Fair Share Fabric Project

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In 2015 I pledged to use no more than my fair global share of fibres and they had to be sustainably sourced.
Whats a global share?
About 11.74 kg per person of which 3.8 kg is natural fibres. As I don’t like synthetics I try to stick to 3.8 kg of natural fibres.
Whats Sustainable Clothing?
Plastic-free, fair-trade, ethically made and lots more.You can read my clothing manifesto here
History and Figures
I started the Fair Share Fabric Project, (#fairsharefabric), in January 2015. I was trying to decide what is a sustainable amount of clothing? After all one mans over consumption is after all another’s nothing to wear. However there can be little doubt that we in the UK are consuming fibres in a hugely unsustainable way.

Heres how many textile fibres are produced annually: Total fibres, both natural & synthetic, around 8.5 million tonnes Rough calculations suggest that the average amount of fibres per annum, per person in the world, works out at 11.74 kg

We in the UK are using 55kg of fabric per person and 35kg of that is on clothes. We are obviously taking more than our share of fabrics produced.

If everyone on the planet was to have 35kg of clothes each year, production would have to triple.Fabric production like everything has an environmental impact. I would argue it is not sustainable for this to happen.
So if we cannot produce more, we have to consume less. We have to limit ourselves to the current global share.
Just so you know a kingsize double duvet cover from Ikea weighs in at 991 grams and a Marks & Spencer short-sleeved tee-shirt is 156 grams.

Second Hand Clothes
Can I buy second hand clothes to supplement my allowance? No. I can buy second-hand but it has to count as part of my allowance.

You can read more on the subject and check my figures and sources here.

By Year Synopsis

2014

My Wardrobe This is what I started with. At the end of 2014 I had 45 items of clothing.

2015

I bought 3.15 kg of natural fibre products and 3.2 kg of synthetic fibres. See them here.

2016

The results are in and can be found here.

2017

The counting will start soon….

2016 Plastic-free July

by Posted in 3.5 Plastic Free People, Projects & Campaigns Tagged , 23 Comments

Of course every month is plastic free for me but plastic free July is a time to make a bit of extra effort, promote projects, look at my bin and join with other people all over the world who are taking this time to rethink their relationship with plastic.

Index

In this post you can read about, and find links to more information on….

Keep calling back for updates…..

What is Plastic Free July

The aim is to cut your consumption of one use plastic, for one month - July. If that sounds a bit much bear in mind that definitions of one use plastic can vary. And how much you choose to cut is up to you.

You can take this opportunity to tackle one item. Maybe get your self a milkman, buy (or make) some produce bags for loose veges or get a refillable water bottle.

You don’t have to do it all at once!

The plastic you loose is more important than the plastic you use!

A bit of history
Plastic Free July started in 2011. It is an initiative of the Western Metropolitan Regional Council (WMRC) in Perth, Western Australia and was developed by clever Earth Carers staff. In 2012 Plastic Free July expanded across Perth and in 2013 it went global. They have a great website and are all round good eggs.

My Plastic Free July

Because I have been doing it for so long I try to cut all plastic including glass with plastic lined metal lids. Yup - hardcore. See my pledges and get regular updates on how I am doing here

Keeping in Touch

Keep up with the project via the Twitter and the

#pfjuk tag

Last year we used the twitter hashtag #pfjuk for British related posts. Mainly because it got very dispiriting to hear of a fantastic bulk food store only to find it was based in Sydney.

And do check out the Plastic Is Rubbish Support Group where people share plastic free tips.

2016 U.K. Participants

It’s really important to link up with U.K. based plastivists who will be sharing throughout the month. While some solutions like solid shampoo from Lush can be accessed UK wide, many are local. If you are tweeting or writing this month get on the list….

Contact me if you want to be included. Tweet me @plasticSrubbish e- mail [email protected] or leave a comment.

So far we have have

the lovely Pip- squeaking @Pip_Squeaking of arefugefordaffodils.wordpress.com in her second year now.

Vicky@busygreenmum I blog about homegrown and foraged food and drink, reducing waste and buying less to reduce our carbon footprint and maybe save a little money on the way. allotmentrecipes.wordpress.com

Helen McGonigal@SpotofEarth Blogger & freelance writer, literacy workshop consultant, author of Mummy Makes Milk, mum of three, wife. spotofearth.com

New Plastic-free U.K. Directory member Jerry Bottles. Read about them here. Tweet them @jerrybottles

Libby Darling - “I run a beaching cleaning group and local eco/education Charity here in Rottingdean, just outside of Brighton, I have recently led a plastic free challenge in May & June to my local schools etc and it’s on going!
It’s not easy but it’s worth every moment!”

Fiona Hancox - no details as yet but on board!

2015

2014 see here

Plasticfree U.K. Directory

I am putting together a directory of plastic less resources. The aim is to share resources. If you are a UK based plasticless business, organisation or blogger and you want to be in the P-f U.K. directory please send a brief write up. Guidelines here.

