5 Ethical Products that reduce plastic & give back

As they say Rome wasn't built in a day and unless you have been living under a rock this past year you will have seen and heard the urgency there is for us to make changes, especially when it comes to our over-use of plastic through disposable items as well as other high-impact goods. The thing is we all have to get up and go to work, do school runs, feed our families and we are simply not all in the position to get rid of everything we own and live in a solar-powered yurt (which I would love to do by the way!). We do all have to make changes but as we know in general most people are hard to change so the best way forward is to find more sustainable and ethical replacements for items we use daily. Keep Cup The Keep Cup is one of the best Barista standard reusable cups on the market and whether you opt for the robust glass model or their non-toxic lightweight plastic model by using one of these instead of plastic coated disposable cups you are saving on average around 3kg i......

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Retro inspired trends for 2017

As we move forward into the New Year for many that means changes, motivation, goals and possibly a new you? Its also a time we start to spring clean, get rid of the old and bring in the new, we look forward to the new trends and the long-lasting ones too and one of those trends that is staying around is embracing all that is retro with a modern twist. Simple stylish Scandi-inspired interiors mixed with a touch of mad men and minimalism and this is also reflected in the clothes we are wearing with more and more people upcycling and recapturing that sense of the 90's but today. I thought I would put together a fun little post of all that is retro but still on trend for 2017 including interiors and clothing. Firstly I know I am planning to update our dinning room tables and my love for Eames has never faded and year on year their simple and retro design have become both iconic and timeless. Another big trend in the coming year is focusing on lighting. Creating rooms that ......

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Mama style and Ethical Fashion

Just over year down the line from having Baby G and my body is still changing but I am starting to feel a little bit more like me again. I am still breastfeeding him so this does affect what I can and cannot wear which is probably why one of my got to pieces this seasons are dungaree dresses, shorts and workwear style as not only are they super comfortable and practical but also on trend. I am also very into navy blues and browns at the moment and I love my new Oasis Winnie Weave bag from House of Fraser I am also trying to be more conscious when it comes to new purchases or re-using and up-cycling clothing. I recently picked up a beautiful top from an Oxfam shop which I will share with you soon but as they say Rome was not built in a day so I am trying to add at least one ethical item into my daily outfit choices. My two blogging friends Mel and Vicky have started the #EthicalFashionCollective on the first Friday of each month where you can share your stylish ethical o......

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Winter Sun

It's felt like all it's done since the start of the new year is rain, well in Wales anyway but luckily during the last week we had a blissful break from that, for two days the clouds cleared and sun shone and the blue sky felt endless. We make a point of going out each day regardless of the weather but as you can imagine we made full use of the beautiful winter sun even though it was bitterly cold. As we had planned to pop into my mothers we decided to head up to"The Common" - a lovely greenbelt looking across the welsh valleys with Druid ruins, trees to climb, a small river to splash in and long grass to run through. I normally take Baby G in my Ergo sling but with the dry weather I thought I would put our new Eco friendly Greentom stroller to the test. I will be sharing a proper review of the stroller with you soon but I cant tell people enough how much we love it and it also happens to be "the greenest stroller" on earth with......

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Easy Ethical style

Easy eco style by laurasidestreet featuring a flap backpack We are huge fans of anything that brings fashion and an eco friendly ethos together and it's really exciting to see more and more stylish and ethical fashion brands popping up and so many chic pieces. I am really into simple design this year and thought I would put together this mini inspiration board. From top, left to right 1 . Women bamboo viscose and organic cotton tee from Continental Clothing 2 . Mata Traders Fairtrade handmade necklace 3 . Narrow Brim Fedora made from palm leaves 4 . Free People Stela Patchwork backpack 5 . People Tree Freya Button Top 6 . Eileen Fisher Boyfriend jean in Organic cotton What is your favourite ethical brand? ...

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Style Sunday - simple accessories

Oh the bliss of summer sales and with hopefully a lot more sun to come, why not stock up on a few little bits and bobs to add a little oomph to your outfit. I am always one to re-use and re-style, simply because I have a strong ethos for ethical practise and one should not waste not want not, although even my collection of accessories can be exhausted and it's nice to add something new every now and then. As usual I am very much into my earthy, African, organic inspirations as the moment and here are a few of the things I am loving... Braintree clothing - summer style I recently came across Braintree , a lovely feel good fashion company that makes lovely, simple and stylish organic clothing and fair-trade jewellery. It was born in Sydney, Australia and is now located in London with a philosophy and designing and making timeless fashion while caring for the environment. Both of these pieces below are made in Kenya with recycled materials, love them... Njomoku ring - £15 ......

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Getting a little summer sparkle

So I mentioned Juju shoes a few weeks ago and I loved the little sparkly slipper shoe they did and to my delight someone was selling them brand new on Ebay, in my size, which happens to be a size 3 and quite small and often I can struggle to pick up my size in store. Anyway I love these sparkly little shoes with gold and silver glitter inside the plastic, they are so fun and could be worn to the beach or out having cocktails. I love that the products are locally sourced and the shoes are made in England and 100% recyclable and they use old shoes and grind them up to make new products - how amazing is that! I managed to pick these up for £8 but I think they are normally only £18 - so either way they are very reasonable, super fun and a great little shoe to add some happy sparkle to your feet and are great for summer. Love this cute little jelly shoes, great for summer I've linked this post up with Live Laugh  ...

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Lovely little Juju's

Don't you remember wearing jelly shoes when you were a little girl or boy - I know I do and in fact I was talking to my mother about it the other day and she was saying she had a pretty little pink pair when she was a girl and this would be going back around 60 years, although unlike today they were not as comfortable as the juju shoes. Juju are iconic in the world of jelly shoes and what I love about them is they are a family company who have been going for 25years and create and make shoes for the whole family in their British factory from locally sourced materials and are recyclable - bonus! They are so cute I simply had to share - John Lewis now stock children sizes which start at £8 and adults start around £18 which is really reasonable and you can find them at stores like Asos and Urban outfitters, I really want to get the glittery see-through pair, something fun for summer. This is NOT a sponsored post - just love them and wanted to share. Babe jelly shoe ......

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The Conscious style

So I know the new H&M Conscious collection has been out for a while now but I simply have not had the time to highlight this great fashionable, ethical, eco friendly and affordable line from H&M. It's so refreshing to see organic cotton or recycled materials being used in high street stores at prices I can actually afford and whats better is that the range includes not only womens wear but also mens wear, childrens and home ware. Please note this is NOT a sponsored post, I have not been asked to share this with you - we just love sustainable clothing, so here are our top picks Going clockwise, starting with the playsuit is 1. Jumpsuit £30 2. shorts £13 3. Blouse £9.99 4. 5 pack rings £2.99 5. Sweatshirt £20 The spring campaign also has a new face, the French singer/actress and model Vanessa Paradis who really fits the image of the line, which has a sort of exotic feel to it. ...

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