Links

Green plant love

 

In some moist and Heavenly place
We will set it out to grow.

– Edna St Vincent Millay, from “The Blue-Flag in The Bog”

A place where nothing grows usually means bad news. A toxic environment certainly, if nothing natural can survive. So this should have been a dire warning to me when I moved in to a basement flat three years ago, and none of my house plants survived to the next months rent payment.

Being a lover of nature, I was dismayed not to have any greenery in my living environment. I tried my best with the courtyard garden – a rarity in Central London and the reason for taking the flat in the first place – but with only four hours direct sunlight a day at best, it was only dense, forest plants like ferns that flourished in that garden. Fuschias withered before they had a chance to be popped; a stack of basil plants  produced enough leaves for only a few tablespoons of pesto. It was a garden where plants came to die.

The situation has, thankfully, improved.   Having endured over two years of the basement flat of dodgy wiring, scary neighbours and no sun, we now have a beautiful home in the country with a living room that gets all day sun, ideal for cultivating a little family of house plants.

Me and My Plant is a campaign currently running in the UK to encourage people to consider getting a house plant for the amazing benefits they provide. Here’s just a few of them: Keep reading…

My name is Philippa, but you can call me Phil…

Photo by Catch/Compose Photography

About ten years ago, I used to think that anyone who bought recycled toilet paper was a bit of a hippy.

The extent of my interest in sustainability was putting out my recycling bin each week, and even then I didn’t separate paper from plastic.  I was living in a bit of bubble, where I didn’t really think about the world around me but all the while was wondering why my life wasn’t much fun and I didn’t seem to be all that happy.  I spent most weekends inside, watching DVDs with the blinds shut, and a couple of blocks of chocolate for company.  It was an unconscious life, in every sense of the word.

Keep reading…

The Wish List.

Hey, everyone’s doing it. We had a bit of fun compiling some gorgeous goodies that we’d absolutely love to be gifted from our loved ones. We hope they’re reading!

By Ming-Zhu …

1. The Centre of Gravity gift pack from Aesop.

2. A much-rumoured great vegan-friendly dinner at Vue de Monde.

3. A pair of black, mod skinny jeans from Nobody.

4. The Edible Balcony by Indira Naidoo.

5. A 3-month membership to The Coffee Circle from Ritual Coffee, Tasmania.

By Cassie …

1. Anything from the Grown Botanical skincare range – but especially the cleanser, toner and facial exfoliant.

2. A pair of Sosume’s silky shorts in charcoal, of course.

3. This incredibly timeless Ecochic atelier bookshelf on wheels, made from recycled timber.

4. A Shade of Turquoise handmade rug made from custom-dyed recycled cotton t-shirts. Made to order, from Green at Heart on Etsy – with a minimum 3 month wait…but soooo worth it!

5. Recycled timber flower mat. Designed and made in Melbourne by Bonnie Ashley and Neil Downie of Bonnie and Neil, and available via State of Green.

… Of course, we’re just getting our hint-hints out early. Next week, we’ll share our picks on gift ideas for friends and fam. Can’t wait! Have a great weekend!

-Love, Ming-Zhu & Cassie xx

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Organic veggie gardening: it’s seedling time!

Oh yes, it’s getting hot, and that’s a great thing for sprouting! I’ve missed the whole seedling thing of late.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Having only just finished moving house, one of the things I’m most excited about is that I now have the excellent combination of outdoor exposure to sunlight AND sufficient space (not that we need much, really) for gardening. So never mind unpacking boxes, I want a veggie patch, stat!

Earlier this week I paid a visit to Plump Organic Grocery in Yarraville to grab some cleaning supplies, but who cares what I went there for – I left with their home-grown organic seedlings, including some blue lake climber beans, Genovese basil and an heirloom tomato – the Rouge de Marmande. Once I get those in the ground, I’ll be back for more. Their punnets are 3 for $10. So long, Mr. Yates.

