Conscious thinking...
Looking to make more sustainable style choices? KATIE WRIGHT rounds up more ethical retailers making their mark on menswear
IT can be tricky to find clothing brands with solid ethical credentials. And if you’re looking to reduce your carbon footprint or generally be a more conscious consumer, you may have your doubts about ‘eco’ collections from what is otherwise known as a fast-fashion retailer.
That’s where independent and smaller brands really hold their own. By focusing on a more limited product range, these companies can ensure their sourcing and production methods are more environmentally sound, and you can shop with confidence.
These men’s fashion brands combine style and sustainability...
1 ABSOLUTELY BEAR
FOUNDED in 2015, animalinspired brand Absolutely Bear uses certified organic cotton to create sporty hoodies, sweatshirts and shirts, meaning 91% less water is used than traditional cotton. No harmful chemicals are used in production of the vegan-approved garments and as a member of 1% for the Planet, the company has committed to donating 1% of gross annual earnings to environmental non-profits.
2 THE LEVEL COLLECTIVE
BEST known for its roll top backpacks, which are handmade in Sheffield using materials from different parts of the UK (including repurposed carpet fibres), The Level Collective also has a range of cool graphic T-shirts and sweatshirts. Produced in India and Bangladesh in factories
The Level Collective Known Pleasures T-shirt, £32 approved by Fair Wear, the organic cotton tops come in a range of colours and prints.
3 PATAGONIA
ONE of relatively few big brands with genuinely impressive eco credentials, Patagonia is at the forefront of the sustainable fashion movement. Known for its durable outerwear, the brand’s puffer jackets are made from (and filled with) recycled polyester, and its new Regenerative Organic collection uses cotton grown in an innovative carboncapturing method.
4 ECOALF
REJECTING the fashion industry status quo, Spanish brand Ecoalf isn’t led by trends, instead focusing on timeless designs, and is part of the B Corp network of companies which meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance.
The Ecoalf aesthetic leans towards the preppy end of the spectrum, with button-down shirts, trench coats, slogan sweaters and chinos in classic colours.
5 RAPANUI
YOU’VE heard of slow fashion, but what about circular fashion? Rapanui asks customers to send back their clothes when they’re finished with them (postage is free) so they can recycle the fabric to create more garments. Excelling at everything from block colour basics and bright outwear, to graphic tees and sweatshirts, the brand
also sells bundles of clothing that are great for gifting or curating a capsule eco collection.
6 ARTHUR AND HENRY
SHIRT specialist Arthur and Henry was created when co-founder Clare Lissaman, who worked in sustainable fashion for 15 years, realised there wasn’t anywhere for men to get good quality ethically-made shirts.
Produced in a small factory in Bangalore, the brand’s shirts are made using organic cotton, with the Oxford weave styles also carrying the Fairtrade Cotton
Mark.
HOLLY WILLOUGHBY has certainly come a long way from her days presenting kids’ TV. She has grown up before our eyes to become the queen of daytime telly, not to mention one of the busiest women on the box.
Whether she is hosting This Morning alongside Phillip Schofield, wearing high street buys, or dazzling us with showstopping gowns as the pair present Dancing on Ice, the mum-of-three, who turns 40 this week, always looks perfectly put together. But that wasn’t always the case.
The former model is less than impressed by how she dressed in her early days of fame.
“For a long time, I was pretty clueless,’ she revealed in an interview with Red magazine. “There’s a picture of me on the red carpet when I first started in TV and I’m wearing a brown belted cord skirt, a brown cord jacket, fishnet tights and a weird round toe shoe. What was I thinking? “But I’ve grown to like clothes more the older I’ve got and I now recognise the importance of
having key staples that fit well in your wardrobe.’
Holly started as out as a model, before making her television debut on CITV’s S Club TV in 2000. Just a few years later she landed the job presenting Ministry Of Mayhem alongside Stephen Mulhearn. She started on This Morning in 2009 and has hosted and appeared on numerous other shows, from Celebrity Juice to Play to the Whistle, The Voice UK, Surprise, Surprise and I’m A Celebrity... where she stood in while Ant McPartlin had some time out.
She chronicles her TV looks on her Instagram each day much to fans’ delight. For This Morning she favours affordable brands like & Other Stories, Zara, Mango and French Connection, alongside higher-end labels such as Whistles, Rixo, Ghost and Kate Spade.
On the red carpet, with the help of celebrity stylist Angie Smith, Holly never puts a foot wrong, favouring elegant silhouettes or fairy tale frocks by designers including Safiyaa, Suzanne Neville and Monique Lhuillier.
