As the appetite to shop locally & support local businesses grows, we took part in the first-ever Made in UK Day on Tuesday 9 March 2021. This was something we felt was important & dear to our hearts as I had set the business up before Brexit, before Covid & before the small business movement concentrating on British manufacture as important integral part to this business & the thinking behind its sustainable ethos
Hey! I’m Loz and I’m a 20-something creator and writer specialising in sustainability and wellbeing. I’m also the founder of Positively Loz; a platform dedicated to teaching you how to look after yourself and the planet. A total creative at heart, I love to write and paint – I even have a degree in Illustration! I am also incredibly passionate about nature and wildlife. You will find me spending my weekends in my wellies, bird-watching and exploring local wild areas around me!
Veganuary is a UK nonprofit organisation that promotes and educates about veganism by encouraging people to follow a vegan lifestyle for the month of January.
Want a tasty meal to get you started? Something that won’t cost the earth, financially or literally!
Here’s a simple recipe for Aubergine & Sage Spaghetti
I said last year that 2020 was the year for vision & it certainly gave us that. Chaos, destruction & grief all in 12 months. Helping us to see how fragile our world is & how delicate our lives depend on the rest of the world.
The appreciation of nature grew & we all enjoyed the outdoors more than we ever realised. Yearning for a freedom, that for some (including us) is still not in clear sight.
If I have one wish for 2021, its that we now all start taking action. We’ve moved on so much over the last few years, with more & more people becoming aware of their impact & changing their lifestyle for the future of our planet.
It is within us to change & we hold the power to do so, for our future, for our planet, for our children, for nature.
Each Christmas, the UK generates the equivalent weight of 3.3million emperor penguins in plastic waste!
1 billion cards will end up in the bin/trash….
27,000 miles of wrapping paper is used every year in the U.K, most of which can’t be recycled due to glitter or metallic finishes….
AND 250,000 tonnes of food waste is generated every Christmas in the U.K alone! (Equivalent to 2 million turkeys)
On top of that, 81 million unwanted Christmas presents are given each year… with 10% of these ending up in landfill!
With these staggering figures, it’s easy to find alternatives to our current habits. Particularly with this year being so difficult to get out & about to see anyone. If you are buying this year, #buybetterfortheplanet.
We are Dorry Macaualy and Miriam Baines, two sisters and parents. We help run ‘SOS from the Kids’, this is a group of children who love singing and want to protect nature. SOS from the Kids write and sing songs as a form of climate activism, they were recently featured on Britain’s Got Talent and got to the semi-final. We help write the songs, alongside the kids, particularly Dorry’s son Sim. We also help make the videos and sort out day to day admin and practicalities.
How often do you stop and think before you buy? Really think…
Do you know who made the product, where it came from, how ethical it is? Do you care?
Of course, convenience comes high up on everyone’s agenda but hasn’t this year taught us to slow down & reflect on the things that really matter? Are you really that easily manipulated into 3 for 2’s or Amazon Prime Day?
This year has been hard for us all, but what we can do is use this time to think about our future. Think about how much we do care about the importance of our purchases. Where we put our money is not only important to our planet, but it’s important to our economy. Some big corporations avoid tax and send billions of waste to landfill. Do you really want to contribute to that?
This week Sir David Attenborough signed up to Instagram for the first time to help spread his environmental message.
“I am making this move… because, as we all know, the world is in trouble,” he said in his first video message on the social media platform.
“Continents are on fire. Glaciers are melting. Coral reefs are dying… The list goes on and on,” he continued.
Within an hour of his first post, he had more than 200,000 followers, and by 16:15 BST he had 1.2m followers!! Let’s hope more people start listening now
“Saving our planet is now a communications challenge,” the veteran broadcaster said.
My dad called me ‘too moral’ the other day when I pointed out that Amazon is an unethical company, which is funny but also quite sad. I find some people get quite hostile and challenging about my decisions and when I share information regarding ethics. I think when people actively make eco-friendly changes in their lives, others can get defensive as if they’re being attacked. It’s an issue, and one that people must work through within themselves. We don’t want people holding back on making positive change in fear of other peoples opinions and judgments.