Chilli seeds by Sow 'n Sow

It’ll be a few weeks before I get an actual raised garden bed, but I cannot wait. Or perhaps when Dad comes to visit soon, I’ll supervise him making one for me. Something along the lines of the phenomenal urban-backyard-friendly veggie beds that The Little Vegie Patch Co. specialise in. Actually, I will possibly make a trek over to the Bayside when I have a spare half-day, just to snatch up some seedlings from their new summer range and inhale some general in-store inspiration. What a great lil biz they’ve got growing.

There’s a real diversity of organic and heirloom seedling companies springing up in these parts, and this summer I’m embracing it. I haven’t completely sussed the CBD yet, but your local organic grocers in the inner ‘burbs are sure to stock your baby veggies-in-waiting. I’m also in love with the Sow ‘n Sow organic seed label, founded by young Melbourne designer Michelle Brady, with the help of her lil’ sis. Check their site for stockists or order online.

One other great, newish enterprise worth a mention is Living Fundraisers’, with their organic veggie and herb growing kits. This is the new lamington drive, folks. These handy little kits are also great for passing on to kids, being all chemical free and good dirty fun. They pass on 5% of all their veggie product sales to the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Foundation (make that 10% when schools do the fundraising). I’m sure you’ve already heard all about that one – a great cause.

Organic seedlings tend to be more genetically diverse, and thus overall, display more resilience. They’re far more likely to thrive and succeed without without needing chemical interference, and you get to avoid all those Fertiliser and Pesticide Dependency Issues; the blight of modern garden and farming practices.

Ah, you get my driftwood…

Happy planting, whether you’re in the city or the bush – it’s easy to get your hipster green on!

:-) Cassie.

 

Ethical Web #2

This round-up of Ethical Web Love has us linking all over the proverbial shop – for buying less, sharing more, even buying nothing at all. Let’s get to it.

#1. It’s Buy Nothing New month in Oz this October. You can pledge, if that helps keep you honest – to beg, swap, barter or borrow so long as it’s been used before. I know some of the cynics among us like to dismiss the whole ‘awareness month’ thing as no substitute for lifestyle – but the buying nothing new movement has come a massively long way from being the shock/horror proposition it was when it started over in Vancouver, Canada as Buy Nothing New Day, circa 1992. Celebration, y’all!

This year, the team at Buy Nothing New have even got $5,ooo up for grabs for folks sharing their stories on how they do it, and they’re getting serious with their supporters to promote second-hand clothing trades. Check their blog for some favourited second hand stalls about Melbourne and Sydney. Like Like Like.

#2 is 1 Million Women. This site’s been increasingly pop up in side bars and twitter feed to the point of ubiquity, and now all of a sudden, it has my full attention. The goal is 1 million Australian women signed up to get on with climate action, leading by example and pledging to cut a minimum of 1 tonne of carbon dioxide from daily living over the course of a year. Easy Peasy. There’s nothing like a critical mass to make something cool for the masses. Get on board.

 I signed up to the pledge on the spot, and by selecting from the list of basic habits on the site’s activity centre, I’ve realised that the actions I’m doing now already mean I’m putting 3 tonnes less CO2 in the atmosphere than I was, say 3 years ago. Woo! We all know that consuming less energy, reducing food waste and cutting back on transport are the bare minimum necessary for reducing our impact on the climate. From these basic actions, radical cuts to CO2 must follow. If I can help build momentum for making that seem normal, then 1 Million Women doing it will be freaking inspirational.

#3. Wardrobe Wonderland. I actually came across this kick-ass site via Buy Nothing New, and spent a good while perusing the reading material brought to us by up Melbourne-based writer Lara McPherson.

It’s always great to find quality critique and dialogue on the ethics of mass produced clothing, and understanding how integral fashion itself is to our mass consumer culture. Lara’s site is dedicated to all kinds of dialogue around creating the future of sustainable fashion industries right now. She tweets tirelessly on these issues, too. I’m also putting it out there that I can’t wait to bump into her in public one day and give her a giant pat on the back for all her work. She’s rocking my internets of late, this lady.

