Amy-Lee Haynes

I recently upgraded my phone to a second hand iPhone XR and, quite frankly, I am a very  clumsy person. Sometimes I seem to just throw my phone on the floor or it leaps out of my hands as if by magic so a new phone case was very important. Instead of buying another cute yet completely made of plastic phone case, I looked for one that was a bit more sustainable.  There's a huge range of biodegradable and sustainable phone cases out there. They are usually made from coffee grounds, cork or wheat  straw. I decided to opt for one made out of wheat straw and TPU that's fully biodegradable.  I purchased the Eplanita biodegradable XR phone case in Khaki . One major set back with this is not all of the Eplanita phone cases are available on their website but they are all available on Amazon. This kind of sucks since we all know that Amazon's ethics and morals are not exactly great so it's not ideal that a sustainable brand is selling their items on there, especially when they h

After ruining my only basic white t-shirt beyond repair, planting hop plants, I decided it was time to invest in a new one. Despite my commitment to second hand fashion, I wanted my new basic tee to be new to ensure that it was still looking fresh. I decided to have a look into buying one from a sustainable brand. However, it came as no surprise to me that a new t-shirt from an ethical and sustainable brand made from eco friendly materials was not going to be cheap or affordable for me, particularly since I am currently unemployed.  This is something that is very frustrating about sustainable fashion - it's simply not accessible for all. Whether it's the hefty price tag or limited sizing range, it's not exactly feasible for everyone to shop from sustainable brands.  Despite this, I continued with my search and came across Rapanui Clothing . The founders, Mart and Rob, have been worried about the vast amounts of waste on our planet since they were very young and so set up R

I don't know about you but all I am obsessed with podcasts at the moment. They are all I listen to, especially when I am working. But rather than listen to podcasts that simply fill the time and provide me with some background noise, I'm opting for ones that leave me feeling motivated and inspired. From activism to self confidence, I'm listening to it ALL . Here's my top 8 podcasts to listen to when you want to feel inspired and motivated and what's even better is that they are all hosted by female presenters.  Gurls Talk   presented by Adwoa Aboah. This is probably my favourite podcast at the moment. Learning from her personal experiences with mental health, activist and supermodel Adwoa Aboah founded Gurls Talk - a judgement free platform for women to share their own experiences. On this podcast you can expect to hear people talk about their experiences of various situations from sexuality and confidence to grief and depression - no topic is too taboo for this pod

Just a classic outfit post for today with some more second hand favourites, including these white trousers, black turtle neck and a basic belt. I wasn't anticipating staying in New Zealand for another winter so hastily sent a lot of my winter clothes to charity shops a few months ago - what a mistake!  Old Primark Cardigan, Charity Shop Turtleneck, Secondhand trousers, charity shop belt, Old Doc Martens, Old Monki hat                                                                             

Environmental racism is a relatively new concept for me and something I am learning more about everyday. Environmental racism refers to the way in which Black people, indigenous people and people of colour are disproportionately effected by the climate crisis. Since this is something that I am learning about, I wanted to share some resources with you that I have found useful and that can explain it much better than I can. So What is Environmental Racism? Let's start with some definitions... "Environmental racism refers to public policies and industry practices disproportionately placing the burden of pollution, waste and the climate crisis on Black people, indigenous people and people of colour" - Waste Free Marie " Environmental racism refers to the way in which minority group neighbourhoods (populated primarily by people of color and members of low socioeconomic groups) are burdened with a disproportionate number of hazards, including toxic waste facilities, garbag

Eco or sustainability shame is a phrase that is being thrown around a lot but what does it actually mean? Eco shaming is making someone feel bad for not being sustainable enough. Maybe you're really into avoiding plastic but someone points out that you still eat meat which is also really bad for the environment. This is eco shaming because it's making you feel like your contributions are not enough.  Unfortunately, eco shaming happens all the time. Often when I tell people that I am vegetarian because of the negative environmental impact of the meat industry I am often confronted with, "yes but avocados/coffee/palm oil are just as bad ". Whilst this is true, this doesn't mean that my efforts are invalid.  We are even guilty of eco shaming ourselves! How often have you beat yourself up because you forgot your reusable bottle and you've had to buy a plastic bottle of water? Or maybe you forgot your reusable bag and had to buy a plastic one from the sup