And where Holly shops, others follow. Her I’m a Celeb... stint sparked a mini rush on hiking boots as women rushed to get their hands on her Grenson and Topshop ones, while Marks & Spencer snapped Holly up as an ambassador a few years ago and she has just unveiled a trio of spring looks. Holly recently revealed she had to cancel her 40th birthday party due to the coronavirus lockdown.
However she celebrates, we are sure she will do it in style!
A double-breasted coat is perfect for easy layering. Holly has teamed hers with a chic square neck jumper in a complementary flattering shade and some relaxed high-waisted mom jeans. M&S Collection coat £59, sweater
£29, mom jeans £39.50 and trainers £45
TV star Holly Willoughby on the red carpet at the National Television Awards 2019
WE’RE coming up to a year since the start of you-know-what. And there’s a fair chance your early lockdown energy for change has morphed into something more like a daily torpor that turns everything into a groaning marathon.
Remember the days when we were all up at dawn making inedible bread out of old bananas and learning how to say “un cafe sin azucar, por favor”?
Time to emerge from the winter hibernation and use any spare time you’ve got for something constructive and creative, I say. Here are three ways to get started with, and get better at, making music – by lockdown’s end you’ll be murdering Someone Like You as if you were born to it.
YOUSICIAN
They say: Award-winning technology meets world-class educators. Get real-time feedback and instructions as you make your way through thousands of songs, exercises, and teachercrafted lessons!
We say: There are lessons for guitar, piano, bass guitar, ukulele and vocals, all with loads of video tutorials. The apps listen to you play and offer feedback, helping the service tailor lessons to your level.
There are thousands of songs to be learned on all the instruments, with video tutorials to help you fine-tune your performance. If you have an instrument already you won’t need any further equipment, either.
Cost: Yearly, a Yousician subscription costs £119, a massive saving over paying £25.99a-month. There’s a threemonth option, too, which costs £16.99. The year subscription includes a seven-day free trial.
LUMI KEYS
They say: Everyone has a musical side, but learning to play an instrument can be hard. Most people don’t try, or quit. Lumi changes that!
Light and colour transform how you learn the piano, making it fun, easy and rewarding.
We say: Lumi’s keyboard learning system (invented by Roli, the people who brought you Roli
Blocks and the Seaboard keyboard, if you remember them) is a combination of hardware and software.
There’s a great learning app with lots of songs to master, but the real magic is in the keyboard – it has keys that light up in different colours to help you learn where to put your fingers.
It’s a simple but incredibly effective way to learn, one anyone familiar with the game Guitar Hero will recognise.
Cost: Lumi Keys cost £299, and come with a carry case and a 12-month subscription to the learning app service, which usually costs £50.
ULTIMATE GUITAR
They say: Get the world’s largest catalogue of guitar, bass & ukulele chords, tabs, and lyrics to learn your favourite songs! Search for any song by type, difficulty, tuning and ratings.
We say: Ultimate Guitar is for those potential axe heroes who already know a few chords but want to nail a few songs too.
It is an online repository of more than 800,000 popular tunes, all with tabs, chords and lyrics mapped out.
It’s free to use, but a pro account subscription brings so many benefits that you’d be daft not to – you can slow down the tunes to learn them, utilise built-in backing tracks for practice, and transpose tunes into keys that suit you better. Cost: An annual pro subscription usually costs £119.88 but promotions are regular – at the time of writing you can sign up for £24.99 for a year. There is a free trial option, too.
THE NEWEST OCTAVIA HAS MOVED UP A GEAR – WHILE LOSING ITS GEAR STICK.
WITH the introduction of its new Octavia vRS model Skoda has truly stepped up a gear in terms of both performance but more importantly refinement.
The vRS has always been synonymous with dynamic performance but now in the fourth generation model – which has just arrived in the UK – it’s the quality of the package as a whole which really strikes you.
It’s sleek, it’s elegant and with its coupe-like lines it’s a designer work of art.
Open the door and the interior appearance and quality of materials is equally impressive.
Forget any hard plastic, the dashboard is an exciting mix of Alcantara (a suede-like material) with red saddle stitching on the upper section giving way to a carbon-fibre
look on the lower part.
Set in the centre of the dashboard is a 10-inch touchscreen for accessing the car’s numerous functions as well as the satellite navigation system.
But perhaps the most obvious feature is the lack of a traditional gear shift.
The conventional stick has been replaced by a small, machine-turned chrome rocker switch to operate the seven-speed DSG automatic box.
It’s all been made possible because the new vRS makes use of new shift-by-wire technology eliminating the need for the gear stick to be connected to the gearbox mechanically, thereby freeing up more interior space.
The vRS logo is emblazoned on the backrests of the heated front sports seats – there’s a heated steering wheel, too, by the way – so everyone will know you are driving the Octavia’s flagship model.
