There’s a lot to share in the world. And a lot to read, and watch, and decipher. I started using social media and blogging as a way to record the things I had seen, and piece them together in a way that helped me uncover why I was drawn to them. Perhaps you’re drawn to them too. So in these “news collections”, I’ll be bringing together a myriad of stories for your musing.

News collections will include pieces on growing, textiles, fashion, design, farming, climate change, materials, technology, policy… As I am focussed on exploring and educating on the possibilities of regenerative beneficial symbiotic systems, it makes sense to create an amalgamation here too.

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News Collection #1: 01.07.22

Policy.

Seasonal farm work and voting for local produce.

“The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and current turbulence caused by the invasion of Ukraine are reminders of the crucial importance of UK food producers to our national resilience.” ~ Government Food Strategy policy paper, June 2022.

Reports show that UK fruit and vegetables are being left unpicked because of a lack of seasonal workers, due to Brexit, the pandemic and the war on Ukraine. So, to avoid a food waste crisis, to improve the amount of British-grown produce on shelves, and in line with the government’s food strategy, Environment Secretary George Eustice has confirmed that 8,000 fruit and vegetable pickers and 2,000 poultry workers will be given a new visa route for seasonal work.

However, if you read the report’s Executive Summary, you can see how the lack of oversight with other legislation is antithetical to this policy. The government objectives are to deliver":

• a prosperous agri-food and seafood sector that ensures a secure food supply in an unpredictable world

• a sustainable, nature positive, affordable food system

• trade that provides export opportunities and consumer choice through imports, without compromising our regulatory standards for food

They have recently allowed the deregulation of plants and animals that have been modified using ‘precision-bred’ gene-editing techniques (which they are separating from ‘genetically-modified organisms that are created using older technological methods). The Bill could threaten our agroecological farming systems, our autonomy and right to save seed, and the biodiversity upon which we depend, and goes against points in the policy summary regarding creating a nature-positive system with consumer choice. There is no clear labelling with GMOs and they are not owned by the public. Read more on this via the Landworkers’ Alliance statement on the Bill here.

One key way to support a sustainable food system, is to vote for local produce. As you probably experienced during the pandemic, now with a gas shortage, and due to inflation too, the supermarket supply chain is a mess. But there are regional growers of varying sizes protecting the biodiversity and food justice we require - especially when considering the government’s food strategy - and improving soil/water/air for future citizens. Learn more in the Vote For Local report from Landworkers’ Alliance here. And there’s a recording of the panel at Groundswell Agriculture Show 2022 regarding the National Food Strategy “one year on”.

Materials.

Regenerative fish leather.

Ok, that term “regenerative leather” doesn’t necessarily fit here. For one, I’m about to highlight the development of Inversa, a lionfish skin material, and there is an Italian movement to ban the term “leather” being used on anything but cattle to avoid confusion i.e. “vegan leather”. And usually when we’re speaking of “regenerative”, we are looking at building better rather than just being extractive, and in fact, there could still be a place for lionfish in the marine system we don’t know about. However, the company call it leather, and “regenerate” in more in response to the restoration of reefs.

So - the deal with lionfish is that they are a non-native (invasive) species in Caribbean and Atlantic waters that are decimating coral reefs by eating everything, without themselves being eaten. According to Trendwatching, “Given the amount they eat and their average lifespan of 15 years, each lionfish removed from the coastal waters of Florida and Mexico could save up to 70,000 native reef fish”.

The start-up Inversa was founded by avid scuba divers who had witnessed the degradation of marine environments, and were looking to control the damage in order to restore. The title of this segment then could be restoratative skins? Accessories brand Teton Leather Co. (see image) and footwear brand P448 are already using the material.

It is similar in premise to Nova Kaeru, a Brasilian producer of piraruçu fish leathers. In this system the fish were being eaten, but skins discarded. Traditional artisanal techniques have been used for 70+ years to transform the byproduct skin in to a beautiful and unusual material. To be clear on the confusion over terms, Nova Kaeru call their product “bioleather”. Anything from nature is technically bio, so this is a bit of marketing.

Exhibition.

Eternally Yours: Care, Repair and Healing.

Not yet visited, this free exhibition at Somerset House on until 25th September 2022 brings together everything from textiles and ceramics to furniture, to reflect upon the hope and healing which can be found in the memories and stories that everyday objects hold in our lives. It looks to be a textile delight.

An article on Guardian Online looks at how mending and repair became a fashion statement, and explores the proliferation of mending as more than a means to an end since the pandemic - and helped by accessible programmes such as The Repair Shop, the “cost of living crisis”, and supply chain issues. Customers demand repair services, and brands want to be seen to be sustainable, so both are increasing awareness and skills surrounding how mending can be therapy - and aesthetically-pleasing.

Having been taught visible mending by Celia Pym herself at North London fabric shop and sewing school Ray Stitch (and witnessing the jumper below so nonchalantly carried with other mid-repair garments), I still have an organic casual mending that I feel is fine. Creative mending can be so beautiful, as shown with Rose+Julien below, yet I am content with a haphazard approach, mainly because I do find it painstakingly slow, and most mends I have are socks - or so far gone I could never make them super good-looking anyway.

