Live a Sustainable, Beautiful Life
From fashion tips, to recipe ideas, to having sustainable holidays this Summer!
Firstly, Happy New Year from the Shibumi family!
We hope you had a fantastic festive period and are feeling energised now that we are in the full swing of 2019.
This year, we want to focus on becoming as sustainable as possible…not just as a business but in our personal lives too. We would love to share with you some of our top tips for living a beautiful, sustainable existence. An eco-friendly life doesn’t have to be restrictive and boring, and we’ll show you how!
…
Simplify Your Life.
Take stock of the important things in your life, and try cut back on all of the unnecessary clutter. And we don’t just mean stuff! Cutting back on screen time, taking time for yourself and your family, and making the most of your precious time on this earth are things we could all do more of.
When it comes to having a minimalist living space, we love Marie Kondo’s philosophy of clearing out items that don’t bring you an instant ‘spark of joy’. Having a good clear out is great for the psyche and means you can donate any unwanted items to charity. Plus, the less material objects one has, the kinder to the environment you are.
We’re not perfect however, and are still learning how to improve! Ruth is currently doing this in her own house, she’s definitely feeling more peaceful and relaxed…
We are currently reading Marie Kondo’s book, ‘The Life Changing Magic of Tidying, The Japanese Art.’ It’s changing our lives!
As we said before, donating to charity is a great way to clear out your own life without throwing lots of things away unnecessarily.
You can either take your items to a charity shop, or how about putting together care packages for homeless/ domestic abuse shelters? This way your items are used directly to help people, rather than having to wait for them to sell in a charity shop.
To find out the best way to donate in your area try here.
Just find your local shelter and contact them directly to see what items they are in need of.
Get back to nature! This is great for the mind and the environment.
Instead of spending your weekends shopping, eating out, or going to the cinema, take a trip into our beautiful countryside! We have some absolutely astounding scenery in the UK and it’s just waiting to be explored… Spending some time among the trees is so good for our wellbeing; mentally and physically the benefits of a good hike are endless!
Going for a long walk instead of spending the day in the car or in the city will reduce your carbon footprint and make you feel so alive!
Pictured is the bluebell walk at Westonbirt, it’s just down the road from us so why not make a day of it and join us for an appointment.
After a long day at work, we all know how easy it is to sit in front of the TV and not move until bed time! A couple of nights a week, how about reading a book instead?
Give your energy usage a break, and your imagination a workout by getting lost in a good book… you’ll thank us when you do!
Ruth has just finished reading ‘And The Mountains Echoed’ by Khaled Hosseini, she highly recommends it!
…
Save The World With Your Wardrobe.
One of the biggest problems when it comes to the environment is throw-away fashion. On average, 36kg of textile waste is created by each person, every year!
At Shibumi, it is our passion to encourage people to buy beautiful, timeless pieces of clothing that can be worn over and over, for different occasions and to create completely different outfits. Thus, reducing the amount of clothes one person needs and avoiding the disposal of clothes once they go out of fashion.
Here we have put together three gorgeous outfits for completely different occasions, all using our beautiful Anya Jacket in Electric Navy cashmere. The majority of our customers buy our clothes for wedding outfits, and we want to show you how they can be worn again and again!
For a wedding…
Shibumi Anya Jacket in Electric Navy
Shibumi Hepburn Dress in Moonstone
L.K. Bennett navy suede high heels
Navy suede clutch bag.
For work…
Shibumi Anya Jacket in Electric Navy
A classic cream silk shirt
Jigsaw navy cigarette trousers
L.K. Bennett navy suede high heels
Mulberry navy leather handbag.
For the weekend…
Shibumi Anya Jacket in Electric Navy
H&M navy shirt
River Island black skinny jeans
Fairfax and Favour navy suede boots
Mulberry navy leather handbag.
Of course, we don’t expect you to wear nothing but Shibumi! Unless you want to of course ;)
Just try to choose designers and brands that have ethical production and eco-friendly values.
…
Eco-Friendly Eating.
What we use to fuel our bodies has a huge impact on our health and the health of our planet. Some small changes to the way we eat can have a real, positive impact on the environment and can make us feel healthier too!
We’re not saying that the whole world should go vegan but cutting down on the amount of meat we eat is a good start. Also, trying to buy your produce from local suppliers rather than large supermarkets helps to support your community and means the meat and veg you do buy are usually produced on a smaller, more environmentally friendly scale.
Eating seasonally is a great way to reduce your impact on the environment and ensure you’re getting the best quality produce possible.
We love this easy to follow chart from Leon.
Here at Shibumi, we are mainly vegetarian and we really enjoy exploring new veggie recipes. Check out this short video of some great, easy, high protein Vegetarian recipes…
…
Holiday Responsibly.
There’s nothing better to beat the January Blues than booking a holiday! This year, try to holiday as responsibly as possible. Look for travel companies that are environmentally conscious, and help to protect the places they operate in.
A great example of this is Responsible Travel … they offer some amazing trips, all whilst supporting local communities, raising awareness and providing eco-friendly accommodation. We’ve already seen a few trips we’d like to book!
Another great way to have a more eco-friendly holiday is to vacation in the UK! We have so many amazing places to explore and most don’t require you getting on a plane!
Here are some of our top picks for UK based holidays, there’s something for everyone!
Beautiful Eco-luxury lodges by Coillabus on the island of Islay, Scotland.
Camping in an eco-friendly yurt at The Ceridwen Centre in Wales.
Stay in the Little Bear cabin in West Sussex, complete with wood-fired hot tub!
…
We hope we’ve given you some inspiration on how to have a wonderfully fulfilling 2019. Taking care of your environment, and having fun whilst doing it!
We are genuinely working towards living as sustainably as possible, both as a business and personally, so if you do have any recommendations or ideas please do let us know!
With love,
Shibumi
xxx
