naturally dyed shirts

Clothing Dyed with Plants?

posted in conscious fashion
(this post is kindly sponsored by Sustain)

I love natural dyeing, it not only is a beautiful process but it can be a lot safer for us and the environment. So I was thrilled when Kat from Sustain reached out to share her slow fashion brand that uses all natural dyes. It’s very hard to find brands even in the sustainable fashion world that naturally dye their fabrics. I think part of the reason is that customers and the industry are so used to synthetic dyes, some people don’t even know natural dyes are an option and there are misconceptions that they fade quickly, discolour, or won’t hold up (which we’ll get more into).

So how does natural dyeing work?

Dyes can be obtained from minerals, bugs, and plants – they can be extracted from roots, leaves, bark, wood, fruits, flowers, and fungi, even food waste like certain peels and pits can be used for dyeing. The dyes can come directly from the fresh plant or for more commercial dyeing they are typically in a dried, powdered, or extracted form.

Often fabrics are pre-treated with a mordant (which is French for “bite”) that helps the dye bind with the fabric and makes it more colourfast and long-lasting. Sometimes mordants are added to the dye bath and certain mordants can also be used to shift dyes to different colours. Sustain uses safer mordants like myrobalan (a medicinal Tibetan fruit), oak galls, alum, and soy milk, although it is important to know that some natural dyeing can use heavy metals so if you find naturally dyed products it’s often good to ask what has been used as a mordant.

The dye material is heated with water and steeped for a while to create a dye bath.

Then the mordanted fabric is added to the vat. It often needs to be stirred for even colour and given time to soak up the dye – typically the longer the fabric is left in the dye bath the deeper the colour will be. Dyes like indigo though are set when they oxidise so you have to repeatedly soak it in the bath and hang it up to deepen the colour.

After, the dyed fabric is rinsed to remove any excess dye, and dried. It might also go through other dyeing or printing processes, and then is ready to be cut into clothes!

naturally dyed pjs from Sustain

This pj set is dyed with a combination of chamomile, lavender, rose, myrobalan, and indigo. First they do the flower vat which creates a yellow colour and then the blue indigo vat which together results in a blue-ish green. The pjs initially were more blue but as I’ve worn and washed them they’ve shifted a bit more green which I think is really cool. Some natural dyes will change a bit over time and some are even ph sensitive – I definitely made a mistake using red cabbage (highly ph sensitive) as a dye once which you can see in this video. We’re so used to synthetic dyes that any slight variances in colour are unfortunately often seen as “flaws” – it’s not uncommon for entire shipments of styles to be sent back (aka trashed) if the colour isn’t an exact match. With natural dyeing though likely no dye bath will be identical, little things like the water used or when the plants were harvested can all impact the colour and I think those variances and changes are part of what makes the pieces special and unique. šŸ˜Š

Something else I really love is Sustain is even conscious of their water use. For these pjs the leftover flower water is used in their garden where they grow dye plants like marigold, weld, madder root, and indigo, and they keep their indigo vat for months, just adding more dye and water as needed instead of starting from scratch every time.

Sustain dyes some of their products in-house but also carries garments made with an ayurvedic dyeing process which is part of an Indian tradition passed down through generations. The ayurvedic dyeing only mordants with tannins from the plants, uses the whole plants for dyeing, and at lower temperatures to preserve the beneficial properties of the plants.

The tank is made from organic cotton that has been dyed with pomegranate peels and rhubarb – both of which have antimicrobial properties.

But doesn’t it fade?

First thing to remember is all dyes fade overtime – one of the common reasons people replace items is because they’ve faded, how often do people complain that their black clothes aren’t true black anymore? It’s a misconception that naturally dyed clothes are not colourfast. You can see garments in museums from hundreds of years ago that still have their colour! While natural dyes can fade over time, different dyes will hold up better than others (indigo and madder for example are very long-lasting) and most synthetic dyes aren’t colourfast either.

Like with conventionally dyed clothes, there are some things you can do to preserve the colour:

  • wash in cold water
  • use a ph-neutral and eco-friendly detergent
  • avoid storing/hanging in direct sunlight

Natural dyes do typically have a softer quality to the colour – you won’t get a hot pink or neon orange, but they also seem to have a richness to them that I think you can’t really replicate with synthetics. Plus I find it is so cool knowing my clothes were dyed with plants, and also knowing there aren’t harmful chemicals like NPEs or azo compounds hiding in the fabric or being dumped into the water – I have a video more about toxic chemicals in clothing.

natural dyed pjs from Sustain

Additionally, all of Sustain’s garments are ethically made in LA and they ensure safe conditions and fair wages for the workers making and dyeing the textiles.

They have a beautiful selection of staples and basics in a range of naturally dyed colours, as well as a collection of undyed organic garments for those with very sensitive skin. They even have a ‘non-conformists’ line of one-of-a-kind pieces.

Thank you so much to Sustain by Kat for sponsoring this post! I love being able to share and talk about natural dyeing šŸ˜Š

Read more about my favourite dyes and how I fell in love with natural dyeing. 

