LIVE LIFE IN
Sustainable Style
ISSUE 1: JANUARY 2021
NEW YEAR NEW
CONSYou MER sustainability in style
Welcome
Hi there Sustainably Stylish friends.
Welcome to this new addition to the Sustainability in Style resource collection. The Live Life in Sustainable Style, magazine was born from deep thought. The kind of deep thought that can only come from the year that was 2020. A year where the tiny things mattered the most. With the wide world on pause due to the impacts of a viral pandemic, the most microscopic of threats became a macro-scale issue. One that shook things up. Changing our global economy in ways we are yet to understand, turning social systems on their heads, and giving the environment a much-needed break from our impacts as we were collectively placed in a time-out. We learned that keeping our Sustainable Self healthy on the micro scale was important to the whole world. That each person doing the right thing can impact positively on the community as a whole. The pandemic illustrated the importance of self-responsibility, and that seemingly small and mindful changes (like wearing a mask, washing hands, or staying home if sick) are key to keeping the whole world healthy, happy, and our systems operational. We also learned during this time what really mattered most to us. Whether it was experiences with loved ones, travelling in nature, our furry friends (at home or the wider world), or simplifying our lives. The year allowed the dust of our daily busyness to settle so we could see, with newfound clarity, what we cherished most. Last year was one wild ride for all of us. I loved and lost the physical Sustainability in Style Mindful Living HQ space. My hearing vanished overnight in one ear (never to be heard again) and I learned the intricate dance between listening and balance. The joy of teaching made me high on life, from my work at USC in the Fashion Minor subjects, to teaching sustainability workshops, yoga, and meditation face-to-face and then online. The fears of the past, self-worth, security, and the desire to know the outcomes, vanished in the COVID-19 landscape and I just went all-in. Life as we know it has changed. We emerge like butterflies from a 2020 cocoon of reflection. Perhaps not in the ways we would have expected if asked a year ago ‘what does your future look like’. But, like all butterflies, the beauty is in our delicate nature, the uniqueness in our difference of physical appearance, the way we dart (not always logically) through life
and landscapes, and the services we provide to our natural ecosystems from our interactions with it. After a year of considering my past learning, communicating sustainability messages online, the current landscape of social media communications, and the future I would like to live in, Sustainability in Style got an overhaul. We emerge (with an abundance of butterflies on our homepage and here) to share in meaningful and accessible ways. Over the new year we will be providing you with tools you can use, inclusive of all budgets and tailored to your personal values. We believe in communicating with kindness which is why we are diversifying from social media (which is now largely dominated by advertising and emotive and divisive clickbait) to inclusive and thoughtful communication channels. This magazine (which you will get monthly via our email list) is just one part of the strategy. In 2021 I hope we can cross paths in ways that work for you. From free live Book Club (a sanity saver during 2020), to one-on-one coaching (personal or business, or buying a self-coaching planner) or free or paid meditation and yoga classes, or discussion via our members site (launching 2021). Let’s share together accepting that we are not perfect, we will make mistakes, and that real world learning comes from trying, failing, and revising how to do it differently next time. We benefit from space and support for this type of learning, and I’m hoping you might find it here at Sustainability in Style. Sustainably Yours, Katie
Contents
Welcome........................................................................................................ 1 Catch Up on Last Month's Content....................................................... 3 Tools You Can Use..................................................................................... 4 Values Motivators...................................................................................... 6 Our January Theme.................................................................................. 8 New Year, New ConsYOUmer Worksheet........................................... 10 This Month's Resources........................................................................... 11 Learn to Shop in Sustainable Style...................................................... 14 Book Club..................................................................................................... 16 Press Play.................................................................................................... 17 Caring for Sustainable Self.................................................................... 18 Science Style Self Podcast..................................................................... 20 Sneak Peak 2021...................................................................................... 21
OUR TOOLKIT BREATHE
Meditate to increase your mental and emotional resilience. Stop and take a breath when overwhelm sets in.