How to get a better night’s sleep. Do you suffer from sleeping problems or suffer with anxiety late at night. Try these techniques to support. The bedroom should be for sleeping & intimacy, so try turning your phone off, keep it away from your bedside & cut down on the box sets late into the night. The emails can wait, and you really can do without binging, for one night!
It scares me a lot. I take the advice of the UN’s Climate Change experts very seriously. They are saying that we have less than ten years to seriously amend our way of living so that we decrease the amount of carbon we emit into the atmosphere. It is frustrating that governmental bodies don’t seem to be taking this warning to heart. I do what I can at home, teach others impacts they can make, and write emails and sign petitions in the hopes of affecting change at a higher level
This year, we partnered with World Land Trust (WLT) as our chosen charity partner
World Land Trust (WLT) is an international conservation charity that protects the world’s most biologically significant and threatened habitats acre by acre.
Through a network of partner organisations around the world, WLT funds the creation of reserves and provides permanent protection for habitats and wildlife. Partnerships are developed with established and highly respected local organisations who engage support and commitment among the local community.
Giving up flying was incredibly hard because I currently make my money as a model and travel is a big part of that. I found changing my perspective on travel made a big difference. Seeing it as an adventure and learning experience to be savoured…rather than something to be rushed through as just a means to get from A to B. I feel this slowing down and enjoying the ride rather than just the destination is something working with plants teaches you too.
Plastic Free July 2020. Could July be the time to break the habit? There are so many alternatives out there, but do you know where to start?
Every piece of plastic ever made still exists and in the first 10 years of this century the world economy produced more plastic than the entire 1900’s!
Plastics do not break down, they break up, creating more of a problem for our wildlife, for the atmosphere & even our health!
To create a better world for our children, animals & the place we live, shouldn’t we all care, just a little?
Clean Beauty is the new Natural Beauty. What is your current facial routine? Is it working? Do you really know what are in your products? I’ve always stood by natural beauty. That’s not to say others cant enjoy the art of makeup, but I didn’t really ever learn to apply it & therefore tend to only wear a bit at times to accentuate my eyes when I go out. The rest of the time, I like to let nature run its course. Good or bad, it’s always been an easy decision for me & it hasn’t held me back at all.
Who knew that 2020 would play up to it’s name, & give people the chance for a clearer vision?
Understanding the confusion, devestation & interuption Covid has brought us all, has anyone else felt as though they’ve needed less and reflected more on what is most important to them right now?
We’ve seen a few friends & family reconsider what’s important. Do they really need new clothes, holidays or material objects.
So what is stopping people from choosing a more conscious lifestyle?
As we continue to build our community of like-mided individuals, we caught up with Natalie, to understand her thoughts on how we can all help our beautiful british coastline! Beach cleaning is really easy and anyone can do it! Most importantly we need as many people doing it as possible.
What is unsurprising is that in time of crisis, it really brings out the good & bad of humans. Who would have thought, that it had to come to this for everyone to build a community, for us to appreciate the NHS & for us to connect with our family on a daily basis?
We’re keen to build a community with like-minded individuals & like to continually engage with our instagram followers. We spoke to Matthew to understand his thoughts on Climate change & the world around him, given he is a passionate environmental & vegan UK blogger
In the modern world, awareness is helpful, but when social media rules our lives now & not all information is factual or honest, how can we know what to do for the best as consumers?
I thought I’d start by sharing some of the things that we’ve done, both personally myself (& as a family) to reduce our carbon footprint, work our way towards a simpler life and help the planet.
We spent time getting to know one of our inspirational instagram followers overseas to understand her thoughts on Climate change & the world around her, given she is a passionate environmental US blogger
With Wedding season fast approaching, we reached out to one of our friends who owns ‘Beckie Melvin Events’ to understand her thoughts on how to have an environmentally friendly wedding but still get the day you’ve always dreamed of.
Are you looking for a seriously simple Vegan pancake recipe this Pancake Day? Check out this suggestion from Appletree & Avalon. We also have a non vegan option too!
We spent time getting to know one of our inspirational instagram followers to understand her thoughts on Climate change & the world around her, given she is a passionate & budding environmental & vegan UK blogger
It’s not new news that our Rainforests are being destroyed because of the human need & consumption of Palm Oil. Everyone has seen the scene in Wolf of Wallstreet, right? It’s called supply & demand! We need to tackle both.
