School's (nearly) out for summer and now comes the inevitable searching for gifts for your child's teacher... but STOP! I used to be a teaching assistant in a wonderful primary school, and I've got some insider knowledge from the staffroom for you: your child's teacher does not want another 'best teacher' mug...true fact! They are likely to get around 30 of these each year...with the best will in the world, there is just not enough space! So save your money and the planet's resources by following this pro-tip: All a teacher or teaching assistant really wants is a Thank You card that's been hand-written by your child. That's it! I've still got a drawer-full of all the cards I've been...
Contrary to what Kermit says, it actually IS easy being green. Let me show you how. A few years ago I slumped down on my sofa after having a rubbish day at work (before I worked totally for myself), and I needed cheering up. So I put on a nature programme. But NO! This nature programme was horror-filled! It was investigating deaths in an albatross colony, looking at the little decomposed carcasses of albatross chicks and discovering that masses of household plastic was the cause. It was horrifying. They lined it all up and I was disgusted to see household things that I used every day had been fed to the chicks: toothbrushes, printer cartridges, golf balls. It was at...
The end of the school year brings with it a whole range of emotions, not to mention a range of gifts for the teachers and teaching assistants. But do we ever stop to think about the environmental cost of those gifts? I used to be a teaching assistant in a primary school. When I was starting to go zero-waste, the end of the school year posed particular problems. Many of the gifts were plastic or plastic-wrapped, and were things I was trying to cut out of my life. But on the flip side they were also a heart-felt, so I respectfully took them and usually donated them to the charity shops. But when I started Embers and Ink, it got...
The recent world events of the global pandemic may seem to have thrown a spanner in the works for any celebrations such as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and more. In this current situation it is of upmost importance that we protect ourselves and each other by keeping a safe distance, covering our faces and following the rules for the maximum number of people allowed at a gathering. But it doesn't mean we can't celebrate at all! Here are four suggestions for those of you who are celebrating something during the pandemic: Firstly, keep your sense of humour (if the situation allows). Birthdays, Weddings, Anniversaries, Bar and Bat Mitzvah's etc are perfect examples. (Funerals, not so much. So pick your approach carefully!)...
Embers and Ink has now partnered with Ecologi to help fight the climate crisis! For a long time I've been looking for new and improved ways to make Embers and Ink's imapct on the world a more positive one. As you know, for a while I have been plastic-free as a business. But I wanted to do more! Then I found Ecologi! Ecologi are an environmental organisation that funds projects to help individuals and businesses become climate positive. They facilitate the funding of carbon offset projects and tree planting around the world, and their mission is to remove 50% of global CO2 emissions by 2040 and plant billions of trees each year. (Image credit Ecologi and Eden Reforestation Projects). Sounds...