Fall 2018 Capsule Wardrobe

posted in capsule wardrobes
(please note: this post contains someĀ affiliate links)

Now that we’re living in a totally new climate I’ve had to re-think my capsule wardrobe a bit. So far this autumn we’ve had both beautiful warm days as well as snow and temps dipping into the negatives. Since it can be quite unpredictable I’ve really focused on good layers with this capsule so hopefully I can layer up or down as the temperatures require.

fall capsule wardrobe layers

The items I chose for my fall capsule wardrobe:
  1. Olive/tan tank ā€“ Sustain
  2. Blue tank ā€“Ā secondhand
  3. Velvet bodysuit ā€“Ā UnderprotectionĀ (read aĀ brand review)
  4. Navy tee ā€“Ā Lanius
  5. Grey linen tee ā€“ secondhand
  6. Black tee ā€“Ā Funktion SchnittĀ 
  7. Long shirt ā€“Ā ArmedAngels
  8. Plaid draped shirt ā€“ secondhand
  9. Striped oversized shirt ā€“Ā secondhand
  10. Red knit top ā€“ old
  11. Grey knit top ā€“ People Tree
  12. Blue cropped sweater ā€“ DIY/handknit
  13. Grey/brown sweaterĀ ā€“ Izzy Lane
  14. Rust cardiganĀ ā€“ Eileen Fisher
  15. Beige cardigan ā€“ old
  16. Dark jeans ā€“Ā Mud Jeans
  17. Black pantsĀ ā€“ People Tree
  18. Cropped wool pantsĀ ā€“ secondhand
  19. Striped knit skirtĀ Ā ā€“ secondhand from thredUP
  20. Linen skirt ā€“Ā NotPerfectLinenĀ (read moreĀ about my love of linen)
  21. Ikat jumpsuit ā€“Ā Matter PrintsĀ (watch moreĀ about ikat and the jumpsuit)
  22. Silk romper ā€“Ā secondhand
  23. Draped wool dress ā€“ secondhand
  24. Grey tee dress ā€“Ā Kowtow
  25. Brown jacket ā€“ DIY/handmade
  26. Denim jacket ā€“ secondhand
  27. Grey jacketĀ ā€“Ā NƤZ
  28. Paisley scarf ā€“ secondhand
  29. Beige purse ā€“Ā Angela & RoiĀ 
  30. Backpack ā€“ Matt & Nat (please readĀ why I no longer support Matt & Nat)
  31. Black hat ā€“ secondhand
  32. Beige beret ā€“ DIY/handknit

Pieces in my fall 2018 capsule wardrobe

My capsule wardrobe is adapted from theĀ Project 333 challenge.Ā Over the course of creatingĀ many capsule wardrobesĀ Iā€™ve been fine-tuning them to figure out what works best for me. Last year I decided to no longer include shoes as part of my capsule wardrobe, I feel I have a good core ā€œshoe capsuleā€ and the one thing I occasionally seemed to miss was a certain pair of shoes. This has worked well this last year and I will continue to have a separate shoes from my wardrobe. My ā€œshoe capsuleā€ includesĀ a pair of boots, heeled boots (which I need to replace and am currently searching for), sneakers, sandals, flats, formal heels and athletic/running shoes.

I also no longer try to hit a specific number, just build a wardrobe I think would work well. It usually ends up being around 30-35 pieces, often on the higher end in fall/winter and lower in spring/summer.

Hope you have a beautiful autumn šŸ‚

Favourite Small-Batch Natural Skincare & Hair Brands

When you first get into green beauty it’s mostly the big brands you hear about. Lush was definitely my (and probably most people’s) introduction to more natural products, then I found 100% Pure, and moving to Germany it was easy to get brands like Lavera and Weleda. However one of my favourite things now is discovering small, indie brands who make wonderful products. So I want to share a few favourites I’ve tried.

(This post may contain some affiliate links)

SįøµwĆ”lwen Botanicals

I have been using SįøµwĆ”lwen’s skincare products for a couple years now and dare I say, have found the perfect routine for my skin?

SįøµwĆ”lwen is an Indigenous-owned brand crafting skincare products from sustainably wild-harvested plants and organic ingredients in the Canadian Pacific Northwest. I have been using a simple combination of their TewĆ­nā€™xw Cranberry Facial Bar for cleansing followed by their TewĆ­nā€™xw Cranberry Rose Facial Serum for moisturizing and it has done more for my skin redness than any other product.

I also really like their KalkĆ”y Wild Rose Face Masque although it is very different than most mask – it’s oil-based, very nourishing, and especially amazing for dry winter skin.


Oil + Water

This small batch skincare brand is all hand made in New York with a focus on minimal, high quality, beneficial ingredients. After trying out their starter set I fell in love with the gentle, moisturizing skin care routine (you can watch a skincare video I did in partnership with Oil + Water here).

