Are you ready to start living in a more conscious way? We are too. Having made some changes in 2019 we're ready to try more. Here's a rundown of what we did last year, and our resolutions for 2020.

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We’ve realised on our eco lifestyle journey that the key to success in living more sustainably and consciously is planning. To cut out plastic packaging, to buy thoughtful gifts, to wrap them waste-free, to cook for the festive season using package free produce, you have to think ahead. Gulp. Training your brain to help head to those suppliers that you know are going to help you cut that crap is part of the journey. So, to help you - and us - tackle this Christmas in a more conscious way - here’s our gift to you: our free, downloadable Christmas planner! And - just in case your brain is bursting - there’s some fun memory making ideas in there too. Just looking at it makes us want to get organised, and have some fun. Here’s hoping it inspires you too.

Abi and Claire

xx

Click on PDF link to access The Christmas Planner

Buying less, buying well and making thoughtful gifts. Not easy during non festive buying times. Tackling Christmas - well that can blow your conscious consuming waste less mind! Those habits that have been developing all year - we’re going to want to follow through during the festive season, right?

So where to start? There’s a myriad of small business options out there selling thoughtfully designed ethical, sustainable and eco products.

Here's our mini list of go-to's to get you up and running. Cut the crap out of Christmas by visiting these...

Best for buying from a small business

Willow and the Boys, a Melbourne based children’s brand have branched out this year to gather together dozens of small businesses in their Last Minute Christmas gift guide. Head on over to www.willowandtheboys.com and browse your way through cute kids brands including Loog kids mini-guitars in a range of stunning pop-colours, Rowdin Grace - purveyors of luxury gift boxes packed with sweet treats or delicious body products, and handy everyday products from My Home & Co.

Best for useful reusables

Because it’s just so thrilling to receive a thing that you’re going to get so much use from, our one-stop shop for that practical gift is floraandfauna.com.au. Whether it’s a delicious shampoo bar, a stylish keep cup, or a refillable makeup palette there’s dozens of options for grown-up gifts.

PS - if Santa is reading this I love Parker Razors - stylish precise and with “an exquisite chrome plated all brass design and textured handle.” Yes please!

Best for kids

With so much plastic and ditched-post Christmas toys available out there, it's difficult to know where to begin buying for children to lighten the load. That’s why starting with a small business, for us makes sense. littlegatherer.com is a beautifully curated boutique - created by a mum of two young children - that brings together stunning children’s products from around the world including a myriad of wooden toys, truly treasurable fabric dolls and cute crafting items.

Best for...Gifts from rural communities

We just love the genius Insta page @buyfromthebush. It showcases beautiful things to buy directly from sellers in Australia’s rural communities that are dealing with drought. We’re obsessed with the enamel cups and jugs from @yonder.traders, relishes and preserves from @thedilltickle and the just stunning hats from @penelopehaddrillhats - a mum of three who lives on a broad range cropping farm near Naradhan, NSW who blocks, shapes and trims her hats by hand.

Best for experiences

Swapping physical gifts and wrapping in favour of memory making experiences like theatre or concert tickets, memberships to an organisation, or experience days, makes a lot of sense in silly season. Us? We’re gathering a group of mums and daughters together for a horse riding adventure at Glenworth Valley Outdoor Adventures (glenworth.com.au). For more inspiration for experience giving visit www.adrenaline.com.au for everything from kayaking to swimming with sharks.

Still stuck? Visit www.theother-bag.com for ocean friendly totes and crossbody bags made from recycled and regenerated waste.

Bondi architecture - from iconic Icebergs to pastel coloured Art Deco buildings - introducing the landmarks that we love, and that have been hugely influential in the design, colours and print in The OTHER Bag range.

Icebergs…

The inspiration behind our graphic print crossbody and tote bags, iconic Icebergs dates back to 1929. Then, a crew of local lifesavers banded together to swim to keep fit in winter months, and so the Bondi Icebergs Winter Swimming Club was formed.

Originally hosted from a tin shed, a building was erected on the site perched at Bondi's south end in the 1960’s, then remodelled again to open in its current design in 2002. Now, the site hosts Icebergs Dining Room and Bar on the top floor, Icebergs Clubhouse on the second floor and Surf Life Saving Australia on the first.

Yet, it’s its white painted facade, ocean pool and clean black lines that make it what is said to be the most photographed outdoor pool in the world. We just can never resist a swim, poolside linger and a snap.

