughts. This is why I am going to review the movie "The True Cost" for you. I am also thinking about reviewing the movie "cowspiracy" which is another favorite documentary of mine. Cowspiracy had a great influence on me when I went vegan and it convinced me that veganism is the only sustainable way of eating. Now The True Cost may change my behaviour as a consumer when it comes to clothes and since this is a huge topic on my blog I think its important to share my thoughts with you :)
Anyway, for today, I want to stay positive and keep away from the brutal truth. But its absolutely clear that I cannot continue like that...
Summer days are to be spend outside... ... at least thats what I think. I spend all my days in the garden of my holiday house, enjoying the sun, the wind, sometimes the rain (on the roofed terrace) and the fresh air. This is great for body and soul and also for my skin. But my skin also needs a little extra care when its exposed to much sunlight. This is why I love to use the regenerating products from Love me Green.
Every morning I spoil my face with the regenerating day cream to provide my skin with moisture. The day cream
supports the regeneration process and improves skin elasticity, and it give a fresh
complexion without leaving a greasy film. Plus it smells really good. I like the fact that all ingredients are natural and organic - aloe, argan oil, shea butter, pomegranate seed oil, apricot kernel oil, and frangipani extract. I really love this product and I can recommend it to anyone who wants to give their skin some extra good day care, protection and a little bit of luxury - and to everyone who loves the amazing smell of pomegranate and frangipani flower :)
When I feel like I need a little extra care for my face, I love to use the regenerating facemask which I reviewed for you on my blog here.
For my hair I also like to use organic and natural products only. I did not review much hair care on the blog so far because I mainly use my rather simple organic shampoo and argan oil. However, when I went to the hairdresser a few weeks ago she recommended me to use conditioner since my hair is slightly dry. So I started looking for a good conditioner (I never really used conditioner ever) and I was really happy when I got to try the one from Love me Green. The organic conditioner nourishes my hair, it has a wonderful smell of coconut and frangipani flower and my hair regains its natural smoothness without feeling dry after washing it. The conditioner is extremely
gentle, smells amazing and is stuffed with great natural ingredients such as shea butter, cocnut oil, aloe and papaya extract. You can find the conditioner here. Like all products from Love me Green, they
are certified by ECOCERT Green life therefore they correspond to the
ECOCERT bio-cosmetics standard.All products are vegetarian, some even vegan. Even if a few
animal products such as beeswax, honey, or royal jelly are used, they are all
monitored and ECOCERT Green life conditions are met: "There can be
neither parts of the animal, nor shall their extraction stress the
animals or result in pain or death of the animal. They must be produced
naturally.” This is guaranteed by ECOCERT Green life.
What are your favorite after sun products? Do you use any special skin or hair care during Summer? I would love to know :)
Sending you much love and wishing you a wonderful start in the new week!
The other day we had a little matcha party... ... we went outside with some matcha tea and we enjoyed the light of the evening sun while drinking a delicious cup of matcha tea. Are you familiar with matcha tea? Have you every tried it?
Matcha tea is said to be the the highest quality tea available in Japan. Its basically grounded powder of specially grown and processed green tea. For matcha the green tea
plants are shade-grown for about three weeks before the harvest - that is because the lack of light causes the tea leaves to turn dark green and
to produce large amounts of the health promoting amino acid theanine. Hence, it is not only really delicicous but it also has amating health effects. The theanine in tea plants is said to boost immunity and prevent infections by improving the disease-fighting capacity of your organism. Furthermore, matcha is filled with antioxidants which are said to disarm free radicals, reactive oxygen molecules that cause damage to the organism by harming cells, tissues, and organs. Does this sound good? Feel free to check out jomu for more information on this healthiest (and yummiest) tea ever :)
To make your own matcha tea, you need this little brush so that you can whisk your tea until it has these typical small bubbles. Its really easy to make and gives a little extra to this already extraordinary tea!
I have to say that I never had matcha in my house before because it is quiet an invention to purchase this tea. I loved to have a matcha tea from time to time in some of my favorite coffee shops but at home I never got the pleasure. Lucky me that jomu decided to change this and make this little tea party in the garden of our "Summer house" possible :)
Looking at these pictures... don't you wanna join :)?
I have been wearing this casual outfit when we went for a looong walk last Saturday... ... as you may remember from my last post I have been to the Lueneburg Heath for a day trip. This is what I have been wearing :) How do you like these shorts with the prongs? I really like them because the color is just so Summer-like and it fits so easy and wide which makes it the most comfy ever. I just paired it with a simple white shirt - why not ;)!?
I hope you are having a great week so far!? I definetly am! Summer came back with all its power and I enjoy the sunshine and the heeat! I spend most of my days outside with the baby and I have lots of time to read books, plan new posts, study a little for my final exams in nutrition and just enjoy this beautiful time of the year :) Sending you all much love!
I am still travelling around northern Germany... ...with my husband and my baby :) After our stay at the baltic coast in Kiel we travelled a little further south. We are in the federal state of Lower Saxony where, between others, the Lueneburg Heath is located. This is where we went for a beautiful hike on Saturday :)
It was my first time visiting this part of Germany and I really really enjoyed it. I did actually not know that we have a landscape like this in Germany and in some parts it reminded me a little of the US.
In the Lueneburg Heath there are lots of sheeps and this here is a sheep pen - how cool is that? The sheeps are running around freely and when they feel like it, they can find shelther in this sheep pen. I really like this! Also, the flowers above are just now beginning to bloom in all shades of violet. In late August the entire heath is blooming and the landscape turns from green/brown into violet! That must be so beautiful and I think I have to return to the Lueneburg Heath when all flowers are blooming :)
Dont you agree that this is beautiful? I really enjoyed our little hiking trip! I hope you had a beautiful weekend too! What have you been doing? Maybe you also spent some time in the nature? I would love to know :) Sending much love and wishing you a wonderful week!