#4 continues riding on the good theme of attire, because… National Swap Day is coming up on Monday 24th October! Gee damn, there are some excellent ethical consumer initiatives bouncing around town this month!

Ethical Clothing Australia has details on their site about the National Clothing Swap Day, held in collaboration with The Clothing Exchange. Details about specific Clothing Exchange Events can be found on these sites, including some serious sartorial swapping taking place at Fed Square this coming Monday 17th October. (I must flag that both these sites share some confusion about the actual date of National Swap Day- Monday in October has to be the 25th!)

-Cassie

And before I absolutely wrap up – I wanna SHOUT OUT that we have a Giveaway goin’ on and we want your thoughts! Our friends at Suvana are helping us help you to a tube of their delicious, organic honey and paw paw balm. Seriously petrochemical free. We have 2 up for grabs, guys!

Just tell us – either below, on our Facebook Page, or on Twitter: Where are your ethical values at the moment? What’s on your consumer-conscious mind? What aspects of life (and shopping) are your no-compromise zones? What’s your ethical line in the sand? Are you buying nothing new?

We want to hear from you! And if you want to stay in touch, please sign on up to our newsletter. It’s a weekly wrap up of Superéthique news and happenings. Keepin’ it simple! Mwah (xx).

Hello, Lovelies! I’m about to step out for a brisk walk in this crisp, crazy spring sunshine (while it lasts); but before I do, I want to kick off a new tradition here on Superéthique which is a wee bit o’ semi-regular link-lovin’.

Today’s collection is a selection of sites I have only very recently discovered in my green-online travels, and each of these incredible bloggers & businesses, we fully intend to feature fully later down the track. However, I couldn’t keep them to myself any longer (they’re so fantastic), so I thought I’d give you a taster – just here – and you can check them out for yourself.

#1 is Oh, My! Green! by the fantastic Ms. Penny Eager. Now, Penny is actually a biz client of mine via The Public Studio – I’ve been helping her divide and focus her energy and strategies between OMG! and her other magnificent, ethical & locally produced fabric & stationery-wares business, Pocket Carnival.

Penny is a maven, was pretty much born super-ethical, and a visionary, and Oh, My Green! is truly a standout labour of love for her. It’s a green design and resource for eco businesses – and honies – it’s puuurrrrdy! Click here to have a read.

#2 is The Goodness Company. A new business based in New South Wales who make raw and living foods (fresh!) and ship them refrigerated to other places in New South Wales. I.e: Not Melbourne, sadly, yet. This is to preserve the products’ freshness (which we can totally understand – these things gotta be drunk/eaten freshly made). We can get their non-perishable items, however – and I absolutely can’t wait to get my paws on some of them to review for you here. Their web-design is also pretty shit-hot. Check it out.

#3 is Vegan Online. I am simply dying with happiness to have discovered this fair business (based in (R)Adelaide – so many of you amazing peeps over there run incredible ethical businesses – what’s in the water, guys?) – finally, a spankingly gorgeous Australian-based shopping resource that caters specifically to vegan wants, needs and desires (and even dabbles in a little gluten-free heaven, as well). I just discovered this site last night, so haven’t yet gone shopping, but am looking forward to the process immensely. Watch out, credit card… Oh, it too is freakin’ gorgeous – hurrah for fantastic web design. Vegan Online is here.

#4, and lastly – it’s The Mindful Foodie, Lesh – who has been doin’ the good food blog thing for quite some time. She started her blog for personal health reasons, and it has expanded into an incredible resource for a plant-based diet, even though Lesh herself is not strictly vegetarian. It is, as the name suggests, an approach that is devoted to healthful, mindful eating – something that we could all use a bit more of in our day. Oh, and check out her incredible recipe section while you’re over there. I’m diving into it, starting this weekend. Here’s the link.

- Ming-Zhu. x

Our inaugural super-lovin’ email comes out in a matter of hours – so make sure you’re on the mailing list to be in the running to win a BYO Coffee Cup (our first giveaway – yipyip!); pop your email address in the box below to weigh in on the Superéthical awesomeness.

 

 

 Scroll to top