Why? Well, because amongst lots of things, the last wild orangutans & great apes & many more natural species are being pushed to the brink of extinction.
The problem is, that palm oil is found in roughly half the products sold in all grocery stores and is a major cause of rainforest destruction and human rights abuses.
We spent time getting to know one of our inspirational instagram followers to understand her thoughts on Climate change & the world around her, given she is a passionate & budding environmental UK blogger
With the news breaking over the weekend about Australia, it’s a tough pill to swallow going into 2020 knowing that already so many people and animals are facing what can only be described as ‘hell on earth’. Our hearts go out to all those affected. Just as those in Sudan, the Amazon & all over the world that are still experiencing devastation.
It’s been great to see some ‘celebrities’ starting to speak out and offer help, but whilst that is fantastic, money can sadly only go so far to help the destruction & we can’t help thinking that we need more of these people, celebrities & leaders to live by example as so many of us are starting to do so.
This weekend for example is the prime time for holiday companies to promote their cheapest prices for travel.
The first thing to note is that Appletree & Avalon is not a market place.
We don’t want to be, nor will we become a vast line list of products converting shoppers from commodity plastic items, simply to more trend led ‘eco-friendly’ options.
We are an online only independent, passionate about nature, the climate & our planet.
I’ve always been aware of how I see the world. I have felt at times as though I see it differently from most. A true believer that there really is beauty in everything. The good, the bad & the ugly!
They say, Christmas is the time for giving. It’s also the time to reflect & enjoy the little things. It’s the one time of year, you can try to truly relax, put your feet up and enjoy your loved ones (for 5 minutes, at least!)
There was a Panorama documentary on the BBC this week about air flight and it really got us thinking even more about how most businesses seem to choose profit over the planet in so many cases. It’s evident that a lot of companies are capitalising on climate change without actually putting their money where their mouth is!
In the programme, it was uncovered that British Airways (as an example) emits around 18,000 tonnes of additional carbon dioxide each year by indulging in a practice designed to save money. For operational gains and to save time, it is common practice across the airline industry to carry additional fuel on some flights.
British Airways is one airline. They all have their part to play.
The world has declared a climate emergency! At least, we know that everyone has recognised that there’s a problem, right?
On some level, I do believe that everyone is aware of this. Whether you choose to believe in the science, support campaigners like Greta Thunberg, or have been unfortunate enough to have witnessed it or been a part of it
Everyone has seen the recent events in the media.
It’s come to our realisation on social media & when talking to our lovely customers that there is a lot of confusion around what it means to be eco-friendly.
Everyone will have a view and everyone is entitled to make their own assumptions and choices, however, we have laid out the hard facts for you here to digest and take an objective view.
Now, don’t get us wrong, no one is cringing more than us with what we’re about to say & we’re certainly not suggesting that we head back to the ‘dark ages’, but we have come to the conclusion that some of the ways in which we were taught to do things growing up, may just be helpful in the future.
Technology has come a long way over the last 100 years and its helped us develop phenomenally. However, we don’t seem to have grasped that it’s also made us slightly lazier and introvert at the same time.
At Appletree and Avalon we’re always looking at ways to help simplify your choices but also give you inspiration or ideas on how to cut out plastic.
Whether you’re brave enough to make things yourself, need support with the vital ingredients or simply just trying to figure it all out, we hope to be able to assist!
Appletree and Avalon is the only UK exclusive environmentally conscious independent Home & Gift store. At the beginning of our journey, not only were we concerned about the global impact of climate change, but we felt consumed by the ever demanding consumerism faced on British soil & the increasing waste that society is creating with that demand.
It is fundamental to our work, that in order to be successful at what we do, that we put nature & the customer first in all choices that we make. This starts with being open & honest & by helping to show that making simple lifestyle changes can minimise the impact on the environment, without disrupting
Well, it’s our view at least, that the fact that we’re even talking about it, is a great first step!! We boldly believe that it is about informed choice. However, a lot of focus in the media seems to be fixated on debating whether climate change is real or not and not tackling the true