GROW
Lifelong learning increases your critical thinking prowess. When information gets too much critical thought processes can reduce overwhelm.
MAKE
Make and mend things with your own hands and reduce your consumer impact. Use craft to get into ‘flow’ when feeling stressed.
PLAY
Einstein famously stated that “Play is the highest form of research” Through play we find new solutions to wicked problems and reduce stress.
READ
Reading allows us to gain a deeper understanding, increase empathy, and expand/challenge norms. Read to relax when stressed or gain clarity.
SHARE
Sharing your Sustainably Stylish journey in a kind and empathetic way can inspire others. Having a support network when stressed is essential!
STRETCH
Sedentary lifestyles and overconsumption put strain on our planet and our mental and physical health. Stretch your body and mind to reduce stress.
STYLE
Material culture and personal identity construct are part of how we go through daily life. Craft a sustainably stylish path that suits who you are.
Have you seen our eightpart toolkit for reducing eco-overwhelm? We’ve included the eight themes throughout this magazine (look for stars that match the colours) to help you identify what tools you might want to consider harnessing. Make notes (on your free Kiss Eco Overwhelm Goodbye downloadable worksheet) of the tools you choose to use and how they impact on your key stressors.
LEARNING STARTS WITH FAILURE; THE FIRST FAILURE IS THE BEGINNING OF EDUCATION. John Hersey
CATCH UP
What You Loved Last Month
Last month we were focused on providing you with thoughtful tips to celebrate the holidays in Sustainable Style with our ‘Tis the Season to Be Eco series. Let’s catch up on what you loved and how it can be carried into 2021 (because we don’t believe in single use resources).
DECLUTTER MINDFULLY This post was really popular with many of you commenting that it was comprehensive and contained content you hadn’t considered before. The best part is that you can use these decluttering tips and tricks all year long! Read it here
Want travel tips you can use all year? Click here
GIFT WITHOUT WASTE
Our innovative guide to gift giving based on experience, services and mindfulness is always popular. This year you really appreciated the addition of gifting based on our Values Motivators. Check out this post and start making some notes about gift ideas for birthdays and special occasions throughout 2021.
CARE TO SHARE
Our collaboration with Peppermint Magazine provided seven full days of Christmas Kindness prompts that you can use no matter the season. If you’re looking for inspiration for New Year’s Resolutions, these prompts might inspire a year full of kindness.
OUR WEBSITE UPDATE
Tools You Can Use Over the final few months of 2020, we worked hard behind the scenes to create a new organisation strategy for our website. The new layout is designed to Simplify Sustainability so that you can live life in Sustainable Style, based on your values, and have access to tools designed to reduce eco-overwhelm. Here’s a tour of all the wonderful FREE resources available for you. Our new menu shows our: • Values Motivators Quiz via the ‘Take the Quiz’ Link • Our forever expanding content collections organised by ‘Take Action’ categories. You will find the ‘New Year New ConsYOUmer’ category. • Access to our communication channels and the story of Sustainability in Style via ‘Connect’. • The ‘Goodbye Overwhelm’ section is loaded with information on how you can combat eco-overwhelm, with downloadable worksheets, and access to our toolkit of eight resources. You will also see that each page has a little ‘Video Ask’ Katie. You can use this to leave video, text, and audio based questions, comments, or feedback.
Lets Check Out the DETAILS
VALUES Motivators
VALUES Motivators
TAKE THE QUIZ
Knowing what you value is the first step towards living life in a Sustainable Style and succeeding on your own terms. Say goodbye to overwhelm by taking our short (totally free) Quiz. It takes around ten minutes to complete and the questions are designed to identify what category (or categories if you happen to find yourself spanning across a few) might motivate your Sustainable Self.
Which Are You ?
TAKE THE QUIZ
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
SOCIAL EQUALITY
Based on the assumption that you have a passion for nature, natural flows, and an interest in conservation, repair, and preservation of the planet (and beyond).
Based on the assumption that you love friends, family, art, culture, and the advancement of humanity equitably and fairly.