And from the outside it’s easy to spot because the sports chassis lowers the vRS by 15mm and there’s a distinctive front and rear bumper design with a lot of black detailing while the mirror housings and window frames are also in gloss black and the brake calipers in red.
The new model is 13mm longer, and 15mm wider than its predecessor which means more interior space for passengers. And an already enormous luggage area has been increased by 10 litres just in case buyers felt they wanted even more luggage room, while the new car is packed with a host of safety features. Take the driver’s seat and you are looking at Skoda’s virtual cockpit, which means you have a vast choice of permutations available to you for the set up of the speedometer, rev counter and on-board computer readouts.
The car driven here also had a head-up display, a £700 optional extra, as well as Dynamic Chassis Control (an extra £1,040) for even more dynamic handling.
On the road the vRS is impressively smooth, quiet and refined while at the same time instantly responsive to the slightest nudge on the accelerator thanks to a 245bhp, 2.0-litre engine. A choice of driving modes allows you to switch between, Eco, Comfort, Normal, Sport,
Dynamic and individual settings while paddles behind the steering wheel give you the chance to get the most enjoyment from this sporting hot hatch which delivers on every front.
At the same time there’s a coasting feature which cuts in when you are driving at a steady pace, giving you better mpg.
And when darkness falls brilliant (literally and metaphorically) LED Matrix headlights – a standard fitting – take the strain out of night time driving.
Nearly 20 per cent of all Octavia sales in the UK are now vRS versions, and the quality of the latest model is almost certain to push that figure even higher.
THIS week, we continue with our new year, new garden approach – getting to know your plot, trying out something new, or replanting. We’ve looked at soil type and aspect. Now we are on to the goodies – plants!
The first series of plants we are looking at are probably the planet’s most important – trees. They enhance our lives and our ecosystem’s existence in vital ways. I’ve divided them into a series of sections. Any garden, no matter the size or shape, can host a tree. As it is the largest specimen you will buy, plant or look after, it’s worth considering what role the tree will fulfil and researching all the possible options available.
TREES FOR PRIVACY
URBAN life means living in close proximity to other properties, making privacy in the garden a priority for many.
We want to look out from our windows onto a leafy scene and relax in relative seclusion. And trees are a great way to screen off unwanted views.
Pleached trees are trained to grow like hedges in the sky so a row of these will do an excellent job. Evergreens such as holly, Magnolia grandiflora and Quercus ilex form thick barriers all year round.
For a lighter screen, try some silver birch. Pyrus ‘Chanticleer’ is a favourite of landscapers for screening purposes – slender and conical, it has white flowers in spring and holds on to its autumnal colours late in the year.
FAST-GROWERS
OFTEN we want instant solutions and look for fast-growing trees, but it’s critical to know how large these trees will grow as mistakes can be costly. Leylandii has an extraordinary ability to grow at the rate of two to three feet a year. Keep it tightly clipped and you will have a perfect green screen but let it go out of control and it becomes a runaway monster. So it’s only suitable if you have the space and the ability to maintain regularly – not one for suburbia.
Hazel trees are fast growing and great value to wildlife. I’ve also used Acacia dealbata as a quick fix to block an eyesore and I love the yellow pompom flowers that will soon be out.
FOR A SMALL PLOT
A small garden may be able to accommodate a tall, slim tree or a low-spreading variety but often you will just want a compact enough specimen.
Malus ‘Rudolph’ is a small crab apple tree with a stunning display of deep cerise pink flowers. Its foliage emerges a bronze-red before turning green and the flowers turn to orange red fruit that persist on the tree until winter.
Other such as Amelanchier, which provide interest for two or three seasons, are good choices and I’d always recommend
Acer griseum – a beautiful maple with ruffled cinnamon bark that’s a picture in winter.
POTS OR CONTAINERS
IN some situations, such as balconies or small paved courtyards, you are confined to growing in containers so choice is important. Best candidates include Japanese maples. There is a wonderful variety in terms of leaf size and colour but also observe its silhouette – in winter this can be sculptural and beautiful.
Small ornamental cherries, dwarf apples and the starry magnolia are suitable options as well. Grow in as large a pot as possible and under plant with spring bulbs to make miniature gardens.
CELEBRATE A LIFE OR OCCASION
PLANTING a tree can be a meaningful way to celebrate a life – to welcome a new arrival or in remembrance of those departed. A tree such as Liriodendron or magnolia that is in blossom on the anniversary or special day is very uplifting. Equally, a weeping willow or statuesque silver birch can commemorate someone in a deeply symbolic manner.
Whatever its function or appearance, planting a tree will contribute to our planet’s wellbeing.
Through the wonder that is photosynthesis, it will absorb carbon dioxide from the environment, trap it as carbon and as a happy by-product release oxygen back into the atmosphere.
So let this be the year we all plant a tree.