​Coffee.. as many  worldwide I am part of the 'coffee-addicts': without my first morning cup I can barely make sense. But how can we coffee addict ensure that our addiction  is as sustainable as possible??



​First: choose fair trade

Those beans that give us so much pleasures comes from countries far away where workers can be exploited, so make sure not to contribute to their exploitation by choosing fair trade, look out for the symbol and remember that cheaper isn't always better!

Coffee grains can be reused! How? Not to make another cup but they make for an amazing scrub which doubles up as anti cellulite (are you listening girls?) 
Plants also benefit from coffee properties so revitalise your greens by giving them some of the leftovers or adding grain to the terrain !!! 

 This is mostly a women-specific post but men, if you are here, please continue to read on!
Yes, you are guessing right - I am going to speak about what happens monthly to most women: periods!
​Something so natural and so normal yet so little spoken about. 
During this 'plastic challenge June' I would like to particularly put periods within the plastic issue. 

Brushing our teeth - we all do it (or should be) at least twice or three times daily, we are reminded by our parents to do so when we are young and further reminded by our dentists later in life.. and we do it, somewhat innately, a mechanic action.

We are supposed to keep the same toothbrush for a maximum of three months and then change it. This means the average person uses 4 toothbrushes per year, which multiplied by the average western human life spans makes it around 280 toothbrushes (Insert shocked face here). And apparently, since their invention in the 1930s, every single plastic toothbrush produced still exists somewhere on the planet! Not at all surprisingly considering plastic can have lifespan of thousands of years, and moreover we are not even sure whether it does biodegrade at all or just gets broken down into more and more microscopic pieces which can cause enormous damage to living organisms (including us humans!). 
'What about recycling?", I hear you ask. For the answer, take a quick look at your toothbrush and notice how many different types of plastics are involved. So - unless you efficiently divide them all before throwing away (and even then I am not sure how many of the pieces would be currently recyclable material) it is impossible.

Faced with these facts, and embracing a low-plastic lifestyle,  I have been converted to trying bamboo toothbrushes. The ones I bought are from F.E.T.E (From Earth to Earth) made with bamboo handles (that might be useful to use in arts and crafts at the end of their life due to their nice design) and recyclable nylon bristles (that can be pulled out)!

Today I am gonna talk to you about ghosts...
​

​        But.... just a different kind!

We are talking about ghost fishing nets.

Yes, such things exist hidden in the seas and oceans on this planet. Hundreds of kilometres of nets and lines are lost every year. It is estimated  that  640,000 tonnes of fishing gear is lost yearly, that 640 million Kilos (assuming you weight 64 Kg, that's 10 millions of you - every year! just to put into some perspective there...). What's most likely is that this is an underestimation, considering the vaste nature of seas and oceans, where many areas still remain unexplored. 
Perhaps scarier than a spirit ghost appearance...

These nets continue to catch fish, dolphins, wales, birds, turtles.. with no commercial use! They also pose threats to navigation and to the seabed... 

While you personally may feel like there isn't much you can do to stop this, there are some steps you can take.
I am going to talk to you now about an initiative to recycle some of this material....
...into fabric! Yes, pretty clothes! 

Such as my new Fourth Element bikini top (which also arrived in a plastic-free package! YAY!).
​The fabric is called EcoNyl and it's made from recycled fishing gear 

So when preparing for summer, think about your products and see if you can make a difference by purchasing products made from this fabric rather than classical nylon!
And I can vouch for this particular product (I have to say the company doesn't sponsor me in any way) - It's comfy and doubles up as a running bra as well! :) 2 in 1 is my style...

Continuing on my 'fashion' series, today I want to talk to you about Recycled fibres clothing (The R in the title..what were you thinking ? ;-))

We all have heard at least once in our life about the three Rs.. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Following this scheme, in my opinion, is the only way to  slow down plastic pollution which at this rate is leading to oceans containing more plastic than fish. 
Recycling is often met with scepticism, and I often hear people say "it all goes in the same place anyway". I am aware that what can be recycled, particularly in terms of plastics, is often more limited than we think in terms of types of materials, conditions of the materials etc.. Recent debates on recycling of plastic bottles can be found here and here.  I should mention that I am a great advocate of reducing and reusing FIRST and only recycling as the latest resource, after you reduced as max as you could and reused something as many times and in as many ways possible. 
Most people, including an old me, are unaware of what can be done with recycled material. And one of the answers is : What you wear could be made of recycled material!

While I prefer natural fibres to plastic, sometimes, as in the case of waterproof clothing/bikini/board shorts, some artificial fibres are needed. But why buying "new" plastic when they can be made out of recycled fibres? I don't feel so bad buying my new Roxy recycled polyester board shorts now. 

 "Fourth Element" is, for example,  using plastic from the  oceans to create their OceanPositive line, made from ghost fish nets. I will soon get a bikini top from them, as I find this to be a genial idea to begin cleaning up our oceans! 
​Similar initiatives include H&M shoreline waste line, and I am sure there are and will be more. So keep an eye out for the recycled material label when shopping (remember to shop only for things you actually NEED), and start making a difference