A Beautiful State

I’ve always tried to live consciously, we recycle absolutely everything we possibly can. We turn off the taps when we brush our teeth, I go around turning off lights all the time and I try to buy cosmetics that aren’t tested on animals. It was only when I delved deeper into animal testing that I discovered how many of our cosmetics, toiletries, cleaning products and other everyday household items are actually animal tested. 

Only 13% of animal testing in 2011 was for experiments, which had a direct link to human health. The latest stats from The Home Office show that more than 3.7 million animals are used in laboratory testing. Including dogs, non-human primates, rabbits and other animals. On the 11th March of this year, a complete and total ban on animal testing was implemented in the EU, meaning that a company cannot market any product with ingredients, which have been animal tested after the ban. They can, however, still market and sell products, which use animal tested ingredients from before the ban. And remember, this is just the EU, so a company can still sell products, which are animal tested outside of the European Union. Over 80% of the world still allows animal testing.

The one major lesson I learnt was this: A company can write that they are against animal testing on their packaging, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that the product is cruelty free. 

Ingredients in the product may have been animal tested. So to make it easier, the BUAV now head a campaign called Go Cruelty Free, which allows consumers to be sure they are buying cruelty-free products. Look out for the leaping bunny logo on your product. You can find out if your favourite brand is cruelty free by clicking here.

One of the worst and biggest culprits for animal testing is a company called Proctor & Gamble, or P&G. You might recognise the name as they were a sponsor of the 2012 London Olympics. They also have a portfolio of some very popular products including Fairy Liquid, Pantene, Olay, Herbal Essences, Pampers, Duracell and Head & Shoulders. You can find the full list of products here.

P&G widely admit that they use animals in their product safety research. Including cats, dogs, rabbits, ferrets and rats. They’re the World’s largest consumer products company with an annual turnover of over $68 billion. They have no plan to stop animal testing and even try to block any bans that may come into force. 

I’ve boycotted P&G because I don’t want to give my money to a company that doesn’t care about the life of an animal. Yes, it can be a pain finding a new mascara and it can take time to research which of your products are cruelty-free but when I look at Oscar, my cat, who’s currently asleep at the bottom of our bed, I imagine him in a tiny cage, being injected by chemicals which can burn him or affect his respiratory system making it difficult for him to breathe. Finally killing him. It breaks my heart. I strongly recommend that you search the hundreds, if not thousands of images in Google that show how animals are harmed during experiments. Why? Because I don’t believe you can say that you “don’t care” until you’ve seen them. It’s like eating meat but refusing to know where that meat has come from.

Local supermarkets including Sainsbury’s and The Cooperative have now taken the cruelty-free pledge, with the logo being shown on thousands of their own brand products, and more and more premium brands are not being added to that list. There’s now even a handful of clothes designers who have taken the cruelty-free pledge.

Animals don’t have a voice, that’s why we have to take a stand for them.

When I first moved to London, I was so worried about not being able to escape everyday life. I thought we’d have to drive out to the Hertfordshire countryside to get away from the sirens and car horns. Then I discovered Highgate Wood.

It was originally part of the Forest of Middlesex, an ancient woodland covering most of London. In 1218, Henry III deforested the area and it was privately sold off. Much of it was used for agriculture and development. Today, in our borough, there are four parts of this ancient wood left. Highgate Wood, Queen’s Wood, Bluebell Wood and Coldfall Wood. 

I last visited Highgate Wood in our late Winter. Snow had fallen quite heavily and the trees looked tired from the long, bleak fall we’d been having. It looked beautiful with it’s coat of snow. It was so quiet, that you could imagine you’d stepped foot into Narnia. Even the birds had sought out the warmth of their nest boxes, high up in the trees.

Now Spring’s here and the wood has made the most beautiful transformation. It’s almost unrecognisable. The trees are thick with leaves, carpets of bluebells cover the floor and the ground’s soft underfoot with moss, seeds and leaves. Walk far enough into the wood and the sound of cars and buses gets replaced by birds and the odd shout from a dog walker to their companion. 

The wood is carefully maintained with some parts of it fenced off, with beautiful willow fences, I might add, in order to allow the regeneration of vegetation. Bird and bat boxes have been placed high up in the trees, with 71 different species of bird recorded and up to seven different bat species.

It’s the perfect escape from city life here in London. And for the dreamers amongst us, you never know who’s footsteps you’re treading in.

Happy Friday everyone, and although as I type, a super-huge rain cloud has just masked the sunshine from our office, it doesn’t matter because we’re listening to Rokia Traore’s gorgeous new album ‘Beautiful Africa’. Catch her this Friday on Jools Holland…

If you can’t wait, you can watch her performance from this Tuesday here. Catch the extended show, tonight, on BBC2 at 11:05pm. You can also see one of my all-time favourite singer-songwriter’s, Laura Marling performing tracks from her new album ‘Once I Was An Eagle’. 

Hurrah!

Now we’re in Spring, our thoughts turn to BBQ’s and outdoor entertaining. I came across this wonderful website about a year ago when I was looking for recycled and eco-tablewear for a party I was throwing. Pipii offer all of this plus some beautiful extras whether you’re looking for wedding ideas or decorations for a children’s party. 

These 100% biodegradable and compostable straws are a massive favourite of mine and I always have a couple of packets in my  £2.95 for a packet of 25

kitchen. Children and adults love them and they come in a huge range of colours. Other items include palm leaf serving plates and sugar cane bowls, all are 100% biodegradable, compostable and sustainable or recyclable. I also love these recycled glass and fairtrade candlesticks. They’d look perfect as a centre-piece for a wedding breakfast.

  From £7.95 each

Delivery is reasonably priced and items are dispatched super quickly. I had to contact them about an order and they replied promptly and were incredibly friendly. They also offer next day delivery options,  international delivery and free delivery on orders over £75.

Go check them out…

My White Elephant has been very quiet recently. I’ve been working on another project, which I can tell you all about shortly. I’ve also been working on a range of handmade items to relaunch MWE with. We’ll have a brand new Etsy shop and will only be using the eBay shop for personal/second-hand items. All of the vintage, fairtrade and newly-launched handmade will be via our Etsy shop. I’m also going to be doing some local North London markets with MWE so look out for dates. The next one will be The Muswell Hill Market in May. We have it on good authority that there’s a great little cake stand. We’ll see you there…

As some of you may already know, I gave up chocolate back in January for charity. A couple of my friends were giving up alcohol and it got me thinking about what I could sacrifice for others. What was the one thing that I loved above all else? Chocolate. Do you know what, it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. I miss it though, oh my God do I miss it! Also, you’ll be surprised how many things contain or are covered with chocolate. It’s now been 15 weeks and I’ve not had any chocolate. I even survived the holiday that all serial dieters dread… Easter!

If, like me, you’re impressed, or you just want to help support UK children living in poverty, then you can sponsor me here.

I really can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciate the support of those who have already sponsored me. 

So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

I hereby (loosly) promise not to blog about anything (too) boring, self-indulgent, depressing or remotely political. I also promise not to post too many pictures of Ryan Gosling, or too many cupcake recipes.

I will, however, post about all that’s brilliant, exciting and generally great.

Enjoy.