From fast fashion to slow living, with Hackney Made Collective

Behind the scenes with the London-based collective encouraging us all to slow down and make more conscious decisions

The journey to a more conscious lifestyle isn’t always a simple one. We all have habits, rituals and products that we love, can’t bear to part with and this may stand in the way of moving to a more sustainable lifestyle.

However, if we all take small collective steps to decrease our own impact on the planet – the overall effect will be much greater than a select few living completely waste or plastic free.

This subject, and much more, was the topic of a series of discussions at Slow Living, an event held at Hackney Made Collective a few Thursdays ago (27 February 2020).

Nestled at the top of the stairs, a group of curious creatives all on their own journeys to conscious journey gathered to listen to Alice from The Hai Blog, Natalie from Embrace Body Skincare and Suzie from Soothe Me lead discussions on how to lead a life that has less negative impact upon the planet.

Hackney Made Collective are a group of creatives, advocating for a more sustainable future. Not wanting to work in isolation the collective aims to connect like-minded businesses and support them via a bricks and mortar store in East London.

The evening started with an interactive session, making a magnesium bath soak using a blend of essential oils provided by Soothe Me. Soaking in a magnesium-rich bath helps promote relaxation and soothes tired and aching muscles. If you’d like to try this for yourself, you can buy a kilo of magnesium mineral bath flakes from Better You.

Aligning your chakras, breathing, yoga and self-care was the next topic on the agenda. Natalie from Embrace Body Skincare has created a wonderful capsule collection of luxury skincare, each aligned to the body’s set of chakras, that use the power of natural oils. Slowing down, taking time to meditate and how actually to manage this with busy city life, or a family isn’t always easy, but taking the time for yourself to pause and recalibrate can make a world of difference to achieving a positive outlook.

Alice from The Hai Blog then discussed the negative impact of the fashion industry – including fabric and fibre selection – on the environment. Her overarching advice was to consider what you are purchasing, the fabric, the origins and the ethics. She recommended to take considered, conscious decisions about what you are buying and encouraged those gathered to be part of the collective movement to reduce your own personal footprint on the earth.

The evening rounded off with a Q&A session, including a timely and relevant question about ethical retail, and how to shop consciously – as it can be overwhelming and difficult in our modern times. Can you truly be conscious if you buy from a retailer that still has “fast fashion” practises funding most of its business model? The group agreed that traditional businesses have a much harder journey ahead to truly be conscious.

It also summed up the notion that the journey to a more conscious lifestyle isn’t always going to be a simple one. We all have complex choices to make, and the path will not always be clear.

But this is also exactly why THE FIND has a planet-friendly compass at the core of our business. We don’t just have a selection of ethical brands, it’s at the heart of everything that we do. We are much more than #justanedit – we are the home of conscious brands.

Find out more about Hackney Made Collective, and visit their shop at 56 Middlesex St, Spitalfields, London E1 7EZ.