Sustainable Synonyms and the Meaning of a Sustainable Economy   You might think that you know exactly what sustainability means. It’s probably one of the words you heard the most in 2021! But did y...

If it wasn’t enough to go cruelty-free and produce vegan goods that we all enjoy, these top 5 ethical brands in Australia also manage to give a portion of their proceeds to transformative organizat...

Want to support sustainable fashion and ethical clothing production in Melbourne, but don't know where to start?  One of our favorite Melbourne clothing brands in Australia is Wilga. This brand, ...

This new, special material has just as special a story. In the Northern Italian alps, sits a region named Bolzano where the renown production of apples creates a significant amount of waste. Alber...

It is the perfect time of the year to enjoy exploring new vegan recipe ideas! It is also a good opportunity to share your creations with other vegans and surprise non-vegan relatives and friends. ...

"Pinatex is a natural, sustainable textile made from the fibres of pineapple leaves, which are the waste from the pineapple harvest. Because the leaves are the by-product of an existing industry no additional land, water, fertilizers or pesticides need to be used to product them, so the raw material has a very low environmental impact compared to other textile crops".

Why Ethical Fashion? Ethical fashion is growing, and thanks to that today we can find fully sustainable brands that care about the environment, animals, and their workers. We are supporting a g...

What is linen? Linen is a natural material made from flax, also known as linseed. Flax is used both as a source of food (including an egg substitute in Vegan baking) and for its fibre to make cloth...

Our Favourite Ethical Fashion Bloggers & Writers in Australia to follow in 2020: When you are on the hunt for your perfect personal style, it can help to find others who have already aced their...

In a time of uncertainly and self-isolation, I have seen our community come together in kindness. We may be apart but that does not mean we cannot help each other. Today, I wanted to share some sim...

It’s January, and that means New Year’s Resolutions are in full swing. But we’re going to share a little nugget of advice that you’re probably not expecting to hear… throw your resolutions out the ...

Every year, during October and November, the Spring Racing Carnival takes place in Melbourne. The final event of the festival is the Melbourne Cup, which is a public holiday for all those in Victor...

Early in the morning I’d wake up with woozy eyes to the sound of my alarm. I slither begrudgingly out of bed and head to the shower. My bathroom was full of plastic bottles; shampoos, conditioners, moisturisers, liquid soaps, body scrubs, cleansers, make up, make up remover, nail varnish… it’s a pretty big list. I could tell you what products I owned, but could I tell you what was actually inside each bottle?

Cork Leather

At Velvety, we are constantly on the lookout for beautiful alternative materials to leather and other unsustainable materials such as plastic. These substances are unnatural, cause harm and death and poison our earth.

That’s why we were excited to discover cork. Not only does it look fantastic and last a long time, but unlike leather, plastic or microfiber, cork is 100% sustainable and environmentally friendly.

Living in the country, after a whole life living in the city, makes you see life from a different perspective.

 Suddenly everything makes less sense, I mean. Suddenly shopping, wasting money on things that you believe you need but you really don't... loses its meaning. And this is not good, this is great!!

I've never been a materialistic person, but I lived surrounded by a world that if it was. Studying Image Consulting in Barcelona, helped me somehow to know what to choose, knowing oneself, and then buy what is made for you. But in any case, it helped me to be able to differentiate what I really needed and what I really don’t.

Plastic doesn’t break down, it breaks up. It breaks up into smaller and smaller pieces, becoming what we now know as microplastics. Primary microplastics are 5mm in length or less, and include plastic pellets, microbeads (often found in skincare and scrubs) and microfibres from fabric. Secondary microplastics are made when larger pieces of plastic begin to degrade and break up. In the ocean, this is commonly from fishing nets, water bottles and shopping bags. The smaller a piece of plastic is, the more likely birds and fish are going to consume it and somewhere along that food chain, we end up eating these microplastics too. A study in the journal Environmental Science and Technology says “it's possible that humans could be consuming between 39,000 and 52,000 microplastic particles each year.” While it is currently unclear what the health risks are attached to this, certain types of plastic attract harmful bacteria or can become more toxic over time.

When it comes to veganism, diet is just one thing that should be considered. Being vegan is about living in a way that avoids using animal products in everything that we do but it's also about protecting our environment in the best way that we can. This means shopping ethically so that we can look after our animals, our planet and the people living on it.

Most of us are aware that our plastic and waste production is a huge global
challenge. However, many still struggle to go plastic free or make a significant reduction in their day-to-day waste. But it’s actually super easy once you get started and I promise that once you do start you’ll never look back. So here are some super helpful tips that reduce your waste, with the added benefit of supporting small businesses and actually saving you money in the long run.