My favourite product of theirs is probably the face oil, it absorbs nicely without being too heavy or greasy. They also have a beautiful face mist, clay mask, and soaps – basically everything I’ve tried I’ve loved. ā˜ŗļø Plus I also have a discount code – with MYGREENCLOSET10 you can get 10% off the Oil + Water line!


Magic Organic Apothecary 

I first discovered this UK brand through the owner of The Choosy Chick (which is a great place to order it in North America). All of MOA’s skincare products are made in England with a strong focus on yarrow, which is a herb with a rich history of healing, that they combine with other herbal extracts and oils. Their Hello Sunshine body oil has been amazing for summer and has such a great bright, citrusy scent.

Probably the product I love most though is their Green Balm – it has been my go-to multi-purpose product especially when camping and road-tripping this summer. It can be used as an oil cleanser and to remove makeup and I’ve also found it great for any dryness (which I’m getting a lot more since moving back to dry Alberta) as well as bug bites, itchiness, redness/irritation, and I even put it on sunburns.


The Innate Life

This Canadian hair care brand started with only a few hair treatments but have slowly been expanding their range. They focus on beneficial herbs, botanical blends, and high quality ingredients. While I love using their shampoo and conditioner, my top picks would actually be their scalp treatment – it’s amazing for dryness and to nourish your scalp, and also their rose hair elixir – a few drops can really help dry ends and frizziness.

The Innate Life hair oil

I love finding brands that value natural ingredients and work hard to create formulas that deliver all those beneficial plant properties to our skin and hair. Learning more about green beauty has been such a cool journey – it’s incredible all the amazing properties and things plants can do for our skin and bodies!

What are your favourite natural ingredients or indie green beauty brands?

šŸ’š


Photos using the products outside by Dennis Wilhelms Photography

Updated Jan 30, 2022

Watching the World Burn

posted in Activism, Thoughts

A couple weeks ago I experienced a forest fire. We were on a trip spending some time in the Okanagan which the night before had a huge lightning storm that started 20 fires in the area. There was a plume of smoke at the top of the mountain when we arrived and we watched it grow and move down the mountain throughout the day. Surreally we spent the evening sitting around with neighbours sipping wine and watching the glow of the fires and occasional columns of flames as whole trees caught. One was south of the town and another across the lake. We listened to updates of how our host’s friends down the road were being evacuated, reassurances that the fire wasn’t moving towards us and if winds changed there would be plenty of evacuation notice. Everyone was remarking how strange it is that something can be so devastating and beautiful at the same time, and it was weirdly beautiful to watch, the same way the flickering glow of a campfire is mesmerising. Binoculars were passed around and as the sun set the glow of the fires intensified.

Unlike the residents we had no home to worry about and all our belongings were basically packed up and ready to go. Our host came back with a stack of photo albums from their friend’s place and I considered what I would grab if a fire was moving towards our home, grateful to never have had to make that decision.

watching a forest fire in the Okangan
smoke from fires across the lake

We’ve left but the area is still burning; more evacuation orders have been put out but also fortunately rescinded and the last update I heard is that the one nearby fire reached over 1700 hectares but is being held. However the crazy thing is this is happening all over the world and at a much larger and more damaging scale. California is experiencing huge fires, and over in EuropeĀ Sweden seems to finally be on top of their firesĀ (they had over 80), Greece’s fires have been tragically deadly, firefighters in Germany are using tanks because leftover WWII-era ammunition in the ground can be set off by the flames, and this is all exacerbated byĀ a heatwave across Europe.

There’s no doubt that climate change will mean an increase in forest fires. A study commissioned by the EU found that with climate change dry areas are moving more north increasing forest fire risks. Areas of the sub-arctic in Canada, Sweden, and Latvia are burning and Greenland had a large fire last year just south of the ice sheet. According to this CBC Interview these arctic wildfires are even more difficult and damaging – peat moss releases large amounts ofĀ carbon dioxide when burned, the fires go deeper into the ground because of the moss and require more water, plus the soot and ash in the air blows north and blankets the arctic ice creating a dark surface and causing it to melt faster.

forest fire
photo: unsplash

Forest fires are only one reason on a very long list of why we need to care about climate change, be serious about implementing solutions, and stop politically polarising it.

I’m so thankful I have never had to live through a flood, fire, hurricane or any other natural disaster and can’t even imagine how terrifying and devastating it must be. Although I like to focus on positive stories and personal changes we can make to be more environmentally conscious I think it’s also important to remember why these changes are so important. Sitting by the lake with smoke blurring out the sun and the smell of burning everywhere, watching the fires, I couldn’t help thinking about how this planet is our only home, how we’ve carelessly abused it for so long, and how these kinds of natural disasters are likely going to keep increasing. We’ve already been setting record-breaking temperatures around the northern hemisphere this summer.

 

Now I don’t want to leave this post on such a heavy note and I like to focus on actionable things – so what can we do?
We all can definitely do our best to reduce our impact and I have lots of videosĀ and other posts here on the blog about ways to do that, but something that is also really important is using your voice politically; contact your reps about climate policies and vote for people and parties who care about the environment and actually have plans and programs to help combat climate change. We need to demand our governments do better to protect our planet.

