Cheap Trick III: Up cycled Laptop Screen!

Design 2

So I had these laptop screens lying around, since like age.

Never threw them away cause I had been postponing doing some project like this and also cause I might be a lil bit of a hoarder  😊😊

Anyway,

so thanx to this Super Sunday Series that I started, I atlasssttt completed it.

Laptop Screen

So basically a laptop screen is just like a tinted piece of glass with a metal frame.

It almost ready-made! waiting to be worked on!

I had 2 of these Screens,

So the first one was a  freehand mandala-inspired abstract design.

The lines may not be straight or perfect, but I still give myself a pat-on-the-back cause getting it done was hard, I was so very hesitant initially.

Laptop Screen 1

Design 1

Making up the design as we go!

Design 1

Design 1

By the time I started my second one, I was much more relaxed and after all the appreciations, felt confident enough!

Design 2

  And again my immense love for roses are back !!!

Design 2

Design 2

Design 2

Design 2

Cheap Tricks Series 3: Flower Vase 2

As a part of my Super Sunday Series,

This Sunday I decided to convert another of the fancy wine bottle that I had used in my first project, into one more flower vase,

The Wine bottle has a distinct shape and embossed pattern on it, which is inspiring at the same time creates a bit of difficulty to create something unique each time I use the Bottle.

Nevertheless, I have tried to create something different from the previous project.

My bottled garden.

Started off with a white base (changing the base would give it a different look, maybe next time)

The Step 1.

The entire bottle is painted in white. Once the bottle was smoothly covered in white, I let it dry overnight.

Word of ADVICE: Its better to Do such painting job outside in the open or in a larger space, cause the smell of the paint can be nauseating. 

Fully painted in white base.

Once the paint was nicely dried, the abundant colour of flowers, started to take shape.

This was the fun part, trying to form flowers out of the random embossing. I basically wanted it to look like a burst of colours, burst of colourful flowers. So picked up all the bright colours I had and just went crazy! 

Little Flowers start to grow.

After that, the garden slowly started developing and coming to life.

and its done!

Colourful flowers everywhere you see!

In all the eye-catching colours.

In Red and Pink

and Orange

Add caption

and this is the full piece.

Am pretty happy with the way my bottled garden has come out, the colours definitely pop out, and unlike my previous bottle which had just 3 colours, this one has crazy colours.

Definitely different from the other one. 

You can find my previous project here.

Check it out, and lemme know what do you think of it.

Would love to hear from you guys 

any suggestions you have, or maybe any other projects you would like me to take up! 

Sustainable Fashion and everything about it.

( That I know, lol ) 

'Sustainable' and 'Ethical' recently, have become popular words in the fashion industry. Every fashion brand,  producer, consumer, right about anyone involved in the process of creating fashion is urged to practice sustainability or put ethical practices into use.

 But what exactly is sustainable fashion?

According to the UN Report to World Commission on Environment and Development Sustainability is, 'meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generation to meet their own needs.'

i.e we conduct our business- production, marketing, transportation etc in such a manner, that, the resources we are using benefits us, without the risk of exhausting it for the future generation. 






Sustainability in any industry depends on the three very significant pillars - Economic, Environmental and Social.
Also called the triple bottom line.

An industry can be regarded as sustainable only when it not only takes care of its economic progress and growth but also the social and environmental effect and wellbeing. 
So when we refer to ethical fashion we also are taking into account the same values as sustainable fashion.

From the cultivation of the cotton crop, for example, if is it free from pesticide and insecticide? is water management practiced? 
and when the cotton goes in for the dying process and other treatments, are the dyes organic? how is the wastewater treated? etc, is it chemical free? 
and then the actual process of garment making, where is it made? is it a safe and clean place for the workers? are they paid fair wages? are they exploited? is child labor involved? what is done with the production waste? are the garments made to last? 
And at each level fair wages have to be paid.
So in the entire process, not only is the economic aspect to be looked at but also the socio and environmental aspect have to be also taken care off in order for the business to be ethical.

These practices have become a very important cause of the pollution it causes which is greatly affecting the environment. Did you know the fashion industry alone contributes to 10% of global water pollution, which affects the marine lives as well as humans equally.

It was a wake-up call for the entire world, when the world 4th largest lake, Aral sea reduced to 10% of its original size cause of the cotton cultivation that started along the bank. 

In order to practice responsible business in the entire fashion industry, as a whole, 

   the Ethical Fashion Forum has put forward 10 criteria which define as ethical fashion and addresses the 3 pillars of sustainability. 

1. Countering fast, cheap fashion. 
2. Fair Trade. 
3. Supporting sustainable livelihoods.
4. Addressing toxic pesticide and chemical use.
5. Using and/or developing eco- friendly fabrics and components. 
6. Minimising water use. 
7. Recycling and addressing energy efficiency and waste. 
8. Developing or promoting sustainability standards for fashion. 
9. Resources, training and/ or awareness raising initiatives
10. Animal rights

A very interesting thing to note is the concept of sustainability and ethical Fashion is open to interpretation. It isn't rigid, in the sense, that only if the above-mentioned criteria are fulfilled by the company or factory or producer doesn't become an Ethical Brand. Fashion Organisations can adopt different ways to be Ethical, be it with respect to minimizing waste or minimizing environmental pollution by doing small and local business, etc.

A brand, if it decided to go ethical can also consider incorporating the following steps into its practice. 

1. Employing women or certain ethnic groups
2. Donating part of the profits to a charity
3. Handmade
4. Contributing to preserve traditions of an ethnic minority.
5. Revealing manufacturing locations and workforce policies
6. Natural Dyes
7. Use of discarded fabrics.
8. Upcycling of used materials.
9. Made with recycled fabrics
10. Garments made to last for a long time.