Art deco...

These pastel coloured landmarks that we love cropped up in the 1920’s and 30’s as Bondi became a day-tripping destination. With trams bringing in visitors, people lingered for picnics, swims and beach days. Then post First World War, beach-facing hotels, guest houses and apartment blocks cropped up from south to north Bondi bringing with them Miami-style curves, rendered surfaces, and pops of colour. Here’s a few of our favourites…

The “Aqua” Building…

Our favourite, and much featured ‘Aqua’ building sits at the north end of Campbell Parade and was built around 1937. Says Modern House (modernhouse.co) “Its elongated form swoops down the hill to a series of geometric curves and angles with a vertical fin to anchor its volumes.” Us? We just love it. Our favourite feature is its tropical style entry hidden along Brighton Boulevard.

It’s the fabric of the moment, championed by everyone from Prada to adidas by Stella McCartney - and The OTHER Bag, of course. So what makes it so special?

What is Econyl®?

It’s a yarn. Made from rescued waste like fishing nets, fabric scraps, carpet flooring and industrial plastic from landfill and oceans all over the world. Once recovered the nets and other waste are sent on to be washed, sorted and shredded into pieces small enough to be transformed via a chemical recycling process. Via huge chemical reactors the waste is broken down to a base unit called a polymer, then reassembled into Econyl® regenerated nylon. The amazing thing about that process is that it can be repeated infinitely - with no loss of quality in the yarn.

What happens to the yarn?

It’s then woven to look and feel like a traditional nylon fabric. When Econyl® launched in 2011 it was most often used for swimwear. Now, Prada, through their Re-Nylon initiative are using it for their iconic bags, and the new adidas by Stella McCartney collection is made from ocean plastics and Econyl® regenerated nylon. Burberry have used it for trench coats and Gucci for outerwear. And, then there’s us at The OTHER Bag - proudly using Econyl® for our tote and crossbody collections.

How does this benefit the environment?

Ghost fishing nets - potential lethal traps for marine life - are being rescued from the ocean. And, waste is diverted from landfill. That waste is then repurposed, which is what we’re aiming for from a circular economy. But it’s more than that. For every 10,000 tonnes of ECONYL® raw material, 70,000 barrels of crude oil are saved and 57,100 tonnes are C02 equivalent emissions are avoided. And when it comes to climate change? It reduces the global warming impact of nylon by up to 80% compared with nylon material made from oil. As one of the world’s major polluting industries this makes Econyl an attractive alternative to fashion as it tries to navigate its cleaner, more conscious future.

Who is behind Econyl®?

Aquafil, a business which began in Italy in 1965. With help from Healthy Seas, an initiative of non governmental organisations and businesses whose mission is to clean the seas of marine litter including fishing nets that are often responsible for the needless death of marine animals.

At The OTHER Bag we support Healthy Seas, by donating 1% of each recycled foldable tote bag and recycled pouch to fund their work.

What else is it used for?

Carpets, for interiors and the automotive industry. Many a red-carpet event proudly features an Econyl® regenerated carpet.

Why use it for The OTHER Bag range?

We’re passionate about the process. We believe in circular design, avoiding needlessly using new resources, and the ability to recycle what we produce. And to have a positive impact on the environment. Yes, it’s a more expensive - because the regeneration of the waste into yarn is costly - but for us, it’s worth it. As Bondi Beach, Australia, locals we’re fortunate enough to live with the beach and ocean on our doorstep. And, we’d love to preserve what we have and undo some of the damage done for future generations. Our goal is to continue to work with innovative fabrics derived from recycled waste so your purchase will continue to have a positive impact.

For more information about Econyl® visit: https://www.econyl.com

To shop The OTHER Bag range visit: www.theother-bag.com

Lunch boxes: a daily essential, and a daily trial. Not just the assembling of, but the what to put in them, what’s in the fridge, do we have any bread, actually where is your lunch box? routine. And, then there’s the packaging. Off the shelf supermarket lunch-box snacks are often laden with soft plastics making our kids lunch boxes major contributors to single use plastic waste.

There are some great initiatives to slash the single use output of kids lunch boxes, like our local schools nude food days. That’s where everything in their lunch box has to be package free, with classes receiving points and kudos for a full house of package free lunchboxes.

