Sustainability books to read

With sustainability at the core of what we create, thought we'd provide you with the tools to become a change maker. So, If you want to go change the world or simply learn a bit more about your environmental footprint and the changes you can make, here are a few good reads to get into

Wear no evil - How to change the world with your wardrobe - Greta Egan 

The  Human Age - The world shaped by us - Design for Asun Dan Le (Braungart)

Over dressed - The shockingly high cost of cheap fashion - Elizabeth L. Cline

Organic Cotton Dress

Fashionopolis - The price of fast fashion and the future of clothes - Duna Thomas

Live Green - 52 Steps for a more sustainable life - Jen Chillingsworth

Or, if you are looking for fiction we found these books to enjoy!

The Testaments Margret Atwood

City of Girls, Elizabeth Gilbert

Cross fire - Noughts and Crosses, Malorie Blackman

Sincerely Madia & Matilda 

How to: Care for me. Wear Me. Love me. Mend Me.

Caring for your clothes

Inspired by the Cheltenham Literature Festival, we've picked out five of our favourite fashion care and sustainability books for you.

Wardrobe Wisdom, by Alicia Healey
Trained at Buckingham Palace, Alicia Healey has worked as a lady's maid and high-profile wardrobe consultant across the globe. In this book, she shares her top tips for decluttering your closet and looking after investment items so they'll last you a life time.
Buy the book here.

Laundry: The Home Comforts Book of Caring for Clothes and Linens

Laundering queen Cheryl Mendelson shares her love of housekeeping. With extensive knowledge of how to care for almost every fabric, from hand washing and removing stains to storing fabrics and garments, Mendelson shares the indispensable guide to caring for clothes at home.

Buy the book here.

Clothing Care Basics: Tips for Fabric Care, Clothing Storage, and Saving Money by Keeping Your Favorite Clothes Looking Good Longer

Explaining some of the basic terms used in clothes laundering, Julie Gallagher teaches you the basics so you'll never turn another white shirt pink or shrink your favourite jumper.

Buy the book here.

Clothing Cultures - Certified made in the UK
Madia & Matilda is now published in Clothing Cultures. This journal explores the issues in the production and consumption of clothes within the fashion industry.
Buy the journal here.

The Sustainable Fashion Handbook

An in-depth and comprehensive guide to sustainable fashion, from the impact fast fashion is having on our environment to eco-fashion and sustainable designers, this book will change your outlook on the fashion industry.

Buy the book here.











Sincerely Madia & Matilda

#Foodie: 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cups

The Food Edit:

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So, here’s the thing: the heavenly marriage of peanut butter and chocolate has long been celebrated in the form of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. But there’s a catch— those salty, sweet, devilishly moreish treats contain some real interesting characters. Here’s a list, just because. Ready?

• Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Chocolate, Nonfat Milk, Milk Fat, Lactose, Lecithin (Soy), PGPR Emulsifier)
• Peanuts
• Sugar
• Dextrose
• Cocoa Butter
• Contains 2% or Less of: Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Oil), Salt, Palm Kernel Oil, PGPR Emulsifier, TBHQ and Citric Acid to Maintain Freshness [stats courtesy of Walmart]

We’ll leave you to take what you will from this, but allow me to highlight one item from the above list. Palm oil is problematic at best. I’m sure the whole orangutan/deforestation/palm oil debacle hasn’t passed you by. We won’t go into it now, but if you’d like to find out more about palm oil, take a look at this article published by One Green Planet, or this blog post by The Green Vegans, who reckon boycotting the product is actually counterproductive...

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And on to our amazing recipe! As a long-time fan of the peanut butter cup, this was one I just had to try. And let me tell you, it was more than worth it. If the luxurious sheen of melted chocolate being drizzled onto little peanut butter plateaus weren’t enough, imagine the gentle crack of the chocolate once it’s firmed up, giving onto a little pocket of paradise: a smooth, buttery filling. But I’m running away with myself.

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This recipe makes between 15 and 25, depending on the size of your mini cupcake cases.

Ingredients:

• 200g (7oz) good quality dark chocolate, melted
• 125g (1/2 cup) smooth peanut butter (no added sugar, if possible)
• 40g (2 1/2 tbsp) honey or other sweet syrup, added to taste
• Pinch of salt, if your peanut butter doesn’t have any added

You’ll also need

• your 15 cupcake cases (paper or silicone work well). I used paper cases which were about 1 inch across the top, and I got 25 out of the mixtures.  

Method:

1. Fill a small cupcake liner with the melted chocolate to the top, then turn the liner upside-down and allow the excess chocolate to drip off. Repeat with the remaining cupcake liners, and place them onto a baking sheet.
2. Freeze the chocolate coated cupcake liners for ~5 minutes, then repeat the procedure (filling the liners with chocolate and letting the excess to dip off), making sure that the sides of the cupcake liners are well coated with the chocolate.
3. Freeze again for ~5 minutes.
4. In the meantime, mix together the peanut butter, maple syrup (or honey) and salt (optional).
5. Fill the firmed up chocolate coated cupcake liners with the peanut butter filling, smoothing out the top. Leave ~1 mm space at the top for the chocolate layer.
6. Spoon some melted chocolate on top of each filled chocolate cup, so that you get a smooth, even peanut butter cup top.
7. Freeze for at least 1/2 hour to allow the chocolate to properly set. Then, peel off the cupcake liners and enjoy!
8. The homemade peanut butter cups keep well in a closed container in a cool dry place (or the fridge) for ~1 week, or in the freezer for ~1 month

Go forth and create! Let us know how they worked out for you, or go to the original page on The Loopy Whisk where this recipe was originally published. There’s lots of other really yummy things you can have a crack at!

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Creating an Effortless Upcycled Crop Blouse

Inspired by This Old Thing, with Dawn O'Porter upcyling is highlighted, as a way to breath new life into unwanted and unworn clothing or textiles. We loved it so much that we thought we would share with you, our hints & tips to D.I.Y upcycling. Stay tuned for weekly upcycling posts  - Cropped Blouses. 
#upcycling #diy #hintsandtips

Creating an Effortless Upcycled Crop Blouse

You will need:

Blouse

Fabric Strip x2

Scissors

Tailors Chalk

Pins

Sewing Machine

How to upcycle a blouse into an effortless box crop top.

1. Firstly measure the top to the length you would like, including 1 cm hem. Lay the top flat on a clear surface ready to cut.

2. Using tailors chalk or pins to direct where you cut. Cut along the line you drew, with a good pair of scissors. 

3. Hem bottom edge with your sewing machine, with a seam allowance of 1cm.

3. Next fold the shirt in half, matching up both sleeves with a pin.

4. Doing the same as Step 2, only for the sleeves.

5. As for the edge of the sleeve, measure the length of the sleeve and times that by 2, as you will need two of these for each sleeve. Make each fabric strip a 5cm wide.

6. Fold strips in half and place to sleeve edge with 1cm seam allowance, straight stitch with your machine.

Where with high waisted jeans or a fitted skirt; to find out more of my upcycled pieces see here or for crop top styling tips, click here for summer styling. 

Sincerely Madia & Matilda