 An organization can choose to take these small steps in its functioning, if not all, cause we understand that everything can get a bit overwhelming and considering that our economy isn't sustainable yet, very expensive as well. Nevertheless, any step towards sustainability or ethical fashion should be always welcomed and appreciated.






All the given points cover the three pillar of sustainability, economic, environmental and social.
What they choose to follow, be it just one or all, is up to them, the producers.
We, as consumers, on our part have the responsibility to #ask the producer to be transparent about their practice.
Tell their consumers about how are the garments produced? how are the materials sourced? and what are the materials sourced? about worker well fair.




Ethical Fashion has to be a 2-way street,
 the producers need to take responsible steps and
 the consumers practice responsibly.

Plastic Free July!

Well, we don't have to stop just at July, It could become a part of our lifestyle!

That's what I aim to do.

Designed using Canva.

I recently came across the 'Plastic-free July Challenge' organized globally to raise awareness about the harmful effects of the single-use plastic. And found it a very interesting way to promote a plastic-free life. Everyone can try this challenge or take it as a form of a pledge without feeling too much pressure and take baby steps towards a Green living. 

The challenge is pretty simple, nothing hard and fast- we have the freedom to draw our own boundaries, the aim here is more to raise awareness and ultimately adopt a zero-waste lifestyle than to make things intimidating.

We have an option to choose what kind of challenge we take- it could be 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, a year, absolutely anything and also what we choose to stop using- all single-use plastic or the top 4 plastic pollutant- plastic straws, plastic bottles, plastic bag and coffee cups. or to have a plastic-free house, office space or travel. 

It could be also an individual or a group pledge!

you can customize the pledge as you feel convenient, to begin with. 

Designed using Canva.

It's a pretty easy, and very sensible challenging to take, considering the rampant use of plastic in our daily lives, the most harmful and excessive being the plastic shopping bags. 

In India, 20 states have completely banned the use, manufacturing, supply, and storage of polythene bags while 5 states have partial bans though we cant be very sure how far they have been successful, for the lack of awareness and also lack of an equally cheap substitute. 

Challenges or pledges like this will help create awareness and take personal steps to this cause.

 Step 1

Make a list of items that you use that are plastic based or harmful to the environment. 
Use of disposable coffee cups, plastic bottle, use of polythene bags, using disposable cutlery.

Step 2

What are the possible substitutes for it? 

What changes can you bring about in your lifestyle to reduce or avoid the complete use of it?  

Make a list of substitute or changes in lifestyle.  

Step 3
Make actionable plans to incorporate them into your daily life.
Adopting everything all at once might get a bit too overwhelming, and it would be convenient and much effective if actions are taken in small steps.

Step 4
Review. 
Give yourself time after which you can review your progress. And its okay if you are falling a bit behind, don't give up, even the smallest of progress is better than none.

For starters, we can

Reduce, the use where ever possible if not avoidable

Refuse, the use, but substituting it with eco-friendly options.

Reuse, if the item isn't sustainable.  

Avoid product in plastic packages.

Designed using Canva,

Beginners Guide to an Ethical Wardrobe. Part 1

Before, we get into 'How to create an Ethical Wardrobe?',

these are few things I would like to talk about-

1. What is an Ethical / Eco wardrobe all about?

2. How do we create an Ethical wardrobe?

and

3. Why is it important NOW than ever before?



In my this part of the blog let us first talk about  Ethical Wardrobe.
Creating an Ethical Wardrobe is, maybe still a concept that is taking baby steps
in India. Some us might be wondering what we mean when we say an 'Ethical wardrobe'?

Beginners Guide to an Ethical Wardrobe.

'An Ethical Wardrobe in simple terms is to own a
closet which takes into consideration the impact it creates on the environment
and the lives of the people creating it .'

So does that mean,
Is it owning clothes only from Ethical Brands?

Is it dressing up in second-hand clothes?

Is it wearing only garments made out of natural material?

Is it JUST Shopping Locally?

Well, it is a little bit of all of the above I feel.I personally don't think that there is a hard and fast rule to creating an ethical wardrobe. There are guidelines- and we just play around them. The main essence, to keep in mind of an Ethical wardrobe is being responsible towards our surrounding and the people involved in making them.


How do the clothes that we wear impact the environment? Do they even have an affect? Yes!!! They do! In fact, the Textile Industry is the 2nd largest polluting industry, it creates upto 10% of the global carbon emission, and upto 17 to 20 % of the global water pollution is a result waste of the clothing and textile industry. 

The different aspects of our fashion choice which impacts the environment are-

1. The materials, that they are made of. 
Is the fabric the garments made out of natural, pesticide free, chemical free?

2. The manufacturing process put to practise. 

Does the Garment manufacturing process produce environmental waste? How is the Garment manufacturing waste disposed off?

3. How do we treat our clothes?
How many times do we wear the garments before we wash it? Are we using eco-friendly ways to wash it?

4. How we dispose off our old clothes?
What do we do with the clothes that we don't wear anymore? Does it end up in the garbage?Do we donate it?  or give it away to other members of the family? or create some interesting D.I.Ys?


Therefore, an Ethical wardrobe is considering all of the above, starting from the very fiber our garments are made out of to the very end, how do our garments end up.  Taking a keen interest in the different aspects of the clothings-  with a humanely perspective is what we can define as 'Ethical Fashion'.


In Short , the 5 ways to create a Ethical Wardrobe are

Beginners Guide to an Ethical Wardrobe.

You can find the Part 2 & 3 of this post
Here for Part 2
&
Here for Part 3