To create a single use plastic package free lunch box habit though takes planning. Yep, we know, something else to add to the list. But, this @plasticfreejuly we’re committed and inspired to make the change!

To spur on our enthusiasm we’re trying simple recipes - like this healthy and easy option from Sarah Wilson’s I Quit Sugar, Kids Cookbook (bluebird books for life, @booksbybluebird). And, trying to get the kids on board with the buying and making to help bolster their sense of environmental responsibility.

Buying the ingredients from a bulk food store cuts the single use plastic packaging back at source too. For this recipe we bought what we could from our local @scoopwholefoods. Also a great place to get the littlies weighing and measuring as an added bonus.

Outside of the baking, we’re trying other food prep hacks to bring down the packaging - like buying fruit from our local food market @bondifarmersmarket and, when we can’t avoid a pre-packaged product like chips, buying large bags and dropping a few into single serve reusable containers each day. Thanks for the yogurt tip too @green.and.simple - buy large pots of yogurt, add a few spoons to reusable containers with a little honey each day for another lunch box treat.

We’d love to hear your plastic free lunch box ideas. Any favourite tricks or recipes?

Good luck with the muffins. Let us know how you get on.

Abi and Claire

xx

Fluffy Raspberry Muffins

From I Quit Sugar, Kids Cookbook with Sarah Wilson

Makes 12

Prep time 10 minutes

Cooking time 30 minutes

2 cups (250g) gluten-free flour, sifted

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup (250g) unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk to make recipe nut free)

125g butter, melted

2 eggs, whisked

⅓ cup (75ml) rice malt syrup

1½ cups (180g) frozen or fresh raspberries

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (gas 4). Line a muffin or cupcake tray with 12 paper cases.
2. Combine the sifted flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Pour in the milk, butter, eggs, and rice malt syrup.Mix until a batter forms, Gently stir through the raspberries.
3. Spoon the mixture into the prepared paper cases, and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the muffins are well risen and a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the centre.
4. Remove from the tray and allow to cool on a wire rack before serving.

For more information visit

plasticfreejuly.org

www.bluebirdbooksforlife.com

www.scoopwholefoods.com.au

http://bondimarkets.com.au/farmers/

https://greenandsimple.co/

To shop our range of recycled foldable totes visit https://theother-bag.com/

Excited, daunted, overwhelmed, happy to learn, willing to give it a go? Going single-use plastic free for a whole month is like a disposable detox or a plastic purge. Like all detoxes, it’s not going to be easy. It could get emotional (just imagine missing your morning coffee to save on single-use plastic because you've forgotten your keep cup! Ugly, right?) But, ultimately we know, that if we all accept the plastic free July challenge we'll come out cleaner, lighter and having made realistic and achievable changes that can last beyond July.

What’s it all about?

The Plastic Free July campaign started in 2011 out of Western Australia to raise awareness of plastic pollution and get people thinking about the scale of their single-use plastic use. Now a global movement, it challenges everyone to decrease their single-use plastic use by making a commitment that suits their lifestyle. That could be to live without single-use plastic for a day, a week or the whole month.

Where to start?

Register at https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/take-the-challenge/ and evaluate what’s achievable for you.

For us our single-use plastic free journey started a while back. We’ve made some easy swaps that mean a recycled foldable tote, keep cup and water bottle are part of our daily arsenal of reusables. But, for this month, we’re making more changes to that to see if we can bring different habits into the rotation of our plastic light existence. That said, we’re approaching the month with a healthy dose of realism. For us, that means that as part of two busy families with five children between us, we’re going to be doing what we can, where we can to be single-use plastic free and to generally live more plastic light.

Rewind. How did you get started?

By breaking it down into three categories: kitchen, bathroom, and out-and-about. Honing in on an area has, so far, made it easier to see where we can make changes to our single-use plastic consumption, to become plastic lighter and to hone our reusing habits.

Easy kitchen switches we've made:

• Avoiding plastic wrapped fruit and vegetables
• Recycling soft plastics (from bread bags or chip packets)
• Swapping pre-made lunch-box snacks for home-made
• Using beeswax food wraps
• Swapping zip lock bags for Stasher silicone reusable bags for snack storage
• Transporting snacks and lunches in metal lunch and snack boxes - our favourite? Planetbox
• Using spray and wipe kitchen cleaners and bamboo cleaning cloths instead of cleaning wipes. We love Koala Eco
• Swapping from scourers to wooden scrubbing brushes.

