My Justice Journey

A lengthy gap - the covid pandemic has not been good for my creativity! And this post is not fashion-related - but it is textiles!

I recently joined a local group which sews re-usable sanitary kits to go to various parts of the majority world to be issued to girls in order to help them stay in education. Unfortunately too many girls drop out when puberty occurs as it is just too much hassle to cope with limited or no resources. The picture shows the shields which will have poppers attached so these attach round knickers and then liners can be inserted into the pockets at each end. All is supplied in a drawstring bag, which also contains a waterproof sachet for carrying dirty items, 2 pairs of knickers, soap and an information card about hygiene. 

We meet each month and it has been good for me, trying to emerge from the pandemic, to have people to whom I am accountable and deadlines to complete my allocated sewing, now that I have met the standards required.

I am going to post a shorter article about this as part of the Methodist Church in Britain's #MyJusticeJourney project.

I can't actually remember when my involvement with justice issues began - I was certainly a member of CND and the Tax Justice campaign in my teens and twenties, but this has grown - as is demonstrated by my commitments to climate justice, fair trade and attempting to be socially and environmentally responsible, including in clothing.

My Micah t-shirts enable people (including me!) to wear our commitment to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God.

Styling the items - 3

I had intended to do several posts this week of various outfits - but the lockdown has had a demotivating effect. So today is the last day - and three quick pictures of some of the other options, I have worn.


The People Tree black jumper with SKFK skirt and a chunky necklace and the black jumper with Monkee Genes jeans. I confess to cheating and counting a waistcoat as an accessory rather than an item of clothing, to make a change!


Then the other outfit is the Nomads print shirt with the SKFK skirt. I think I have worn this combination at different times with both red and blue tights.

It's been interesting - and I still like all the items, but am looking forward to a bit more choice again! Easter Sunday can have something bright!

Keeping up with washing has been the hardest - though I do now wonder if more generally we wash items more than we need to.

If anyone would still like to sponsor me, then please do go to Lent Clothing Fast. Thank you!

Styling the items - 2

It has been interesting to discover that my black overshirt is sufficiently long to wear as a dress - though that has meant I can't wear it with my SKFK skirt as it would show underneath! But it has been fun to style it with scarves and tights that match, or pick out a colour in the scarf - such as the green wavy lines in the turquoise one bought for my by a friend with words of comfort on it.






And today my red scarf-necklace came out to be worn with red tights.









Early on in the challenge was a meal out in a very classy restaurant for my husband's birthday so I decided my Chinese silk jacket counted as outerwear (which is unlimited) for this purpose!

Styling the items - 1

I am actually into the last week of the challenge - and have generally had much less need to worry about shoes with being confined to home! My slippers are a bit dog-chewed so I shan't be sharing them, but do have a look at The Small Home.

I'll put up some of the 'looks' during this last week, so to start with the Nomads print shirt and Monkee Genes jeans. Nomads have recently been showing some of their looks pictured in this way - so I stole the idea from them!

Here they are matched with my red Conker shoes, which I have had for years and a 'skinny stitch belt' from Elvis and Kresse which I was chuffed to have found in a sale. The latter is made from recycled fire hose and wears really well - no sign of the surface rubbing or marking with the buckle as tends to have happened with my leather belts.

Items 4, 5 and 6

So to the tops - and a choice of three.

Firstly I chose a People Tree black roll-neck top, as this goes with everything, and could be worn under a shirt as an extra layer - though I haven't needed to do that yet!



Then I chose a print shirt from Nomads containing colours that would work with all the 'bottoms'. It is still available in their sale! And finally a black overshirt that also originally came from People Tree.

Item 3

I nearly gave up last week: being at work meant needing to wash clothes and shower on my return to remove risk of carrying Coronavirus. However I ironed a short the following morning so am persevering.

While I do enjoy my 6 pieces, I think it will be nice to choose something different to wear for Easter Day! In my initial planning I decided that wearing only one 'bottom' for work was difficult, due to the risk in winter of trying to get that item washed during non-work days, so added a second item - my bright red corduroy Thought pinafore dress. A lovely happy piece of clothing!

