Today (September 11, 2010) I had tickets to attend “A garden party to make a difference”.
I readily admit that a good reason why to go, was the advertisement line on their website, reading:
“A Garden Party To Make A Difference is a rare opportunity to visit the historic gardens of Clarence House, Lancaster House and Marlborough House […].” Agreed, it’s beside the main point, but for a relative recent addition to the UK (me, that is, and only since June 2009), every excuse is good enough to do some site seeing.
This said, though, the garden party’s principle goal – getting people acquainted with a whole range of UK-based sustainability initiatives as well sustainable / social / organic enterprises, did not go lost on me.
Personally however, the most interesting part was the launch of People Tree’s Emma Watson Autumn/Winter collection, and the upcycling show featuring a competition between Orsola de Castro (From Somewhere) and the Junky Styling team. Ethical Fashion is what for me the game is all about, after all.
At the bottom line, the People Tree autumn/winter collection does have a few interesting pieces in between, but for a female who does not like ethNical clothing styles, and dresses rather sporty, there were not many ‘like to have’ moments. This said – the guy’s stuff was rather interesting. But then again – I’m dressing generally at the opposite spectrum of how typical British gals would dress anyway… so I assume they got their public right. Certainly so when judging from the reaction of the numerous women in the public.
Now for the upcycling competition – that was really good fun. Both, Orsola as well the Junky Styling team worked miracles with the dresses they were given to change and re-fashion. Orsola seemed to have gotten a particular difficult task (which is not saying that Junky’s result was less impressive – it really wasn’t): She was given an 80s swim suit, and was to up-cycle it into something wearable and fashionable in 2010, only with the help of fabric scraps and waste. I wish I had taken those pictures I had hauled my SLR for around all day – but then didn’t. Because. The organisers have, thankfully, documented the event, too.
To wrap it all up, here quick a run down of the most interesting stuff (companies) we came across in the myriads of info stands around the gardens:
- Practical Action http://practicalaction.org/home
What do they do in brief: Simple, innovative ideas to help people change their lives for the better. In Peru, for example, they worked with poor communities to introduce micro-hydro electric systems. In Bangladesh they’ve launched “floating crops” – essentially bio degradable floating crop fields that prevents a season’s crop to be destroyed by floods, while at the same time turning into fertilizer for the ground.
Judgment: Brilliant. Now, if they would manage to turn their approach into a social business rather than having to rely onto donors, that’d be perfection. - Dragon Marine Culture http://www.dragonmarineculture.com/ and
Dragon Feeds http://www.dragonfeeds.com/ :
What do they do in brief: Fish farms breed their fish with fishmeal. Fishmeal is in essence ground wild fish – but wild fish is as a matter of fact being heavily over fished, and some species close to extinction. So traditional fishmeal sounds like a bad idea. Hence: they first developed an alternative ‘eco’ fish meal, based on peas, algae, bate worms etc.. And now they run a ‘eco’ fish farm in Southern Wales.
=> Judgment: Very innovative, very committed, really good stuff. - Natural Legacy http://www.naturallegacy.co.uk/
What do they do in brief: They produce biodegradable and natural woollen coffins. All made in the UK, in Yorkshire to be precise, with exception of the organic cotton inner lining. The coffins are being sold in the UK and the US, and since recently also in France.
Judgment: Brilliant idea, beautifully made products. And for once, if the unfortunate occasion comes along, I cannot imagine a warmer way – no punt intended – to bid good bye to a love one. - The Wool Room http://www.thewoolroom.com and
Atkinson Blankets http://www.atkinsonblankets.co.uk
What do they do in brief: All of them offer woolen products, made of British Wool, in several versions.
Blankets, woolen bedding – at very competitive prices. Not only feel their products nice on the skin thanks to the organic cotton outer lining, their evidently made for a British climate, biodegradable – and they can proof that you actually DO sleep better than in man-made fibre bedding. I particularly likes some of the toys they had …
Judgment: Very credible, quality products. Consistent product ethics – but again, the Wool Mark alone is not enough. They don’t produce in the UK, hence Fairtrade as well as Soil Association Organic certification would be very desirable. - Merino Kids http://www.merinokids.co.uk
What do they do in brief: 100% Merino wool baby sleep wear. To be honest, I’m neither into kiddies cloth, and not kids either. I leave that up to friends who have an interest in babies. However ~~ the pictures were just too cute – and real photographic art works. All of course, renewable, sustainable, biodegradable. Although – without organic certification of the Soil Association, I’d be interested knowing details of the dyes they use.
Judgment: Cute, innovative, but I would like to see either GOTS or at least Soil Association certification. - Cultural Criminals e-mail: culturalcriminals_at_gmail.com
What do they do in brief: Bike courier bags, purses etc upcycled from lorry curtain off-cuts etc.
Judgment: Great product, great philosophy. The bags are prime, but the purses are not very practical for small change and bank cards. - Cheese not Cake http://www.cheesenotcake.com/
What do they do in brief: Well, the name says it all. They create cake-like structures, made entirely out of certified organic cow and sheep cheese. A cheese-lovers paradise! They do weddings, anniversaries, and either do ‘cake’ decorations on site, or support you in doing them yourself if you live too far away from their base.
Judgment: Innovative. Delicious. But probably not everyone’s piece of cake.