Plastic Is Rubbish Support Group

This year I set up a Plastic Is Rubbish facebook group where people share plastic free tips. It’s a great resource.

More Resources & Info

Loads of plastic free products here… A to Z of plastic free products

And see all our past posts here

Anyplace, Anywhere

I am proof that you can do this anywhere no matter the constraints

2014 I did it while travelling in a van. Here is how I did.

2015 I did it with a backpack check out Plastic free Mongolia

 

 

 

Waste Less Live More Week

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So proud to be a partner in the Waste Less Live More Week and be up there with some real waste heroes Check out the list. The week runs from the 22 - 28 September 2014 and has in the years past had a theme.

This great campaign has been organized by Keep Britain Tidy but it goes further than suggesting you put your rubbish in the bin. No, it posits that mindlessly consuming vast and often needless amounts of stuff is not just a reckless squandering of precious finite resources that results in huge amounts of problematic, difficult to dispose of trash…. but it doesn’t even make us happy.

Blimey! Well said you!

2016 and online celebration of local shops

2015 and I was being resourceful organising a online litter pick.

2014 we had to make it, borrow it value it and so on - see how my week went.

Press Release

Waste less, Live more Week is Keep Britain Tidy’s annual awareness week which brings together partner and supporter organisations who together host a week of events and activities around a theme

Plastic is Rubbish is joins up with charities, businesses and organisations to support this year’s Keep Britain Tidy resource initiative, Waste Less, Live More Week, to inspire new, creative and inventive ways to live better, within our environmental limits.

Keep Britain Tidy is a leading environmental charity. We inspire people to be litter-free, to waste less and to live more. We are run programmes including Eco-Schools, the Green Flag Award for parks and green spaces and the Blue Flag/ Seaside Awards for beaches. To find out more about Keep Britain Tidy, our programmes and campaigns visit www.keepbritaintidy.org.

Press enquiries
Contact the Keep Britain Tidy press office:
Helen Bingham 01942 612617/07918 631682 [email protected]
Keep Britain Tidy Mobile (24 hours, 7 days a week): 07768 880016

Keep Britain Tidy has ISDN radio facilities for interviews
ISDN: 01942 322178
Please contact the press office in advance to make arrangements

 

About Plastic Free UK

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I am compiling a directory of UK-based groups, organisations businesses and individuals who are responding to the problems presented by the misuse of plastic. That does not mean anti-plastic necessarily but certainly plastic-problem aware.

Why?

It is becoming increasingly apparent that though plastic is a massively useful product, it has a dark side. Plastic pollution is emerging as one of the major ecological challenges of the next decade - we need to start looking for some solutions, and quickly. A total ban on all plastics is not a realistic or even a desirable goal. Some plastic products are worth the (properly managed) environmental costs.

Others are not.

What is unnecessary is of course open to debate but one that is becoming increasingly relevent. And there are lots great people out there doing just that; debating and proposing all manner of exciting solutions that range from personal plastic boycotts to advanced techno fixes. Some focus on primarily on plastic issues, for others it is an incidental - but for all it is a consideration.

I want to feature U.K. based initiatives that are tackling the growing problems of plastic abuse - one each month to create a directory of UK-based plastic aware projects, refuseniks, trash slashers, businesses and the rest.

The DIRECTORY is to promote their work.

I hope that by sharing information and providing a forum for a plastic-aware community we can;

  • contribute to the growing plastic debate,
  • support and promote plastic aware projects and products,
  • show there is a market for plastic free products and services,
  • document the growing concern about the problems of plastic abuse.promote and support plastic aware people and projects
  • help others tackle and reduce the plastic in their lives
  • encourage the provision of plastic free alternative products
  • disseminate the latest information about plastic and plastic research
  • campaign for a sustainable use of plastic and for cleaner plastics

Submit

If you have a plastic aware project we would love to feature you. Read the submissions guidelines and join in – it’s quick and very easy!

Find out more about us here….

and look over the Directory Register here

Zero Waste Week

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For a number of years now I have been a zero waste ambassador. Here are some quick zero waste week facts!

  • Zero waste week is organized by Rae Strauss
  • It has been going for 8 years now.
  • This year runs the first full week in September.
  • The aim is to cut the trash going to landfill.
  • Each year there’s a theme

Of course its not just me doing it- there are loads of bloggers doing all kinds of stuff. You can find them herded together in one easy to access place on the Zero Waste website.

You can listen to them wittering – sorry twittering – on on the twitter hashtag #zerowasteweek
If you want to join in you can make a pledge here on the zero waste website. If you decide to blog about it you can decorate your blog or post with various buttons, if you don’t you can print off posters for your living walls (easy tiger!) with these links posters and pdfs

See how I did in …

2015

Think you can’t be Zero waste when backpacking? I did it in China - see how here

2014

1-7th of September The aim this week wass to send nothing to landfill however I am nothing if not pedantic. Zerowaste means just that! So I sent nothing to be recycled either! You can see how I did here.