It is assumed that you want to live a life with minimal (or no) negative environmental impact.
This conclusion has been drawn from your love and passion for people around you and the assumption that you would like others to have the same quality of living that you do.
ANIMAL WELFARE AND COMPASSION
SIMPLICITY & STREAMLINED LIFESTYLE
Based on the assumption that your lifestyle is all-encompassing of animal welfare and compassionate living.
Based on the assumption that your focus is on getting the most out of your time to reach goals.
You will not budge on your no-animal-products-or-cruelty stance, and therefore your lifestyle choices will be guided first and foremost by this ethos.
You are interested in reducing the fuss in your life and want a lifestyle that works well for you with minimum time and energy (and possibly monetary) inputs.
You can get active in a variety of ways using the links via our ‘Take Action’ page. Each month there is a new focus. This month you might want to check out our ‘New Year New ConsYOUmer’ page for inspiration on how you can consume more mindfully this year. We’ve been working through the extensive backlog of content, simplifying it for ease of reading, and adding ways for you to take action based on your Values Motivators.
NEW FEATURES
Just for You
Our content is now being provided with Values Motivators based prompts to help you decide how to use the information in a way that is meaningful to you. We know that there’s a lot of information to absorb when it comes to living life in Sustainable Style. This Values Motivators framework is just one tool to Simplify Sustainability and help you to avoid eco-overwhelm. The example below is from a popular post that ran in last months ‘Tis the Season to Be Eco’ series. It’s all about decluttering responsibly and we thought we might share it with you again as many folks get into clean-up mode as the New Year swings into action.
Our January Theme This month we explore the reoccurring series that’s been happening in January on Sustainability in Style since we were a personal blog. The theme is New Year, New ConsYOUmer. This theme is a play on the common self-improvement catch cry of ‘New Year, New You’. We believe that you can be a ‘new’ you this year if you choose to do so. However, we think you’re pretty perfect just as you are, and that the new year can be harnessed as an opportunity for mindful reflection on how you interact with the world around you. As a member of humankind you are consuming resources on a daily basis. From the air you breathe, to the food that you eat, the clothes on your back and the content you interact with. Each day provides an opportunity for you to make conscious choices about investing your nonrenewable resource, time, into backing consumption choices that fit with your personal values. This month we will be sharing resources with you that can help guide your reflective thought processes, and offer opportunities to take action in Sustainable Style on issues you really care about.
The following pages are an overview of some of the tools and resources we will be sharing, and celebrating this month.
NEW YEAR NEW
CONSYou MER
THE NEW YEAR IN SUSTAINABLE STYLE
Traditionally the beginning of the New Year is associated with resolutions. We resolve to do things differently, to be a better person, or perhaps we lay to rest a habit or idea from our past. These promises can carry from year to year without true resolve. This could be due to a lack of motivation (consider if your resolutions match up with your Values Motivators), the scale of the resolution being too large, or a lack of systems in place to make our resolve part of our daily life. We’ve provided worksheets in the past with our grandiose to go-for-it goal approach, the most recent one is available for you to download (for free from our wesbite) or you can view it over the page . Once you’ve worked through it or know what you might want to work towards this year, feel free to share your resolve below. Sharing (just one of our eight-part toolkit for living life in Sustainable Style minus the eco overwhelm) your resolve with someone else, either online or in real life, promotes personal accountability. For many of us, the promise to ourselves, combined with the decision to share with others will increase the likelihood of taking steps towards actioning our ‘go-for-it’ steps. Click here to check out this months offerings.
My Values Motivator/s is .............................................................................. If there were no barriers, I would change the world for the better in the following ways ............................................................................... ............................................................................... ............................................................................... ............................................................................... ............................................................................... ............................................................................... ............................................................................... ............................................................................... ............................................................................... ............................................................................... ............................................................................... ...............................................................................