šŸŒŽ

 

Dear Brands: I’m a Small Business Too

posted in Thoughts

Hey brands, we need to talk.

Every day I wake up to emails and DMs that go something like this:

“We’re an eco-friendly/vegan/natural/fair company and we’d love if you shared our product on Instagram/wrote a blog post about us/made a video using our product!”

It’s really cool to see how many conscious brands there are now and how many are starting up, and if the company meets my criteria and seems like a good fit for My Green Closet, I typically respond back asking for more info about the brand and include my media kit with sponsored content options.

Then about 95% of the time the brand either completely ghosts or responds:

“We’re a small business and don’t have a budget” 

Here’s the issue, I’m a small business too. My web hosting, camera, editing software, photographer, etc. all cost money, never mind paying myself for the typical 50+ hours I put into working on MGC each week.

Bloggers, Instagrammers, and Youtubers are often viewed like pitching newspapers or magazines where you can get free publicity for your brand, but the business model is completely different. We’re not paid a salary or rate per post and if there is any advertising revenue, it’s often minimal for a smaller influencer and can very unreliable. So while traditional media uses their advertising to pay for writing and photographing a feature about you, most influencers don’t have a lot of or any alternate funding to cover that. The majority of revenue typically comes from sponsorships or affiliate partnerships and in this eco/ethical niche it unfortunately seems very few brands are willing to pay for them.

The conscious brand and blogger relationship has to be a two-way street; creators can’t just be supporting brands, we should also be getting support back.

But you get “paid” in product!

First of all I know how bratty this might sound – complaining about getting stuff for free, šŸ™„ right? But please bear with me.

I think it’s obvious that I can’t pay my rent with free products so it’s not sustainable income, however there are also deeper issues and discrepancies here that brands, content creators, and consumers in the conscious fashion industry should be aware of. While sending out free products to influencers is a promoted and often advised way to market your brand for free/cheap it goes against some of the fundamental values we’re all claiming to support and work towards in a responsible fashion industry.

Conscious Creators Consume Consciously

Say that 5 times fast šŸ˜œ

I’m probably at the more extreme end of this since I have a capsule wardrobe and live fairly minimally, but any creator who is promoting and actually living a more sustainable lifestyle knows the importance of mindful consumption. Having overflowing closets, drawers full of beauty products and piles of household goods, even if they’re eco friendly, still isn’t very sustainable.

There’s a balance to find as a blogger/youtuber though because people are looking for recommendations – if you’re thinking of purchasing something you want to make sure it meets your criteria and is something you’re going to like and use. The main mission of My Green Closet is to help and inspire people to live more sustainably and responsibly. One way of doing this is making it easier to shop in line with your values by sharing brands, products and better options. However I also have to to do this without going against my own values and ideas; how hypocritical would it be if I talk about consuming consciously and then every month share a new beauty line I’m using, have a totally new wardrobe each season, or post “hauls” (yes, I’ve had quite a few brands ask to be featured in a haul video šŸ¤¢).

If I said yes to every brand I like who wanted to send me stuff I would have a bursting closet and way more beauty and skincare products than I could ever use up, which is just wasteful! It is very exciting and encouraging to see how many sustainable brands and products are out there, but the main focus of my platforms is not to sell stuff.

I’m also trying to find other creative ways to share brands and products that I think the MGC audience would be interested in without compromising my own minimalist lifestyle. Doing things like borrowing clothes which can be sent back, only getting small samples of beauty products to try out first, or occasionally giving products to my Patrons/people who will use them, but I still have a set limit on how many partnerships I’ll do and that means only a tiny fraction of brands ever make the cut.

As a brand, if sending products to every conscious blogger out there is your marketing strategy be prepared for a lot of no-thank-yous. Most creators I know in this space only accept free product if it’s something they really want and likely would have purchased anyway. Be careful about influencers who say yes to any free product that’s offered, it’s important to do some research on who you’re contacting so you don’t get burned – there unfortunately are some “ethical” creators who use bots and fake followers and/or are just in it for the free stuff, so only approach creators you think are a good fit and align with your brands values, it’s not just about their numbers.

I know as a brand you need to sell your product, but you also need to give some thought to promoting conscious vs. mindless consumption or you’re just doing the same thing as fast fashion.

This also is important in your goals for a partnership, if you want to increase awareness about your brand and let people know about your beautiful products or the cool things you’re doing, great! Let’s talk šŸ™‚ But if your goal is to have me get x number of people to purchase from you in the next week, I’m not interested. Promoting conscious consumption means I encourage people to think about their purchases and take time to make sure it’s something they will use and keep, not immediately buy the product (unless it’s actually the exact item they’ve been searching for).

Fair pay needs to include everyone

It’s hypocritical to tell me how you pay all your employees fairly for their work (which of course is very important) and then ask me to spend hours, sometimes days, filming and editing a video, taking photos, and/or writing content for you, unpaid.

