Why Does the ‘Eco-Friendly’ Appeal Matter?

For most of people, when they think of organic cotton fashion, they think of a plain old T-shirt with a motif printed on the front. Not so anymore. It’s now one of the hottest fashion trends in London. Yes, that’s right, I mean hottest. You will find the eco-friendly fashion scene in London to be very active and creative, with many eco-conscious, socially responsible fashion designers creating styles crafted from sustainable resources, such as bamboo fabric, organic cotton, and recycled fleece, and leather alternatives. Many fashion designers such as Rani Jones, Carmilla Norrback, Amana, Julia Smith, and Ashley Watson are working on eco-conscious lines. Their creations are featured on fashion-conscience.com, an UK based eco-friendly store that was named as one of several top-secret online shopping sites on Elle UK. In addition, it was the online shop of the month on Marie Claire and Elle Spain.

Minna, one of the hottest eco-friendly line from UK. This gorgeous whimsical lace and silk camisole top, is hand-made in the UK. Scottish silk, lined with organic cotton lining, and fair trade silk shoulder straps. It looks beautiful with skinny jeans. Featured in Cosmopolitan, March 2009.

The Romantic whimsical necklace, also from Minna made from vintage lace, recycled fabric and sustainable wooden rings. Statement and organic natural jewellery is a big trend this season.

Here are the simplest terms on:
Organic cotton is grown without the use of pesticides and insecticides. Organic cotton garments are also often free from chlorine bleaches and synthetic dyes.

Bamboo fabric is created from bamboo pulp. It does not need to be bleached and it can be dyed easily with minimal water.

The primary benefit of recycled fleece is that its main source is recycled plastic PET bottles.

Five Positive Ways to Start Jump Your Day

1. As soon as you wake up with the alarm ringing, spend a few moment to visualize what you intend the day to be like. “Should it be a day of …..?” Be specific and make a list of a few positive thoughts that you know surely will brighten your day. For some of you, maybe it will simply be the thought of some small pleasure, like a February sunrise. Rerun these positive thoughts through your mind, and remind yourself that today is a new day.

2. Get up and put on your favourite music. Keep moving, make coffee, and start humming in shower if you wish. The purpose is to put you in the right mindset in the first half hour of the morning. Proclaim that today is the day you are going to stay positive.

3. Drink a full glass of water before your morning coffee. Go ahead and add a few drops of lemon juice to the water if you want. Notice how thirsty you are in the morning when you wake up and how you body responds after you give it the water it really needs.

4. Be kind to yourself. Give yourself some appreciation for whatever small accomplishments that you had done the day before. Accept that you won’t always be able to control the path of life, at least to some degree. With good will, and compassion you can start to appreciate the small things presently in your life, which are often overshadowed by unrealistic expectations in our success-obsessed, materialistic society.

5. Practice acts of random kindness. As much as life is unpredictable and stressful for most of us, there are always some things we can and should be thankful for. Count your blessings! Do something simple that makes someone’s day: become a creator of happiness. Small acts of kindness add up, so start living your day with that in mind.

Make a Spring Wish List for Personal Transformation

What do you really want that you can’t live without?
It’s time to plant a seed, and watch it grow from there.

We all already know that when winter still lingers in our backyards, and it’s already outliving its welcome, way past its snowy ‘White Christmas’ magic, and certainly way past its New Year icy magic. Deep inside, you’re beginning to grow restless, impatient somehow, wondering if something bigger, and better is coming your way, something to beat the ‘same old, same old’ out of your predictable, seemingly lifeless route. You know it’s time to re-evaluate your path. Its time to give your life a 360-degree scan, and find out where you are, and why you are stuck here.

For most wise gardeners, winter is the time to plan for the next spring’s glorious colours, the time to collect the seeds of desired plants. When spring eventually comes, the gardener is ready to start cultivation, with the seeds gathering patiently over the winter, and with the matriculated plans of the desired plots in hand.

For most of us, it takes a high degree of courage and honesty to admit that there is some thing missing, that something needs changes. If you cannot be honest with yourself and listen to your own voice, who will? Here comes the big question: “What do you really want to do with your life?” For most women, the given question comes with different answers at various stages of our life. You wouldn’t get a concrete answer if you don’t know what your heart truly desires as well as its real needs. Are you really listening to your inner voice these days?

To make a wish list of personal transformation for the coming spring, you need to follow these simple steps:
Know yourself
Ask yourself this question, and take time to write down the words that come with the big picture of who you are? Starting at this moment, write down all the positive qualities that describe you best, for at least an hour. For the coming week, starting to get more specific with the details. Take your time, it may take longer than you expect. Keeping a journal at hand is an excellent exercise in the journey of self-discovery. Soon enough, you will be surprised and delighted that you are a masterpiece in process.

Making a wish list
Based on the finds of self-discovery, start writing down of who you want to be, and who you want to grow into. Be bold, and make sure your growing list is true to what you really want. Be creative, and use doodles, or drawings, or pictures of objects, a pressed flowers or pieces of fabric, whatever comes to hand that represents you. Be imaginative; visualize who this new person will be. This process may take a few days, or weeks to complete, but in the end it begins forming a big picture of a “New You”. After you collect information about yourself, it is time to sort them out. After categorizing them into groups, you should begin see the patterns of your unique character. By that point, you should be able to write a clear summary statement on yourself honestly. Now, start writing a list of ten wishes based on your discovery, and how you hope to grow into this new person.

Growing into it
By keeping and reviewing this list everyday, you should see some progress. Be kind to yourself: planting a seed in the garden, it takes time, patience and care to watch this new person grow. Finding your authentic self is worth the time and effort. In the end, you finally come to terms with your own true self and your passions, after many years of outside influences and assumptions. The true purpose of this self-discovery is to change how you look at everything in your life.

Here is a book that could help you to gain this insight on self-discovery. Nothing is more powerful than knowing who you are and your passions.
The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything.
By Ph. D. Ken Robinson