Originating in Australia as Braintree, the company moved to England in 2002; the name change followed in 2017. Still a small business - about 30 people share the vision that contemporary fashion and sustainability go hand in hand.

Item 2

A number of previous bloggers undertaking the  6 items for 6 weeks challenge talked of choosing black items as these mix and match easily.

I was not sure I'd enjoy wearing black for 6 weeks - even with purple hair! However one item I did choose was my 'more interesting than straight black' SkunkFunk skirt.

A Spanish company, Skunkfunk have recently rebranded as SKFK, with a strong ethical foundation. I came across them having bought a second-hand summer dress and doing some research, and have managed to buy a couple of skirts (including this one) from a UK online retailer, but as yet they have no shops here. I visited a store while in Barcelona and bought a couple of items - they have a strong commitment to timeless pieces but with interesting twists, such as the waist of this skirt.

Item 1

A week and half into the 6 items challenge and I am still wearing combinations of the same 6 items, though I have additionally needed a thick jumper and a coat in this horrendous UK weather.

Before embarking on the challenge I searched on the net for people having tried this - one blogger said she had found her initial 6 choices unsuitable and changed the majority of them after a couple of weeks. Unfortunately she did not say what she had chosen and what made them unsuitable - so no assistance gained there!

However I decided a 'must' was a pair of my favourite Monkee Genes, which I often 'live in' on days off. Sustainable in all sorts for ways - and often with good sales - they are a must for the jeans-wearing ethical shopper!

If you feel like supporting me - either join in the challenge or sponsor me!

Lent clothing fast

Blogging again - after a long break!
I have decided to take part in the Labour Behind the Label 6 items challenge this Lent - 6 items of clothing for the 6 weeks. Apparently it doesn't include underwear, accessories or outerwear and you are allowed sports clothing and uniform. I therefore reckon a clerical shirt should be additional to my 6 items, but will choose the black and red one as that goes with the other items chosen - though if I get called on to conduct a funeral I may have to allow lee-way. I think my walking trousers and a rugby shirt to walk the dog is the closest I will get to 'sport'! And having lived in Africa for long enough to never feel warm again in Britain I might query how many layers constitute 'outerwear' and allow a jumper or sweatshirt as well as a coat!
I will introduce you to my 6 items and the combination outfits over the next 6 weeks - there is no rush, all outfits are going to have to be worn more than once!

Dressember - Day 31

Final day! And as my visiting relative thought it was cheating to change into trousers to walk the dog, here I am in dress and walking boots - complete with aforementioned dog!

So here I am photographed on our return, having shed coat, hat, scarf and gloves, but not yet the boots. I am wearing a lovely Nomads green dress that combines different fabrics in the same shade and then has added hand-stitching and beads for embellishment. It is worn with a Dorothy Perkins black-watch tartan jacket that I have had for years - originally with both a matching skirt and matching trousers but my waist grew out of those!

Dressember - Day 30

I had to wear the Christmas elf hat today as lots of relatives were here for lunch!

Red pinafore dress again, but with a blue linen shirt made in Nepal. I do think this dress is going to be very versatile and useful in a variety of settings.

The painted leather earrings were put together for me on a craft stall in Barcelona, as those I liked on the stall were really too long.

Dressember - Day 29

A dress from White Stuff today - warm knitted with lace overlay on the lower section. I rather think I bought it in the post-Christmas sale last year.

White stuff is at the top end of the Ethical Consumer ratings table for high street clothing shops, but that’s not a huge claim when none of them score over 50%. We need to put pressure on some of these retailers to improve as well as supporting more ethical brands. The major issue for both social issues such as trafficking and environmental ones is that we should all be buying fewer garments, and ones that will last.

Dressember - Day 28

People Tree little black dress but covered up with a bright jumper from a lovely little independent shop in Hitchin called Rosita Lollipop.

I particularly fell for this one to go with 'liquorice allsorts' earrings - also by a local crafter. The sleeves are a bit long - so I might shorten them, but haven't got round to it yet!

Beginning the count-down now, but only just over half-way to my target, so am hoping there are a few people waiting to see if I last the month before donating!