Creators are helping you market your brand and should be part of your marketing budget. A ton of work goes into creating content for you and most of us are one-woman-shows; from researching, writing, editing, to styling, photographing, filming, modelling, responding to questions, and more, we’re doing it all! I assume you pay the models, photographers, social media staff, copywriters, etc. that do work for you, so why wouldn’t this extend to the bloggers and youtubers?

I also wonder if your business is okay

If you tell me you have zero budget for marketing it creates concerns and doubts about your business – all brands should have at least some marketing budget.

It makes me question if you’re serious about your company and mission and I worry if you’re still going to be around in a year with no strategy to market yourself. This is especially concerning if you work with artisans or disadvantaged communities – if you’re employing people without a stable business and long-term plan in place what happens to them if your brand doesn’t succeed?

I want to work with brands who are passionate about doing things better and who create amazing products, but also who are committed to building their conscious businesses. Having no marketing budget makes it seem like you’re not serious about growing your business.

Plus, rates are LOW

If you’re used to just giving out free product, paying for a sponsored post of course can seem expensive, but the reality is most creators in this conscious lifestyle space are charging a lot less than conventional influencers. There’s been talk among my fellow sustainable blogger friends about the need to raise our rates which are significantly lower than industry standards. While I of course believe creators deserve to be paid fairly for their work, I’ve been hesitant and slow to do this because it’s hard enough as is to get sponsors, and will only get harder with a rate increase, even if it is only moving closer to a more standard rate.

I’m also extremely fortunate and grateful because I have the most incredible Patrons helping support my content. Having a consistent bit of income each month means I at least know I can cover the basic costs of running MGC.

Additionally, I get some revenue from YouTube ads although I would LOVE to turn them off one day *fingers crossed* – it sucks having ads for brands I don’t support running on my videos, but currently I can’t keep making videos without them.

So thankfully not just sponsorships are solely funding My Green Closet which is why I’ve been able to keep going for 4 years, but most bloggers don’t have these supplementary revenue streams.

working on the computer

Guilt goes nowhere

Definitely don’t try to guilt or shame people into working for free. I’ve heard this from other bloggers too, when we ask for compensation for the work involved, the brand talks about how if we really cared about promoting ethical fashion we’d be happy to share their product. This is infuriating – there are so many amazing, dedicated creators in this space, working their asses off, giving up their free time to help spread awareness because it’s something they’re passionate about. Just because someone wants to spend their time talking about other topics instead of promoting your product doesn’t mean they don’t care about this movement.

Guilting and bullying people into sharing your brand by saying they’re lazy, greedy, or questing their commitment is just not cool. I promise you, if someone wants to make a lot of money and be lazy they don’t start an ethical fashion blog or youtube channel, people do this because they’re passionate about helping change things.

We succeed together

You have a mission to help improve the industry by doing things better and creating more responsible products. Myself and other creators have a mission to spread awareness and help educate and encourage people to live more consciously. We want to support the success of brands like you but it’s honestly hard and frustrating to do that when the majority of brands don’t want to support us back and often try to get things as cheap as possible or try to guilt creators into promoting them for free.

We both play a role in this complex puzzle and are ultimately working towards the same goals, so let’s work together.

It’s not everyone

I want to acknowledge that some brands are amazing to partner with and totally get that people working for them and helping promote them deserve to be fairly paid for their work, and also understand the value of influencer marketing and have a budget specifically for it. However based on the brands I’ve been in contact with unfortunately only about 5-10% fall into this category.

I also want to say that I don’t think most conscious brands are purposely trying to take advantage of bloggers. Getting free or very cheap promotion is seen as “good business – brands brag about how little they spend on social media promotion and I totally get that when budgets are tight you want to save pennies wherever possible. A lot of brands also don’t seem to understand the difference between a PR pitch and a marketing request – letting me know about you is fine, I can do what I want with that info, maybe ask for a product to test out and include you in content if it fits well. However asking to have a video made about you, for a blog feature, or for social media posts is not a PR pitch, you’re asking for marketing content which should be paid.

Overall I just think brands just aren’t looking at the larger picture and the relationship they’re building with influencers, don’t understand how much work goes into making content, and don’t realise how many pitches and free product offers creators receive (I currently am getting 1-5 pitches every day), so hopefully this post sheds some light from a content creator’s perspective.

And for some other conscious blogger’s perspectives check out:

Plastic Free July

posted in low waste

I’m doing the Plastic Free July challenge again! I’ve already talked about why I’m not zero waste, but I still think challenges can be a great way to learn and try out new things. Especially with our recent move back to Canada I’m excited to see what plastic free and eco-friendly options are available here. Things have also quieted down a bit this month so I’m also looking forward to having more time to test out some DIY recipes. šŸ™‚

 

Setting a good foundation

With going plastic free, planning is definitely important so you can bring what you need. In addition to my essentialsĀ (water bottle, shopping bags, coffee cup) I’ll also try to bring snacks or maybe reuseable straws or cutlery depending where we’re going.