Images: Celia Pym at Eternally Yours; Rose+Julien creative visible mending.

Listen.

Cultivating justice.

Farmerama Radio, a podcast I happened across years ago and has been something I look forward to being released, have launched a 6-part podcast series in partnership with Land In Our Names and Out On The Land (part of The Landworkers’ Alliance). Along with the podcast, the Cultivating Justice project will develop through a series of creative works and movement-building events, which also includes zine co-creation, community gatherings, and workshops at food/farming events.

Through the project we will be addressing inequalities in agroecology which affect us and our communities. Key professions related to land work in Britain (agriculture, horticulture and environment sectors) all have over 90% white British employees. Large disparities also exist in land ownership and access to green spaces, with communities under the ‘BAME’ umbrella being 60% less likely than their white counterparts to be able to access green spaces and natural environments (Natural England).

Watch.

What’s next for single use plastics?

Circular Economy Week is an assortment of events hosted by ReLondon, the renamed London Waste and Recycling Board, that aims to show the issues and solutions regarding waste - whether that’s energy waste or physical product waste. They are showcasing stories of how urban environments are attempting to change the system in all manner of ways, from construction to plastic packaging to textiles.

The community organisation I help with, Plastic Free Hackney, were on a panel as part of this week of events, discussing what’s next for single use plastics. It is a chance to better understand what these even are, and the solutions available to urban environments. Find the recording ‘What’s Next For Single Use Plastics?’ on YouTube along with other recordings. With input from organisations and companies City2Sea, Sustainable Merton, One World Living (Richmond & Wandsworth Councils), Plastic-Free Hackney, and Unpackaged, there is a mix of voices.

It has also recently been Refill Week, and we are now in Plastic Free July. Plastic is a complex issue, as I discovered again this week when my sublet housemate put some foam earplugs, an oily pizza box (with crusts still in there), and all manner of shrink-wrapped packaging in the recycling bin. He said he would do better. I was frankly pissed off because he didn’t bother to look at the Hackney recycling bag where there are images of what can be recycled. It is complicated, it is confusing, and it can all seem pointless. But educate yourself.

Images: Single use “compostables” still mostly in tact after a year in an aerobic composting system; Single use plastics collected on a holiday visit to Durdle Door in Dorset, UK; Flash cards from Surfers Against Sewage at Ocean Film Festival, 2019.

Here are some plastic free / low plastic options for Londoners:

Refills ⇾

Jarr Market, Stoke Newington High Street - this is the closest to where I live and they have the most option I’ve found. I haven’t racked up a comparison price checker, but the ease of being able to get everything I could possibly want there is worth the cost, especially as supermarkets are so volatile anyway. Also Top Up Truck roving refill milk float, Re:Store by Hackney Downs, and Food For All especially for your medicinal herbs.

Organic produce ⇾

Growing Communities vegetable bag - I have been on this scheme I think 4 years now. There’s some weeks (especially in winter) when I am fed up of cabbage. In fact, I have 3 cabbages in my fridge right now. Fortunately they do have a swap box, but the scheme enables you to support local growers, seasonal produce, and importantly, organic standards.

While other box schemes like Riverford Organics, OddBox and Abel&Cole may offer you solutions to specific needs, these local veg bags (which must exist elsewhere in the city) do feel as if they are working towards a system change. If veg bags aren’t accessible and you like to choose, then farmers’ markets are the next best thing. I personally struggle to have Saturdays free to visit markets, and the ease of collection of five pieces of veg each week works for me (you can choose the size of bag you want, and book holidays if required).

Takeaways ⇾

Dabba Drop - now delivering all over East and South London, this takeaway comes in a four-layer tiffin (requiring a £15 deposit) and is the utmost tastiest plant-based curry delight. Each week is a new cuisine, and you receive a salad, curry, rice and daal. You can pause your subscription and add extras, like ridiculous brownies. It’s also delivered by bike courier.

Coffee ⇾

Re:User Club - Launched in Hackney, this “digitally-enabled” reusable container service allows coffee shops to provide a consistent takeaway solution - especially useful with the excuse that someone forgot their cup. The cups are loaned by coffee shops, scanned out by customers, and then returned by customers via scanning in. You can keep track of what you’ve borrowed, and have a 10 day window to return the cup.

I ended up keeping hold of my first initial one, using it as promotion to other coffee shops and successfully had it implemented in two close to home. It seems now that coffee shops are back to the same communication system of not promoting it, so the onus is really on the customer, however the service is simple to use (albeit with some browser UX niggles).

Making your own ⇾

With the myriad of refill options, and the expense of posh varieties, it could make sense to make your own products, such as toiletries and cleaning stuffs. Plastic Free Hackney, the organisation mentioned above, do free workshops on just that. You can find recipes on their website, along with past recordings of online sessions so you can follow along. Doing so enables you to use up the glass jars and plastic sauce pots, while keeping costs to a minimum, and frankly having control over the ingredients. It helps you understand what small amount of inputs you need to create the everyday consumables.

Images: Jarr Market refill store in Stoke Newington, London; A Growing Communities organic veg box; The Re:User reusable takeaway cup in action; Dabba Drop plant-based Kerala-menu curry.

Newsletter.

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