How can we participate in this magical, and much-needed holiday period without falling prey to the excess? For a while now, I have been aware of the consumerist trap that Christmas has become. For...
Opinion
Gift guide for a sustainable festive season
We’ve got to be honest with you - this may be the first gifting guide that doesn’t encourage you to buy anything - at least not as a first, second, third or even fourth resort. So if you’ve just...
Talking Rubbish: “Instead of supporting Black Friday, I support Buy Nothing Day”
It’s that time of year when the Black Friday specials start trending online, littering our email inboxes and polluting our social media feeds. Black Friday, on 23 November, originally an American...
Talking Rubbish: “5 ways I’m cleaning out my life this spring”
Spring has arrived, that time of the year I not only spring clean my house, but spring clean my lifestyle. While I try my best to lead a low waste, sustainable life, it’s impossible to have no...
What is the effect of your savings on dirty energy companies?
You may have noticed the work of an organization called Fossil Free South Africa. It’s currently running a social media campaign, Spotlight, calling for SA’s biggest pension and investment funds to...
Talking Rubbish: “Make environmentally-friendly choices when it comes to your periods”
Two years ago I made the switch from conventional tampons to a menstrual cup. I wanted to reduce the amount of waste for which I was responsible. I also wanted to limit my exposure to the synthetic,...
Talking Rubbish: “A R5 swear jar is my commitment to Plastic Free July”
With Plastic Free July underway, now is the time to take stock of my zero-waste journey. This month-long campaign raises awareness of our global plastic waste problem while encouraging people to...
Talking Rubbish: “The more I refuse, the more plastic I find to give up”
Welcome to Twyg, Sarah Robyn Farrell! Talking Rubbish is Sarah's new monthly column about living as lightly as she possibly can. She writes about the trials and tribulations of reducing, recycling...
Can South Africa become a leader in fair and safe employment for garment workers?
In SA, 9.2-million people need employment and the clothing industry currently employs fewer that 100,000. How can this industry grow to employ more people?
View from inside: Why made-in-South Africa is the better option for local retailers
An industry expert explains what the true cost is of the retailers “search, buy, search again” cycle and why it is seldom taken into consideration.
Q&A: Photographer Mário Macilau on his work and the collapse of the Mozambican trash heap
Mário has focussed his work on environmental issues and the living and working conditions of the most vulnerable people for most of his life. We chatted to him about his most recent work.
Look out for these speakers at Design Indaba 2018
We have combed through the list of Design Indaba speakers looking for those talking directly to sustainability. These are the four speakers we will follow closely.
If you are vegetarian, have you thought about cows going extinct?
Do you believe that because they are a domestic species it is not as important to lose them as it is to lose pandas or wolves?
All at Sea: Meet Three Women Saving Our Ocean
Our oceans are under threat. Be it pollution, destruction of ecosystems, overfishing, ocean warming and acidification, humankind has been damaging the seas. These women are cleaning up the mess.
Biodiversity isn’t just pretty: it future-proofs our world
Ecosystems provide services that support life and here is why we need to protect it.