It also takes time to develop habits like asking for no straw or no bag, but I think a month-long challenge can be a great way to solidify some of those habits.

Plastic Free July must-haves

 

No one’s perfect

The downside to challenges like this though are that when you do forget or can’t figure out a plastic free alternative there can be guilt and feelings of failure. While I think a little dose of guilt can be helpful to remember next time, it’s important to move on and not dwell in those negative feelings. No one is perfectly sustainable and it’s about doing your best. Your living situation and what you have access too also plays a major role in how successful you can be at living plastic free. So focus on and celebrate the things you can do.

It’s a journey

More than anything I think this challenge is about being more aware of your plastic consumption and discovering ways you can make small changes.There are some amazing resources for getting inspiration and ideas:

šŸ’šĀ Going Zero Waste,Ā Kathryn is seriously a one-stop shop for everything you could want to know about zero waste living and I love her approachable and non-judgemental attitude.

and because youtube is my first love, these are some great channels:

šŸ’šĀ Gittemary Johansen has a channel focused mainly on zero waste living, cooking, and travelling.

šŸ’šĀ ShelbizleeeĀ also has some great videos on sustainable and zero waste living.

šŸ’šĀ Alli Cherry, I love Alli’s channel and she has some lovely plastic free/zero waste videos.

and the Plastic Free July website has tons of great info and resources to help you out!

 

I’m sharing my Plastic Free July journey in weekly videos on Instagram’s new IGTV,Ā the first week is now up and you can also see some of the low waste swaps and changes I’ve already made here.

Zero waste essentials

 

Please let me know if you’re also doing the challenge and how it’s going!

ā™»

Summer 2018 Capsule Wardrobe

posted in capsule wardrobes

We’re settling into life in Canada and after about 10 years living in pretty cloudy places I’m really enjoying all the sun we get in Edmonton.Ā ā˜€Ā Living in a new place also means thinking about my capsule a little differently due to the weather. We can get really hot and sunny days but also cool, cloudy days, and even some pretty intense rain/thunderstorms. So I had to plan for a good mix of clothes for different kinds of weather. I also needed a few new pieces for this capsule wardrobe and you can check out my video where I went secondhand shopping for them.

Also I’m now going into my 5th year of capsule wardrobes which is pretty crazy, I can’t believe how long it’s been!

outfit from summer capsule wardrobe

The items in my summer 2018 capsule wardrobe:

  1. Blue tank – secondhand
  2. Draped tank – old, upcycled from a dress
  3. Purple tank – Comazo Earth
  4. Navy tee –Ā Lanius
  5. White linen tee –Ā LaniusĀ (read moreĀ about my love of linen)
  6. Brown oversized tee – old
  7. Black tee –Ā Funktion SchnittĀ 
  8. Long shirt –Ā ArmedAngels
  9. Striped oversized shirt – secondhand
  10. Plaid draped shirt – secondhand
  11. Beige cardigan – old
  12. Denim jacket – secondhand
  13. White oversized jacket – old
  14. Green shorts ā€“Ā ArmedAngels
  15. Black denim shorts – secondhand
  16. Blue Tencel pants – Recolution*
  17. Dark jeans – Mud Jeans*
  18. Linen skirt –Ā NotPerfectLinen* (read moreĀ about my love of linen)
  19. Yellow skirt – handmade & dyed
  20. Ikat jumpsuit –Ā Matter Prints* (moreĀ about ikat and the jumpsuit)
  21. Silk romper – secondhand
  22. Floral dress – handmade
  23. Grey/black tank dress – old
  24. Grey tee dress –Ā Kowtow
  25. Beige purse –Ā Angela & RoiĀ 
  26. Backpack – Matt & Nat (please readĀ why I no longer support Matt & Nat)
  27. Black hat – secondhand
  28. Beige hat – old

Summer 2018 capsule wardrobe pieces

My capsule wardrobe is adapted from theĀ Project 333 challenge.Ā Over the course of creatingĀ many capsule wardrobesĀ Iā€™ve been fine-tuning them to figure out what works best for me. Last year I decided to no longer include shoes as part of my capsule wardrobe, I feel I have a good core ā€œshoe capsuleā€ and the one thing I occasionally seemed to miss was a certain pair of shoes. This has worked well this last year and I will continue to have a separate shoes from my wardrobe. My ā€œshoe capsuleā€ includesĀ a pair of boots, heeled boots, sneakers, sandals, slip-ons, heels and athletic/running shoes.

I also no longer try to hit a specific number, just build a wardrobe I think would work well. It usually ends up being around 30-35 pieces, often on the higher end in fall/winter and lower in spring/summer.

pants and t-shirt from capsule wardrobe

Hope you have a beautiful summer!Ā šŸŒ“ā˜€

*item was gifted from the brand

How To Ensure You’re Buying Ethical Diamonds & Jewelry

Cut, Colour, Caratā€¦ Clear Conscience?

