I’m really sorry

I hope this doesn’t inconvenience anyone, or perhaps I’m kidding myself to think it would.

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I won’t be posting for a while. My computer has died, I lost my phone, and my anxiety levels have peaked. And I’m having my first real holiday in seven years (in which I don’t have to finish a book, write extra recipes, do a photo shoot in Copenhagen…).

To be honest, I think the above first world annoyances have all happened so as to put me in my current predicament. Which is to say they’ve forced me to shut down. It is not the first time that the universe has done a “deus ex machina” job on me. You might be like me. It takes a nudge then a tap then a

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9 of the best “Buy Me Once” staples to invest in

I read about a new site recently – Buy Me Once. It curates gear that’s high quality and you only have to buy once, in your life. Stellar stuff.  Not-so-funnily, I’m writing this sitting in a London Wholefoods. The place is festooned with “eco” messaging. And yet everything comes on disposable plates, with disposable forks and cups. In the past 50 years, we’ve come to seriously regard disposable as cool. It’s honestly insane.

I carry my slow cooker to friends' houses for dinner - meal prepped and ready to go!
I carry my slow cooker to friends’ houses for dinner – meal prepped and ready to go!

But there are murmurings of a push-back. In France the government is fighting disposable business practice in the appliances industry, part of a larger movement against planned obsolescence across the European Union. And a bunch of fashion brands are stepping up in clever ways.

This is part of my own #Simplicious manifesto. Sure, you have to buy things. But don’t buy disposable stuff. And buy it mindfully. Stuff that lasts is generally premium, which – added bonus – makes you think deeply about whether you really need it. Because, end of day, I advocate going without, wherever possible.

Anyway I reached out to Tara and then arranged to meet with her…we were both going to be in London at the same time, miraculously. It was all a beautiful thing. Then we decided to compile a list of our favourite Buy Once stuff.

Tara: A LE CREUSET POT

This is the brand that started it all and inspired me to begin BuyMeOnce. Le Creuset is an heirloom cooking pot that oozes quality and longevity. It comes with a lifetime guarantee and I can just see myself passing it down to my imaginary grandchildren. I want everything in my life to give me this feeling.

Me: Scanlan and Theodore wool and silk

I shop for fashion rarely, about once every six months. For 15 years I’ve invested in pieces by this Australian brand. They’re a premium product, but I have red silk pants that have lasted seven years (I even hand wash them) and a

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These are the sustainable fashion choices I make… by a fashion editor

There’s heaps of info out there about bad fashion companies doing bad things.

And these stories need to be told, but what about the positive ones? Which clothes can you buy and feel good about? For this post, Clare Press, author of ethical fashion book Wardrobe Crisis asked a bunch of her friends (and her husband) to climb into the most sustainably produced outfits they own to help the conversation firing along. You can read her last post here where she shares some tricks for dressing with a conscience.

Clare

Clare Press: Organic cotton and Nobody

“This is outfit pretty representative of my score card – not perfect but making an effort. My sneakers are a fail, I bought them because they were comfy and have no idea how they were made. But I’m wearing my organic cotton Katharine Hamnett T-shirt, which I love because it’s sustainably produced and also very shouty: SAVE THE FUTURE! My jeans are by Melbourne brand Nobody, which is Ethical Clothing Australia endorsed. The bag is Mimco made in Kenya by Maasai artisans with the UN’s Ethical Fashion Initiative. The coat is wool, made in the UK, by Preen. They don’t identify as a sustainable fashion brand but they do make domestically and say that,

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suffering for existence

The opening line to Graham Greene’s The End of the Affair is thus:

xxx

So Graham Greene. I love his pared-back writing. He plonks the squirmy bits about life and relationships on the page via characters who are invariably flawed in quite banal ways. I find he treats his characters like Agatha Christie does a plot, inviting the read to keep going, and going even though you know the twist.

Anyway, to the quote above. It’s a comforting truth.

xx

Comforting? Yes, if you’ve had pain (big pain), there is solace in knowing that your suffering has a point. Always. Much of the despair we feel during tough times derives from a sense we shouldn’t be feeling so despairing. And so the angst is fueled. To know that our suffering uncovers aspects of ourselves – of our heart no less – turns down the

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