NEW YEAR NEW
CONSYou MER
Mindful Planning
Moving back to reality, what barriers exist to achieving these outcomes. Think social, environmental, and economic from both the personal (micro) and larger (macro) scale. .............................................................................................. .............................................................................................. .............................................................................................. .............................................................................................. .............................................................................................. .............................................................................................. .............................................................................................. .............................................................................................. Consider one way you CAN change the world for the better .............................................................................................. .............................................................................................. ..............................................................................................
Simplify Sustainability
Take your idea from above and break it down from 'grandiose' to 'go-for-it' scale. Grandiose Great Good Go-for-it
..................................................................... ..................................................................... ..................................................................... .....................................................................
An example of a ‘grandiose’ scale goal would be to get rid of all plastic worldwide, scaling down to ‘great’ might be removing all plastic from your house (accomplishable but still a big challenge for a year), ‘good’ might be to eliminate all plastic from your kitchen (which may be accomplishable within a year), scaling down to the action level of ‘go-for-it’ you might choose to replace one item from your pantry with a plastic free alternative each time you shop for groceries. The scale will change depending on your personal social, economic, and environmental considerations.
SCAN WITH YOUR PHONES CAMERA FOR THE VALUES MOTIVATORS QUIZ
sustainability in style
10 WAYS to Ease into the New Year
These tips are perfect for anyone looking for inspiration for some of their ‘good’ and ‘go-forit’ goals for the year ahead. This post has been adapted from our archives to include ideas for each of the Values Motivators so you can work it to suit what you care about most. Read more
ECO STYLE FROM THE ARCHIVES Long-time readers of Sustainability in Style will know that we don’t offer external advertising content here on Sustainability in Style. As much as we would like to share great products with you, it’s a challenge to untangle the advertising from the content. Which is something we choose to avoid for potential academic research purposes via our channels in the future. We know you love to know what brands we appreciate so we’ve rounded up our archived Eco Style columns from Nature & Health magazine for you to peruse this New Year (New ConsYOUmer). Find the collection here
The Butterfly Each ‘Take Action’ theme has its own natural symbol. Using symbology and storytelling has been harnessed by Indigenous groups for generations and has since been researched as an effective tool for committing knowledge to long term memory. The symbol for the New Year, New ConsYOUmer is the butterfly. After hatching from an egg the caterpillar explores the world around it spending most of its time feeding on vegetation. Sometimes the caterpillar can eat so much it causes damage to the systems that it relies on, especially when its populations are in large numbers sharing a finite space. The consumption of the world around it makes the caterpillar fat with life...Keep Reading here
CONSUMING MINDFULLY ON A BUDGET This post provides a tool to help simplify Sustainable Style. It has long been a favourite resource of Sustainability in Style readers and it’s a sneak peek of the kind of wonderful resources you will receive in our ‘Grow’ Level Up Learning Courses. This post is just one tool from our Learn to Shop in Sustainable Style course. A course that, as of this month, is now available for you to access online! Previously we’ve only offered in face-to-face format, but we know many of you join us from across the Globe, which is why we are so happy to be able to connect with you via the magic of technology! Learn more about this, and other courses in the Look and Feel Great in Sustainable Style series over the page.
READ MORE
CRAFTING MEMORIES Have you seen the all-time most popular ‘Make’ resource on our website? It’s our easyto-follow instructions on how to craft your own trinket or gemstone holding necklace. This month it’s being updated to suit our New Year New ConsYOUmer theme, to talk all things materials culture.
READ MORE
EIGHT DEGREES OF CHARITY When we think about consuming mindfully from a Sustainably Stylish perspective, the idea of gifting to charity or supporting charity organisations will likely spring to mind. This post was the result of meandering research over one of the early New Year, New ConsYOUMer series. It breaks our desire to give to charity down to eight parts and will have you contemplating your desire to give in a whole new light.