Giving or receiving jewelry is often part of important celebrations and significant milestones like weddings, engagements, birthdays, or anniversaries. Besides being a beautiful gift, these pieces can express love, commitment, and many other meaningful things.

Unfortunately though, the reality of jewelry production is anything but joyful ā€” full of corruption, human rights abuses, and environmental destruction. No one would say they want a special occasion like an engagement to contribute to such horrible things… But don’t worry, there are sustainable and ethical diamonds and you can find the dream ring without the harmful practices!

3 ways to buy an ethical diamond and sustainable jewellery

What You Need To Know About Diamonds & Precious Metals

Maybe you’ve heard of “blood diamonds” or “dirty gold“; these names represent major issues in jewelry production and supply chains.

But what is a blood diamond? The mining of diamonds and precious metals canĀ involve child labour, forced labour, and abusive conditions.Ā Groups fighting for control of mines, theft, and workers/communities trying to stand up for their rights has resulted in incredibly violent conflicts and torture over diamonds and land. It’s a lucrative and corrupt industry with little protection or concern for the safety and welfare of those involved.

Mining also has a terrible impact on the environment, from destroying the Amazon rainforest to polluting water systems with toxic chemicals. On average, mines need to process about 1 tonne of rock for every 1 gram of goldĀ (a wedding ring can use anywhere from 2-12 grams) and diamond mining is much more destructive ā€”Ā requiring about 50 tonnes of rock per 1g and only about 35% is actually gem quality.Ā Pit mines can be so large they’re even seen from space.

Here’s a diamond pit mine in Russia ā€” it looks alien and is hard to imagine the scale, but you can see tiny buildings in the top right corner.

diamond pit mine
By Vladimir (ŠœŠøрŠ½Ń‹Š¹) [CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)]

“Conflict Free” Unfortunately Isn’t a Guarantee

Due to movies like Blood Diamond people are more aware of the ethical issues surrounding diamonds and look for conflict free diamond alternatives. The Kimberley Process was set up to stop trade in conflict diamonds but it’s not solving the problems;Ā smugglers say it’s easy to get aroundĀ and hasn’t stopped the black market. Conflict diamonds are “naturalized” to develop a new provenance, and Global Witness interviewed diamond traders smuggling diamonds from theĀ Central African Republic who say it’s an “open secret”. They “mix [traffickedĀ diamonds] with other stones, get the right papers, and send them on their way”, according to the article.

Brilliant Earth is a company often promoted as an ethical jewelry option and goes so far as saying their diamonds are “beyond conflict-free”. However, they were found to have suspicious diamonds ā€” an investigation into their “Canadian” diamonds found they actually have a shady chain of custody, with the diamonds they looked into likely having an unknown origin.

How to ensure your engagement ring is ethical

So What Can You Do? And What Are Ethical Diamonds?

1. Buy Secondhand/Vintage

I’m a huge advocate for secondhand shopping. It’s incredibly environmentally friendly because nothing new is made and no new resources have to be used/extracted, and you also aren’t supporting companies with unethical and unsustainable practices; or ā€” with jewelry ā€” corrupt, damaging, and violent supply chains. Plus it’s a lot more affordable, and who doesn’t like to save money?

There are lots of places you can buy secondhand or vintage jewelry either in person or online through sites like Etsy.Ā I especially like looking through the jewelry at antique markets.

2. Check Out Lab Grown Diamonds

We now have the ability to make diamonds in a lab, so there’s really no reason to mine them!

Lab grown diamonds are real diamonds ā€” they’re exactly the same as mined diamonds, the creation process is just replicated in a controlled laboratory setting. This control actually allows them to create a higher quality, clearer, brighter, more sparkly diamond. So you can get a better diamond, for less money, and no unethical and unsustainable mining. It’s a win, win, win!

Some brands that make lab created diamond rings, ethical engagement rings, and other jewelry:

Sustainable and ethical lab grown diamonds from Miadonna
Lab grown diamonds from Miadonna

3. Re-Design/Re-Work Something Existing

How many of us have jewelry that was gifted or passed down which isĀ never worn and just sits somewhere collecting dust? Like with our closets, we tend to reach for the same small rotation of pieces. Special items like jewelry can be difficult to let go of, but isn’t it better for them to actually get used and appreciated?

One great thing about jewelry is old pieces can be remade or reworked into something you’ll actually wear. Sometimes this might just involved resizing or repairs, but you can also have gems removed and precious metals melted down into totally new pieces!

For our wedding we actually had gold from our families melted together and made into custom rings. They are so special to us because they are exactly what we wanted but also have the family history.šŸ’š

If you have pieces you don’t wear it’s also good to sell them; they can get appreciated and used by someone else instead of hiding in a drawer. Plus you can spend the money you make on something you’ll actually get a lot of use from! It’s a win for everyone and the earth.Ā šŸŒŽ


There are fortunately a lot of different ways you can still have those beautiful and special pieces with the comfort of knowing you aren’t supporting dark, abusive, and destructive industry practices.

