Dressing sustainably on Christmas Jumper Day

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Jane shares a few tips on how to enjoy a more sustainable Chirstmas Jumper Day

As much as I'm anticipating the fun and festivities of Christmas Jumper Day and the support it raises for Save the Children, I was bothered about the one-day-a-year wearing of a jumper made by the hands of who-knows-who and which may sit in landfill for who-knows-how-long. I contacted LoveYourClothes for some advice, so thought I'd share it ...

 

Obtaining your Christmas Jumper

  • Check out local charity shops for pre-loved Christmas jumpers, rather than buying new.
    (Apparently extending the life of clothing by just three months would lead to a 5-10% reduction in their carbon, water and waste footprints.)
     
  • Check out Oxfam's online shop

 

After Christmas Jumper Day

It’s also important to dispose of the jumper in the best way once you’re finished with it – every year, 350,000 tonnes of clothing needlessly goes to landfill when it can be reused or recycled. 
  • Wear it for the whole of January (unlikely), or once a year for the next 30 years (also highly unlikely) #30Wears
     
  • Take to charity shop for someone to wear next year
     
  • Take heed of the other advice from LoveYourClothes on what to do with your pre-loved clothing

Just little something to think about this year!

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Thanks to all who filled a Christmas shoe box

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Thanks to everyone who filled a shoe box for Operation Christmas Child. I am sure there will be some very happy children when it comes time for opening!

Christmas Jumper Day

It won't be long before we are putting on those festive jumpers, this time raising money for Save the Children as part of their National Christmas Jumper Day.

Get searching your wardrobe for that annual woolly jumper, or get blinging the one you wear most weekends. We want to see you in it on Friday 16 December!  More details to follow.

Fred's lovely wife, Jacika got her visa approved!

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A note from Fred:

We got our visa approved last night for Jacika to live in England!
Just wanted to say thank you for all the support, advice from the visa veterans and for keeping me busy (Andy!) over the past six months or so – it means so much more to me than I can say with a couple of tubs of Celebrations!

Congratulations Fred, that's great news! We are delighted!

 

Anita's retirement party ... check out the pics!

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Firstly a little note from Anita ...

“Dear All
Thank you SO much to everyone who was able to come to my party last night, I had an amazing time.

Some extra special thank you’s go to...
David, John and Mike for providing the party and Emma for organising it. Jane for putting the presentation together and Andrew for the music.

I love my cheeseboard, I have never had one big enough to put out all the cheeses I like before!

I am going to read my card when I am on holiday, sat on a beach with a box of tissues by my side and a glass of something in my hand!😉

So thank you once again my SRA family.
Anita xx”
 
 

Melissa's new hair-do supports cancer charity

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Hi Everyone,
So the hair chop finally happened on Saturday. A 15-inch plait is now on its way to the the Little Princess Trust! Thank you so so much for your generous donations. So far the haircut has raised a whopping £465 for the charity which I am sure they will really appreciate!
It is not too late to sponsor if you would like, please visit my JustGiving page.  Thank you!!  

Julie completes epic London to Paris bike ride

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Well done Julie for completing 300 miles, across 2 countries, in only 4 days!

The London to Paris Bike Ride gives plenty of opportunity to have fun, meet new people, get fit and raise money for charity.

Talk to Julie or Emily who have both completed the ride before, and check out this video if you are interested in giving it a go in 2017.

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Emma completes Great Festival Dash at Carfest

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Thanks for all those who sponsored Emma for the Great Festival Dash at this year's Carfest

If you sponsored Emma, It's time to give her the money!

Being my third Carfest on the trot, I thought it was a great opportunity to experience something different!
The Great Festival Dash took place at the main arena at 10.15.  All runners arrived at 10am for a pre-race warm up.
The warm up was hosted by Radio 2’s Vassos Alexander who introduced James Cracknell to the stage for some final words of wisdom.
We all gathered at the start, including Chris Evans, his wife and two sons who joined in – running in head to toe Gorilla outfits!
 
The run itself took us around former racing driver, Jodie Scheckter’s farm, seeing some of the behind the scenes no go areas before coming back into the arena and across the finish line.
 
It was a really good run, despite running over uneven terrain and what seemed like a corn field. I met some lovely runners of all ages along the way.
 
Thank you all very much for your sponsorship – your support really means a lot to me and for Children in Need.

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Chris enters art competition - check out some of his work

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Chris produces some fabulous artwork. He is currently on the long-list for a prize, part of which is a public vote. We wish him every success!

Take a look at the artwork he has submitted for the competition (psst ... looks like you can also vote for his piece).

Visit Chris' website and instagram feed to have a look at other pieces he has produced.

 

#WhoMadeYourClothes? - more info from Jane's presentation

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“Thanks to those who came to the presentation that I did last week. If you have any questions, thoughts or want to find out more, please feel free to talk to me about it.”
— Jane

Here are a few links and resources you might find interesting:

Available on Netflix and Amazon Prime, this is the Movie trailer I showed in the presentation, which highlights some of the issues that I raised.

 

Other links:

The Ethical Fashion Forum
The Ethical Fashion Forum (EFF) is a not for profit network focusing upon social and environmental sustainability in the fashion industry.

Fashion Revolution
On 24th April each year, Fashion Revolution will bring everyone in the fashion value chain together and help to raise awareness of the true cost of fashion, show the world that change is possible, and celebrate all those involved in creating a more sustainable future.

Ethical Consumer
Tips on ethical buying, consumer reports on a wide range of goods, information on UK and worldwide boycotts.

Love your clothes
Loving your clothes starts with smarter buying: choosing clothes that are better ... it comes to keeping your clothes looking great, and they'll save you cash too.

Study34 Blog
Study 34 is a UK fashion blog focusing on responsible fashion brands and the issues surrounding the industry in becoming more sustainable and ethical.

Oppi Design  | Oppi Design Instagram
Beautiful babywear, intricately handmade from ethically sourced fabric. Every item sold supports family-based childcare in Mozambique.

Join Andy and Adam running the BathHalf

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Andy Battle will be running the 2017 BathHalf Marathon:

Hard to believe I know.  I’ve even started to train, which is a sight to behold in its own right.  Proper “fat man with football” moment (see clip …sorry for the American Football reference – I thought Fred might understand that more.)
I am running in aid of the the MPS Society which supports people with rare genetic diseases, people like my wife and two boys who suffer with something called Fabry’s disease. I won’t bore you with the details but it’s something that requires life-long treatment and, whilst it is manageable, it is degenerative.  

If you would like to join Andy (and now Adam too) and run the BathHalf for the MPS Society, please let Andy know.

In his words: 

– it’s fun (so I’m told), it’s good for you (so I’m told), it’s a worthwhile cause (well, it is to us!)