READ MORE
LEARN TO SHOP
In Sustainable Style
Shopping is something most of us find pretty easy to do. Shopping with people and planet in mind is a little bit trickier! Fortunately the Learn to Shop in Sustainable Style workshop is here to help demystify the world of sustainable fashion and have you navigating the shopping landscape like a professional. Over the last couple of decades our fashion supply chains have evolved from releasing four seasons a year to new items being dropping in store every week thanks to cheap offshore manufacturing, and improvements in global communication and trade. Low prices and an abundance of fashion items have changed our purchasing patterns from love-it-forever to cheap, cheerful, and disposable. The Learn to Shop in Sustainable Style Level-Up course is a work-at-your-own-pace exploration of how you can use your dollar to vote for the Sustainably Stylish world you want to live in. Don’t fret; the course won’t bombard you with guilt inducing statistics!
Part of the
LOOK AND FEEL GREAT IN
SUSTAINABLE STYLE Series
The goal of this course is to harness your personal values, translate them to shopping motivators, and have you leave the space feeling empowered to work with what you already own, take away alternate shopping tips and learn how to purchase mindfully within your own budget. We understand that everyone is different and that sustainability is a complex and multifaceted issue. There is no one set way to be sustainable and we will honour your unique contribution to the world by tailoring a shopping plan to suit who you are.
For just $35 you get
HEAD TO COURSES
Access to our at-your-own pace online learning space. Six areas of learning you will master in your own sustainable style, to fit with your Values Motivators. Video guidance for each area of learning (prerecorded so you can work at a time that suits you). A comprehensive e-book with space for your own mindful reflection.
LAUNCHING
JAN 29TH
OTHER WORKSHOP IN THIS SERIES ARE: • •
Organise Your Closet In Sustainable Style Style Yourself Sustainable
Coming from Feb
READ Book
Club
Have you heard about our live book club meet ups? They began in 2020 as a way to connect (and stay sane) during the pandemic. We meet up once a week for an hour via Zoom, and talk about what’s happening in our lives, what we learned from this week’s reading (and associated activities) and how our learning influences our Sustainably Stylish Self. Book club attendees get access to private book club content course pages with prompts, activities and additional sustainability focused readings. Each week our Zoom catch up is summarised in a video recording (we don’t record the live zoom because it’s your private discussion group) so that any wonderful revelations can be shared with those joining in at a later date. The best part about our Read: Book Club Live is that it’s totally free to join. Once our book club sessions are complete, the course content will be available as a ‘work-atyour-own-pace’ offering in our members site launching in 2021. Enabling our members to read through solo or organise a group with some other Mindful Living HQ members.
Click to learn about our next Book Club
HOPE & HOLIDAYS This post on hope was part of our ‘Tis the Season to be Eco series and was written as one part of our Read: Live Book Club exploration of B.J. Fogg’s Tiny Habits. Check it out to get a feel for our online book club content.
PRESS PLAY
Delight your ears this New Year with some Sustainably Stylish tunes. These playlists have been compiled to help you kick back and relax, combat compassion fatigue, expand your listening base to be inclusive of First Nation artists, and to inspire action. We love hearing about your favourite tune. Please send us your suggestions so we can add them to our playlists.
New Playlist for New Year New ConsYOUmer
CARE FOR
Sustainable Self
Did you know that we offer FREE meditation and yoga resources for nurturing your Sustainable Self and reducing eco-overwhelm? These resources have been provided to our IGTV channel for quite some time now, and we’ve just started moving some of the content across to YouTube. When we open our members site in 2021, members will have access to themed meditation series, and full-length yoga classes. We’ve chosen to share free and paid resources because we believe in providing access to holistic sustainability resources for all. We also wish to be a fully sustainable business (including financial sustainability) without the need to offer advertising space or paid promotions. Your decision to invest in our resources helps keep Sustainability in Style operational, promotes creators being paid fairly and ethically for creating quality content, and keeps our site free from advertising bias.
TRY OUR MEDITATIONS FOR CHANGEMAKERS
TAKE A BREAK NOW
YOGA in Nature We’re adding new yoga content all the time and it’s custom made just for you! Our January classes haven’t been filmed yet so if you have a request for a specific flow, theme, or part of the body you wish to focus on, please share with us and we will make it a reality.