Updated August 23, 2022

Meow Meow Tweet baking soda free deodorant

Finally found a Baking Soda-Free Deodorant that Works!

I’ve been using deodorant with baking soda as the active ingredient for years (you can get my easy DIY recipe here) however when I talk about how much I like baking soda deodorants I always get comments from people who can’t use it because they find baking soda irritating. I also get asked for recommendations of BS-free natural deodorants – so I made it a mission to save your red pits and find a good one!Ā šŸ™‚

I’ve been testing out a few different ones and can finally say I found one that works! It’s the Baking Soda Free Deodorant Stick by Meow Meow Tweet* which I tried in the grapefruit scent. This also was the one I had the highest hopes for because I’d heard good reviews of it, and I actually am pretty impressed.

Meow Meow Tweet baking soda free deodorant stick

It holds up great during the day. If you’re sweatingĀ a lotĀ it’s not the freshest by nighttime, but on a typical day I found it worked really well. I also got their Underarm Primer* which I love using. I did notice a difference in staying power when using the primer and deo together – especially if you’re going into a second day, the primer gives your pits a little refresh.

I also conducted a very scientificĀ (and kinda gross) test to see if it actually worked as well as I thought: I wore the MMT deo + primer on one armpit and my regular BS deo on the other for a whole, normally active day. At the end of the day, for another opinion, I asked my husband Ben to smell both (yeah… šŸ˜¬Ā glamorous life of a blogger-husbandšŸ„‡) and he verified that he couldn’t smell any difference!

baking soda free deodorant

The deodorant has a coconut oil and arrowroot base, just like my DIY one, but instead of baking soda it usesĀ magnesium hydroxide (a mineral also often used in antacid tablets), as well asĀ cacao and shea butter, and essential oils. The stick application is really convenient to use. I don’t mind cream deodorant application but I get that some people prefer not to use their fingers. It’s also sustainably packaged in a cardboard tube! Plus if you’d like to just test it out and see if it works for you they have a “mini” size.

I’d recommend getting the primer if you have very sensitive skin or want some extra smell-defense. You can also use the primer with their baking soda deos to help with irritation and especially with transitioning to natural, baking soda deodorants; when I first started usingĀ a BS deo I initially found it a little irritating but then my body adjusted to it and there weren’t any issues, the primer is designed to also help with this transition.

Meow Meow Tweet underarm primer

 

Also awesome – Meow Meow Tweet* is a vegan and cruelty-free brand, they even replaced their use of palm oil withĀ blends of other plant butters and oils. I was initially drawn to their fun packaging and adorable illustrations and love their focus on natural, organic ingredients and sustainability.Ā šŸ’š

 

 

*indicates an affiliate link – I am a MMT affiliate but that did not affect this review, my opinions are always my own. If you’d like to try out their products, purchasing through my links also supports My Green Closet with a small % commission, thank you!

Dyeing Clothes With Vegetables

posted in Fashion, secondhand

It’s Fashion Revolution Week and one aspect I love is the Haulternative campaign which promotes secondhand shopping, vintage, mending, renting, DIY – basically avoiding buying new clothes for a more sustainable and conscious wardrobe. šŸ’š

This year I polled my Patrons about what they would like to see as a Haulternative and ended up creating a video about how to naturally dye your clothes!

 

I dyed an old cotton skirt (which was also originally dyed with coffee) using yellow onion skins, and a silk top from the thrift store with purple cabbage. This is a very simplified and easy version of natural dyeing, but here’s what I did:

  1. Collect and cut raw dye material into pieces
  2. Put in a large pot* and cover with about 2 parts water
  3. Simmer for about 45-60 minutes
  4. Strain out dye material
  5. Add garment to dye water
  6. Stir gently
  7. Let sit 12-24 hours, occasionally stirring
  8. Remove garment and rinse to get rid of dye
  9. Let air dry

*you shouldn’t use equipment you cook with for dyeing

Like I mentioned in the video, protein fibres work best and only dye natural materials. Also if you want the dyes to be even and more colourfast you should properly scourĀ (especially for undyed materials) and mordant the fabric.

 

Natural dyeing is really fun to experiment with and I love how you can never be totally sure how it will turn out! A few other easily accessible foods you can use for dyeing are:

  • Coffee (brown)
  • Tea (brown)
  • Turmeric (yellow)
  • Avocado pits (light pink)
  • Red onion skins (orange/red-brown)
  • Most berries (purple/pink shades)

 

Some more DIY projects to inspire you to create or transform your wardrobe:

New to sewing? Check out Joan’s easy skirt tutorial.

Join in the fringe trend but instead of buying new, make your own fringed denim with Leah’s tutorial.

Add cute embroidered flowers to your clothes with Fashion Revolution’s video.

Create a simple poncho from vintage fabric like Alli did.

Or check out Coolirpa’s Thrifted Transformation series for tons of ideas on updating thrift finds.

 

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