Bathroom:

• Swapping shampoo for shampoo bars. We’re loving Ethique
• Switching to bamboo toothbrushes
• Using soap instead of hand wash
• Swapping to Oh Crap toilet rolls and tissues.

Out-and-about:

• Creating reusing habits by never leaving home without a recycled foldable tote bag, reusable water bottle and keep-cup.
• Taking lunches and snacks in reusable containers.

Where can we improve?

There’s so much more we can, and will, be trying to do. Like avoiding pre packed meat and fish. Buying fresh bread rather than plastic wrapped sliced. Buying milk in glass bottles rather than plastic. And, finding an alternative to chips and chip packets for kids lunch boxes. Any ideas?

The Plastic Free July website is full of suggestions we’ll be working our way through in the coming days.

It’s unrealistic of us to say that we’re heading towards being zero waste and living single-use plastic free, yet. We’re far from it. With the demands of feeding, clothing and entertaining our families we’re on the receiving end of daily doses of packaging, soft plastics and waste that we don’t want, and that makes our heart sink. Many day-to-day buys haven’t quite caught up with our desires for less single-use waste. But we are trying!

As a conscious consumers we’ve made positive changes where possible. Concentrating on reusing where possible and developing habits that we hope are making a difference leading to less single-use plastic, creating less waste and more reusing. Good luck for Plastic Free July. Successful reusing starts here. And let us know how you get on.

For more information visit…

https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/

https://www.stasherbag.com

https://www.planetbox.com/

https://koala.eco/

https://www.ohcrap.com.au/

https://ethiquebeauty.com/

To shop our range visit

https://theother-bag.com/collections/all

Who’s cleaning up this mess?

The plastic crisis and one initiative helping to clean up our seas

In murky, green water deep below Portland Harbour in the UK, something is going on. A team of Healthy Seas and Ghost Fishing UK volunteer divers are on a mission, grappling with a 100m gill net (that’s a net that’s hung vertically so fish get trapped in it by their gills), that’s heavily entangled in seaweed and ocean plant matter with the aim of bringing it to the surface. It’s a sorry sight. The net is tangled with fish, spider crabs, and even a diving bird. All have been fatally caught in the net abandoned in the sea surrounding the harbour.

This scene - released by Healthy Seas on their Instagram page - is typical of what the initiative does. Cut to Lipari, one of the Aeolian Islands off Sicily. There 10 Ghost Fishing divers, with the support of Healthy Seas, have retrieved five tonnes of abandoned fishing nets from the seabed in six days. Scoring another success by engaging the local community, divers and fishermen to continue their work once this project is complete.

The group, which launched in 2013, is an initiative of non governmental organisations and businesses. Their common mission is to clean the seas of marine litter including fishing nets that are often responsible for the needless death of marine animals. Each year, millions of animals including whales, seals, turtles, birds and fish are injured and killed by ghost gear, or abandoned fishing nets.

Last year alone Healthy Seas sent 100 volunteer divers across 27 fishing communities to collect 78 tonnes of fishing nets from three seas, the Mediterranean, Adriatic and North Seas. That brings their total haul since launch to 453 tonnes of fishing nets.

Meanwhile, the team also collaborate with fishermen, fish farms and local communities to prevent waste nets from ending up in the sea in the first place, working with them to dispose of nets responsibly and affordably.

While creating healthier seas is the first part of this mission - recycling the marine litter into something useful is the next. The recovered nylon fishing nets are sent on to Healthy Seas partners Aquafil, the company who transform them, with the addition of other nylon waste into ECONYL® yarn, which we make into some of The OTHER Bag range.

There’s clearly a lot to do. Healthy Seas say that each year, approximately 640,000 tonnes of fishing gear is lost or abandoned in the ocean. But by working with communities to prevent the nets being abandoned in the first place and completing the rescue missions, action is being taken now. And taking action, is what we need.

It’s a process we’re passionate about being a part of, one where we can see clearly where and how Healthy Seas are helping to make an impact on marine pollution. And is why we at The OTHER Bag support them, by donating 1% of each recycled foldable tote bag and recycled pouch sold to fund their work.

Learn more about Healthy Seas.

