Credit and Source: Ethical Consumer UK
This October I attended the online Ethical Consumer Week Conference 2020.
I'd never attended an Ethical Consumer Conference and due to Covid 19 this event was held virtually.
This years theme was building more resilient communities.
Here is my summary of some of the sessions I attended.
I have decided to include the sessions that were relevant to me and had the most impact and were informative, engaging and fun.
The conference began Saturday 24th October and concluded Friday 30th October 2020.
Hashtag for the week was #ECweek2020.
The session was not recorded.
This was the first session of the week I attended.
Journey to Nourish was presented or should I say narrated by Mama D.
Mama D is a natural born storyteller and her voice was incredibly calming and soothing.
I thoroughly enjoyed this session which was a combination of spoken word, music, tactile food tasting and history of food.
WHAT I LEARNT: The purpose of the session was to reconnect with food and food legacy, how and why food arrived in the UK and to understand the relationship of food, colonialism and slavery.
Mama D was fabulous. I was quite anxious before the session but Mama D's voice has a calming nature and I felt relaxed and calm and happy by the end.
The music in the session was thought provoking and powerful.
ACTION: What actions I will take?
I will definitely take more time to learn where the food on my plate comes from and if the farmers/workers are receiving a fair wages.
I will write to Mama D and thank her for a beautiful session.
LINKS: I will also try to learn more about her organisation Community Centred Knowledge.
For those interested here is the link https://communitycentredknowledge.org/
I absolutely loved the team at the Sewing café Lancaster. They were so friendly and warm.
Each and everyone member of the team had a passion to reduce fast fashion consumption and support zero waste.
The café held sewing workshops, workshops for refugees and asylum seekers, organic dye workshops, supported the seed library at Lancaster Library and held events in support of Fashion Revolution.
WHAT I LEARNT: You can mend and upcycle anything. It was inspiring to learn and view items of clothing they had upcycled and were modelling during the session.
ACTION: I hope to contact Stiched Up in Manchester who offer sewing workshops.
Continue with my Six Items Challenge with Labour Behind The Label for the ninth year February 2021.
LINKS: Here is the link to Sewing Café Lancaster,
Credit and Source: Ethical Consumer UK
This was a fascinating session.
WHAT I LEARNT: I was amazed to learn how many urban growing initiatives there are in the UK.
ACTION: I hope to learn more about the urban growing organisations there are in Manchester and London and share information with family and friends.
When I'm feeling better I hope to actively participate and learn how to grow my own food.
LINK: FoodFutures
Credit and Source: Ethical Consumer UK
Loved Loved Loved this session with Anya Hart Dyke!
Anya is an accomplished educator/author who makes waste material fun and engaging. She has two children aged 3 and 6.
WHAT I LEARNT: A truly inspirational lady and her passion for zero waste and sustainability shone through.
It was so beautiful to see all the different activities and concepts her children had used in her book during the presentation.
I remember how she used a wonky carrot to encourage her children to talk about food that looks different but tastes just as good.
ACTION: I hope to follow her example, purchase her book and follow her via her website.
I have participated in Plastic Free July and Zero Waste Week for the past two years and hope to encourage more family and friends to rethink their carbon footprint.
LINK: Anya's website is called Big Dreams Little Footprints.
https://www.bigdreamslittlefootprints.org/
Credit and Source: Ethical Consumer UK
This was one of the most emotional sessions I attended and has affected me the most.
I cried through the first half.
WHAT I LEARNT: Animals feel and resist!
I will have seriously think how I can reduce my red meat intake, find substitutes ingredients for my Mums authentic recipes. a difficult feat but I will not be deterred.
ACTION: Educate my friends and family about animal resistance and relationships.
Write to Dan and ask if any faith groups are involved in his work.
LINKS: Animal Think Tank
http://animalthinktank.org.uk/
Credit and Source: Gina Frausin and the Claver Hill Community Project
WHAT I LEARNT: WOW! What a beautiful video.
So impressive, the entire community has worked so hard to establish all the different initiatives on 6 acres of land.
ACTION: I hope I can go and visit Claver Hill one day soon.
Have followed the YouTube Channel.
LINK: Claver Hill Community Project Tour
Credit and Source: Ethical Consumer UK
Credit and Source: May Project Gardens
Was pleased and encouraged to see BAME social entrepreneurs Mona and Fisayo present this session.
Sadly, not enough BAME guest speakers are invited to events about ethics, values and sustainability. So pleased the Ethical Consumer Team invited Mona and Fisayo.
WHAT I LEARNT: Both these ladies have respectively founded their own community interest companies and have collaborated to support refugees in the UK to voice their opinions and be included and heard in society via a a hip hop garden initiative.
Both were passionate, friendly and warm.
ACTION: I hope to listen to their podcast and write to them.
LINKS: Untelevised
https://www.filmanthropy.co.uk/untelevised
During the last session The Ethical Consumer team asked participants for feedback.
I suggested in the break out session that it may be useful to organise a follow up webinar or Zoom meeting with participants and ask how they implemented any of the actions.
We ended the session with resident poem Alex Crumble and music.
Many thanks to all the guest speakers and the entire Ethical Consumer team for their warmth, professionalism, and friendliness. It was a mammoth task to organise a 7 day event and it was executed to perfection.
Congratulations for a superb week!
I look forward to Ethical Consumer Week 2021.
Sabeena
#ECweek2020
Credit and Source: Ethical Consumer UK
This month my right shoulder is still very painful and I have struggled to record this vlog and type this blog.
This month I supported fairtrade fortnight 2024 and celebrated Fairtrade's 30th Anniversary.
Here is my Easy Fairtrade Cocoa and Fairtrade Bananas Recipe which I baked for Fairtrade Fortnight 2024.
I have tried my best to translate this recipe in Urdu.
یہ ہے میری ایزی فیئرٹریڈ کوکو اور فیئر ٹریڈ کیلے کی ترکیب جسے میں نے فیئر ٹریڈ فورٹ نائٹ 2024 کے لیے پکایا تھا۔
میں نے اس ترکیب کا اردو میں ترجمہ کرنے کی پوری کوشش کی ہے۔
This month I supported fairtrade fortnight 2024 and celebrated Fairtrade's 30th Anniversary.
Sign up to get the latest on fair trade fashion.
I'm Sabeena Ahmed owner and creator of The Little Fair Trade Shop. I've been an individual associate member of the World Fair Trade Organization since 2011 and together with my artisans I bring you a bespoke collection of ethically sourced fashion & gifts.
© 2024 The Little Fair Trade Shop. “We love to listen to our customers and for this reason we would be delighted to hear from you if you would like a bespoke fair trade product made especially for you.”
The Little Fair Trade Shop Ltd
Registered in England & Wales
Company Number 08189489
