I’ve read a couple of really interesting fashion articles recently. Being passionate about fashion, (I do all the fashion buying for Two Ducks), I am always curious about what’s topical.
The Telegraph highlighted a report from the Hot or Cool Institute which says that the average consumer (those in the UK, US, Germany and Japan) should buy just five new (or preloved) items a year.
The article continues - This, the think tank says, is the most effective way to ensure the fashion industry’s emissions are in line with the Paris Agreement’s goal – to keep the average global temperature rise below 1.5C. Fast fashion is a major culprit: as the cost of clothing has gone down, the volume purchased has gone up, and cheaper clothes means poorer quality. The result is that clothes have a shorter lifespan and more end up in landfill – even the stuff donated to charity. The report highlights that a “substantial share” of donated clothes exported as second-hand “end up directly in landfill or is incinerated”.
Some of the most influential women in fashion believe it is possible to break this what they call 'hamster wheel of consumerism', and have pledged to buy no more than five new items (excluding hosiery and lingerie) this year.
And they want us to do the same apparently.
Well it’s all well and good for them to say that 😂, not sure how I’d restrict myself to just 5 items 😬. In all seriousness though, I happen to think it’s not a bad principle, if you can buy quality or pre-loved.
This challenge does depend on your having a well-stocked wardrobe already of course. But let’s assume you have an average sized wardrobe, there’s a few issues at play here.
So how do we work round these issues?
We are always exploring ways in which we can be more sustainable as a business and so the ‘5 piece ethos’ really does appeal to us.
As a team, we would be of course delighted to advise/help you with any wardrobe dilemma’s (colours/styles/key pieces/blending with current wardrobe) based on our years of experience dressing customers of all shapes and skin tones.
We are rather proud of our gorgeous independent European brands which are not only affordable (starting from £24.99) but also high quality and of course if you are a bit strapped for cash, we also offer a rail of pre-loved clothing where designer items start for as little as £10.
We'd love to see you soon!
Hugs, Claire xx
]]>The Menopower Cafe is becoming the Soul Cafe 🥳❤️
As you may know we have been running a non-profit monthly cafe (the ‘Menopower’ cafe) at our store since January 2022 to tackle all the various issues that our customers are facing surrounding the menopause.
We have had some fantastic speakers including the Founder of MPowder, Rebekah Brown, Author of ‘Men…Let’s talk Menopause’, Ruth Devlin and Dr Alex Sandringham, menopause specialist at Surrey Park Clinic. All have given their time for free to support our female community.
Throughout the year, as we have enjoyed talking to our menopower community and gained valuable insight and feedback, we have realised that although all women will go through the menopause at some stage, many of the topics covered look at general issues surrounding wellbeing and therefore apply to a much wider group of women.
So, in collaboration with Rhian Coward, Founder of Essence Garden (pilates/yoga) Studio (https://www.essencegardenstudio.co.uk)and Emma Martin on Emma Martin Mindfulness (https://www.emmamartinmindfulness.com/), we are now developing a programme of events with guest speakers to cover a much broader range of topics that affect the majority of women. The name of cafe will therefore change to the ’Soul Cafe’ to reflect the increased range of topics.
These will include subjects like;
The sessions will remain around 2 hours, the format of each session will stay flexible depending on the speaker and we will continue to host the events at Two Ducks in St.Johns Village.
We hope you will join us in making these community, nonprofit events a success and support us in our mission to improve wellbeing for our customers.
If you have any further questions about the change or wish to nominate a relevant speaker, please feel free to email us at hello@two-ducks.co.uk
We always love to hear your thoughts too!
Claire xx
Our first event is on April 19th 2023 - Mindfulness for our mood, with Emma Martin - BOOK HERE!
]]>From surviving back to thriving.....
It’s been 4 days since posting about the struggles I have been facing both personally and with the business. When you post something so raw and personal, it’s pretty scary as you never quite know what reaction you’re going to get.
I should’ve known my customers would have my back. There was an incredible outpouring of support and sharing of wonderful messages both publicly and slipping into my DM’s 😉.
What struck me the most was how many people are also dealing with their fair share of sh**e right now. It’s a tough time. Especially if you’re running your own business as there’s the added personal responsibility you have for your own job and the jobs of your staff.
It’s also been 4 days since I’ve been back on my anti-depressant medication and I have to say I feel a lot better. I have had mild nausea, a few headaches and body aches as my body ‘beds’ back in but overall it has really taken the edge of my anxiety and curbed my daily habit of clocking every single thing that is ‘wrong’ in my house, my job, my life 🙄.
I went for a walk at lunchtime along the Basingstoke canal as I often do to clear my head, it’s so peaceful there. Funnily enough as I was walking home I saw two ducks on the water literally battling to try and swim upstream in the face of strong winds. What a metaphor for my life 😂. I watched them for a while then went along my way also battling against the wind! But this time I felt a peace with the wind, I acknowledged it, it was there but it wasn’t going to stop me.
I have enrolled a coach - an amazing lady called Amantha King who was one of the speakers at my menopause cafe. I knew Amantha was the right person to coach me. She radiates positivity and energy and she’s highly relatable, skilled and successful at what she does. She’s also a menopause expert so that really ties in with the other elephant in the room of my life 😂.
I’ve had an introductory call with Amantha and I already feel a shift. There’s something about taking action that is so key to unlocking your pain and power.
Amantha raised the possibility of me having ‘progesterone sensitivity’ as I am on the mini pill (which is progesterone only) as well as taking Utrogestan (the body identical pill form of progesterone) - and sensitivity to it can cause really low mood - so that’s another one to ponder and add to the forever changing menopause journey. I’ll think about it another day though - I’ve just gone back on the citalopram and sometimes I think it’s wise to handle one battle at a time 🤯🤪🤣.
Please feel free to share any insights…..I love hearing from you. Claire xx
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