Visit https://healthyseas.org/ to learn more about their recent mission to help save seahorse populations in the Mediterranean, where they’re classified as near threatened. In May this year in Stratoni, Northern Greece Healthy Seas volunteer divers returned to complete a second fishing nets clean up. There the nets have been catching and killing fish and other marine animals near a seahorse habitat. The carcasses attract predators that hunt seahorses. Their removal should restore the ecological balance in the area and help the survival of the species.

For more information visit

www.econyl.com

To shop The OTHER bag visit

https://theother-bag.com/collections/all

It's World Turtle Day. Here's why it's important to The OTHER Bag.

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What is Fashion Revolution week?

It falls in April every year. It’s the week in which fashion designers, producers and sellers hashtag whomademyclothes (#whomademyclothes) to campaign for ethical and sustainable transparency in the process of making clothes.

When did it start?

24th April 2013. The day when the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh collapsed killing 1138 people and injuring 2,500 more. That morning the garment producers that worked there begged to not go inside.The severely cracked, structurally compromised factory collapsed around 9am in 90 seconds. It became the fourth largest industrial disaster in history.

Although it’s unclear which brands were producing garments from the factory at the time, some well known global brands - that we all may well have worn - had been known to use the factory.

Hashtag imadeyourclothes (#imadeyourclothes) is now used during each Fashion Revolution Week so brands and producers can be open about their supply chain, to highlight the workers, their conditions, and the origins of a garment.

Why is Fashion Revolution more than just a week?

Because the spotlight the movement has turned on to this process can never go off. To ensure continuous safe and fair working conditions for producers, and to ensure that the people who produce clothes, the environment and profit are all valued equally.

www.fashionrevolution.org is a global movement that runs all year round, helping those within the industry to recognise that they have the power to make positive changes. The website is an excellent resource. Visit to discover how transparent the 200 biggest fashion brands really are, for garment worker diaries and The Fashion Revolutionary booklet.

Because we all need to be conscious consumers, aware of the processes the clothing and accessories we buy have gone through before they reach us. To ensure safe and ethical working conditions for those who make them, and to ensure the environment is protected during the process.

Who gets involved?

3.25 million people participated in Fashion Revolution week in 2018. But, perhaps a more revealing measure of its success is the number of businesses striving for transparency, with brands from David Jones to Marks and Spencer committed to ethical sourcing and including details of where their garments are produced on their websites.

These big name brands following the lead of some of our favourite transparent brands like Everlane https://www.everlane.com - check out their transparent pricing information and details of the factories used to create their range. And, our transparent hero’s Outland Denim https://www.outlanddenim.com.au/page/our-story/ who not only source environmentally sound raw materials, but empower their seamstresses - women rescued from human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and other human rights abuses - by providing a job, thorough work-place training, and life skills education. Visit their website for more information. Inspirational examples which we hope to follow.

Who made our bags?

When launching The OTHER Bag ethical production and sustainable design was at the very core of our brand vision. We searched for partners who reflect our vision and we found them in our fabric partners. All our fabrics are blue-sign certified, an international standard which means harmful substances are removed from the production process and that what is produced is done so in an environmentally friendly way without health risk to workers or consumers.

In making our bags, we found a manufacturer with a genuine interest in their workers welfare. Our factory in Qingdao, Shandong, China is certified to meet international labour and ethical standards through the BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative) a business-driven initiative for companies committed to improving working conditions in the global supply chain.

Many hands touch our bags along their journey. They include:

Ruzica, one of the amazing team at Aquafil, that miraculously turn ghost fishing nets and nylon waste into ECONYL® yarn. “It is unbelievable to see that ECONYL® comes from waste but it performs the same way as standard nylon,” she says of the process she sees for us in her position in charge of quality control at the ECONYL® plant.

In Taiwan, where our CYCLEPET® fabric is made, we are lucky to have Henry, who has been part of the team there for six years. He works on the calendering machines that smooth and thin fabrics as they are passed between rollers at high temperatures and pressures.

Min Li, one of the talented seamstresses who sews our bags at our factory in Qingdao, China. She has worked there for two years.

For more sustainable news, eco lifestyle tips, and 10% off our product range, sign up to our newsletter at https://theother-bag.com/

For more information on Fashion Revolution and sustainable and ethical production and to contact those mentioned in this post please please visit:

www.fashionrevolution.org

www.econyl.com

http://www.realsalefirst.com/

www.davidjones.com/gbj/ethical-sourcing

https://interactivemap.marksandspencer.com/

https://www.everlane.com

https://www.outlanddenim.com.au