Dressember - Day 27

My Thought red pinafore dress again, but worn with navy this time - polo-neck jumper and tights that turned out to be dotty ones! I didn't remember I had those, and don't think they have seen the light of day since we moved house a year ago! Perhaps I have not been wearing dresses enough! Shoes are from the Little Shoe Shop - the only place I can generally find smart shoes in a size 2!

The dress is, of course, now in the sale!

I hadn't realised that there is a design competition as part of Dressember, until I got the chance to vote. I am not hugely impressed by the four winning entries, but have voted - and you can too at https://www.dressember.org/vote

Dressember - Day 26

Another new dress! When ordering the red pinafore from Thought, this dress was in the sale and I loved the asymmetric, patchworky styling. It turns out to be in lovely thick quality cotton jersey.

The elf hat had to be worn for further family celebrations today, having been in my stocking yesterday - though it did get swapped for a while with my great niece’s reindeer antlers! The elf hat did match her dress better than mine!

Dressember - Day 25

Beside the main Christmas tree in the village chapel where my husband and I led worship this morning. I am wearing the dress I made to greet people at our wedding and for the reception afterwards. I haven't got any photos showing much of this dress, so that was an added incentive to wear it today - especially as I won't get many chances to wear it, I guess!

Much of the fabric is reclaimed - a large proportion from someone giving up their own sewing business. Dark green squares with gold stripes or gold embroidery came from a sari I bought in Sri Lanka while house-building with Habitat for Humanity after the tsunami. Sadly the end piece of the sari began to tear after a few years of wear, so it has been made into a wrap, a brooch and incorporated into this dress. Off-white lacy squares come from a friend's wedding dress, which I altered for her to wear as a cocktail dress on a cruise later.

Dressember - Day 24

This is a really a floaty, printed silk summer dress with uneven pointy hem - but it does fit over a jumper to float around in on Christmas Eve!

I can't actually remember where I bought it, but think it was a fair trade shop somewhere - maybe Harvest Moon in Hitchin or one in Cambridge that I now cannot find on the web. Maybe it has ceased trading as so many have found the fall in the pound, since the Brexit Referendum, hard.

Ruth Murray, whose own fair trade fabric business closed 2 years ago, has written an article in response to the news that Traidcraft may cease trading at the end of this year. Do click to read 'Why Fair Trade is in difficulty'. And of course the more developing nations find themselves unable to trade, and individuals are faced with poverty, the greater the risk of falling prey to trafficking. Something as simple as adding a few more fair trade products to your shopping list can be part of a movement for change and equality.

Dressember - Day 23

The same dress as yesterday as red seems appropriate for doing a 'Santa-run' delivering presents. We stopped for a coffee on the way home, so here I am complete with rainbow 'elf hat' which is great for keeping the ears warm. It was purchased in Nepal when I was trekking there - again raising funds for work against trafficking, that time for children trafficked into Indian circuses. Nepal is a beautiful country with lovely friendly people, but really poor, and made even worse by the subsequent earthquake. Poverty puts children at risk when families are promised income in return for letting their children go with those who turn out to be traffickers.

One of the charities that continues to be involved in this rescue work is ChoraChori which rescues children and supports rehabilitation and education, primarily in Kathmandu.

Dressember - Day 22

Perhaps the sunshine helps - but today I feel more Christmassy and more at home in a dress - especially as it is a new one which I couldn't resist when browsing through Thought's website after the company appeared on facebook. I had come across what was then called Braintree at a sustainable fashion conference, but apart from a few pairs of socks not owned anything of theirs. Thought works ethically with the aim of minimising their environmental footprint and their mantra is " Wear me, love me, mend me, pass me on."









And the angel earrings? No idea where they came from but I just liked them! And they have been mended a few times!

Dressember - Day 21

Wearing the same as Day 14 so you are spared a photo today! I confess that with some of the miserable weather lately I am struggling not to pull on a pair of my comfortable Monkee Genes! I think that is what I will be wearing on January 1st!

More statistics concerning trafficking - it was the picture for tomorrow that caught my eye on the Dressember site - a huge number, in one country and most are not reported - so what is the actual scale of the problem? Horrendous.