Aug 7

Aug 7 An Interview with Urban Rustle || Sustainable Jewelry with Personality

As the craziness of our "moving season" (because it has truly taken an entire season to get the whole process sorted out) hopefully comes to an end, I can't wait to start introducing some of the brands I've been chatting with for the past few months. It's been a while since the last interview on SL&Co, and I'm excited to break the silence with a peek into Urban Rustle, a sustainable jewelry brand based in Sydney Australia.

Anna, the founder and designer of the brand, strives to mesh nature with modern fashion. Her primary material is ethically sourced and processed wood, but she also uses organic cotton and leather. The pieces are as unique as her process is too — quirky, cute, and even though provoking designs fill her online shop.

Jul 25

Jul 25 Ten Thousand Villages || From Bullets To Beauty

Olivia Youngs

Slow Fashion

Cambodia has known more war in the past few decades than any should have to face in a century. Their land is littered with bullets and remnants of fighting that remind of the devastation and loss they've faced.

In a beautiful effort to transform loss and trauma into hope, Ten Thousand Villages partners with the Rajana Association of Cambodia, an artisan group that focuses on empowering people in rural and poor areas though teaching them tangible trades, accounting, marketing, and English.

The Bombshell collection is a literal reminder of their ability to overcome devastation and transform it into something valuable and beautiful.

Jul 20

Jul 20 Live the Give || Affordable Basics On A Mission To Educate

Olivia Youngs

Slow Fashion

What if I told you that a week of schooling for a child in a developing country was as cheap as the shirt on your back? Najat Murillo, the founder of Live the Give, has done the math (along with numerous other studies, so don't just take her word for it), and it's true. Although the price may seem small, the fact is that accessible, effective education is simply out of reach for many children in developing countries.

Echoing the words of Nelson Mandela when he claimed that education was the world's most powerful tool for change, Najat founded Live the Give on the simple premise that education matters and a closet staple can be a vessel for ushering in change.

Jul 18

Jul 18 Bird + Stone || Jewelry for a Better World

Olivia Youngs

Slow Fashion

Travel has a way of changing everything; of inspiring and broadening perspective. I remember coming back home from a trip to Kenya when I was 16 with an intense awareness of the privilege of my culture and the injustices that plague most of our globe. Sure, I wasn't there for months, but in my short stint across the world, I became painfully aware of need and was filled with a desire to do something about it when I arrived home.

The problem was, I didn't. My flame burnt out over the excitement of senior year of high school and my focus shifted away from the women I had met on my trip and towards the immediacy (and convenience) of my own life.

Jul 6

Jul 6 Liz Alig || Effortlessly Fair Trade

Olivia Youngs

Slow Fashion

Effortless. Transparent. Slow. Fair.

These are only a few of the words that Liz Alig uses to describe their business model. If there was a brand to value all aspects of ethical, sustainable, and slow fashion equally, they would be it.

I first heard of Liz Alig very soon after my commitment to shop ethically well over a year ago. At the time, even with my limited knowledge of what ethical, sustainable fashion really was, I was impressed with their commitment to creating ethical fashion that was actually (gasp...) fashionable. Their designs are far from boring and are meant to be worn comfortably, in your real day to day life.

Jul 2

Jul 2 Karton || Cardboard Reimagined

Olivia Youngs

Simple Home, Slow Fashion

If you've been following along on SL&Co.'s social media for the past few months, you'll know that my family and I are right in the middle of packing up everything we own, downsizing, and moving to a small town in the mountains of Colorado. It's been a busy phase, but I can't stop thinking about our new house/condo/apartment (to be determined...) and how I want to decorate it with so much more intention than in our previous homes.

As I journey into slow living, I've realized that ethical shopping and sustainable living applies even in the pieces I choose to fill my home with. Although decorating sustainably and ethical takes more time, money, and research than just going to Target and buying a new rug, it immediately fills your home with literal culture, value, and stories, without costing the environment.