MAKE A REQUEST
WALKING MINDFULLY How do you consume nature? This post is a mindful reflection for your Sustainable Self designed to help you consider your approach to wandering the Earth and consuming its natural beauty. We have tips for all, from the animal lovers who enjoy walking pets or bird watching, to those busy folks who want to maximise their time with simple tips for mindful walking.
LETS WALK
I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees HENRY DAVID THOREAU.
GIFTS IN YOUR
INBOX Sign up to our E(co) Newsletter for gifts delivered to your inbox. You receive the ‘Prompts to Inspire’ downloadable with your welcome email. Then, each month you will receive an email loaded with tips, tricks, tools and ideas for the month ahead and your copy of this magazine. All for FREE!!!
Science Style
Self PODCAST
Over 2020 we slowly worked on acquiring the knowledge and resources required to bring the messages of Sustainability in Style to you in diverse and user-friendly ways. We know that life’s busy and that there isn’t always time for reading. Which is why we’ve spent some of our time budget on learning how to diversify our content to Podcast format. Let’s get chatting!
The podcast Science Style Self will be released fortnightly. Alternating between a themed exploratory episode that you can take part in, and one-on-one chats with scientists, experts living life in their own Sustainably Stylish ways, and those in the field of personal development (inspiring you to foster your Sustainable Self). We are currently working on compiling episode one which is all about ‘Gross Sustainability’ and we would love your contribution! Please share your soundbites on things you do in the name of Sustainability that might be considered ‘gross’. So far, I’ve trialled my scariest and grossest sustainability product yet, chatted with Dr. Bonnie about her yuckiest research (hint- it involved a lot of dog poop) and talked composting toilets with Dr. Luke. Share your insights so that you can inspire others to be brave enough to try sustainability ideas that might seem a little out of their comfort zone.
Be Part of the Conversation
SNEAK PEEK...
2021
Your Personal
SUSTAINABILITY
COACH
This final section is all about sharing some of the upcoming resources that will be launched by Sustainability in Style throughout the year. It’s with much excitement (and hard work) that we share a sneak peek of our first ever publication,
Time is a Nonrenewable Resource: Plan for a Better Today and Tomorrow and Live Life in Sustainable Style. This valuable guide provides you all the tools you need to coach yourself to live life in Sustainable Style (minus the eco-overwhelm) for a whole year. It’s the cumulation of twelve years of learning, living and researching, environment, science, sustainability education and behaviour. The guide provides all the tools, tips, and tricks I’ve learned along the way to avoid overwhelming your Sustainable Self, and take action in Sustainable Style on the things you really care about. Each page has been carefully crafted to fit back with all the free resources we share, which means that you can continue to adapt what works for you from our toolkit. This is 60k worth of learning (I have the study debt to show for it) rolled into a gorgeous resource that you can hold in one hand!
Our Upcoming Feburary Theme
For the Love of Sustainable Self
Why we bother...
When the challenges seem
when
BIG and we seem
it feels as though the media is feeding us
nothing but
small
FEAR , HATRED, and CLICKBAIT
When it would be easier to just give up and buy into throwaway culture.
Why we bother, not
but for
for US,
children the planet women plants animals men
ALL
FOR the people we know and love. FOR those that will never cross our path. FOR the folks just making ends meet. FOR the dreamers daring to innovate. FOR the corporate giants trying to do better. we bother for the greater
GOOD
FOR a higher purpose.
On behalf of the non-humans who cannot speak out. For the natural systems on which we rely.
WE VALUE
the lessons learned
from “failures�, and review with
constructive kindness.
WE ACKNOWLEDGE
differences in lived experiences, and how
differences contribute to collective
Sustainable change
WE KNOW
that living life by our
values is the true path of
sustainable style (minus the eco-overwhelm).
And that taking time to understand, nurture,
and challenge our
SUSTAINABLE SELF is essential.
sustainability in style
