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Solid Shampoo Bars .... Are they worth it? Are you looking for the best Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) free shampoo and conditioner bar for your travels? Me too, and due to my dreadlocks, I actually just recently discovered that shampoo bars were a thing. What are the different types of Solid Shampoo Bars. There are three broad categories of shampoo bars, although some will overlap categories. Cold-pressed shampoo bars are typically made by home crafters and natural product companies. They are often full of natural oils to help conditio...

Our Top 5 Vegan Recommendations When you first enter the world of veganism, it can be a little confusing, and although we would suggest you don’t fall into the trap of using alternatives all the time, they can be a fantastic way of transitioning. There is still such a thing as processed foods, so you would want to watch the salt content in some of these foods, but without further ado, here are our top 5 recommendations. Nutritional Yeast A staple in a vegan diet is nutritional yeast, although don’t drop the whole pot on t...

Dana and Mary Poppins 'Though her words are simple and few, Listen, listen she's calling to you' Recognise the lyrics from the song 'Feed the Birds' in the motion picture 'Mary Poppins'? In the USA, 3rd February has become 'Feed the Birds Day' and is celebrated every year. It is the deepest, coldest, and snowiest part of winter when food is scarcest, with much of it hidden under the snow. Indeed the whole of February is a time when the backyard birds need help the most. The se...

Boxing Day and Mohammed Ali What is the origin of Boxing day in the UK? Does it have anything to do with the Queensbury Rules and Mohammed Ali? The short answer to the second question is simply no. Nothing at all to do with the noble art of boxing. Let's ask Wikipedia to answer the second. Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide. Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It origi...

Part 1- How the art of hand block printing respects and celebrates nature Have you noticed how most ancient textile art forms are eco-friendly? There are many traditional methods of fabric dyeing, weaving and printing that are examples of sustainable practices. Hand block printing is no exception. Hand block printing is an ancient textile art form that has a rich history which can be traced back to the 5th century BC with its roots in India, China and Japan. As with most ancient practices, every process in hand block printing, including the preparation of cloth,...

Hand Block Print- Part 2 Why face masks of hand block print cotton fabric? Because in this beautiful piece of art....Form meets function. Beauty meets safety. Purchasing meets empowerment. At RainbowLife we not only pay our respects to the extraordinary artisans who make the beautiful hand block printed fabrics but also the artisan tailors who fashion the cloth into something of purpose. Artisans supported by the Fair Trade organisation SETU ( A Bridge to Artisans) make the unique face masks that can only be p...

January Sales or January Loans? We are choosing to make a difference this January by using 5% of all our sales to make a loan to KIVA. RainbowLife is all about stories. Kiva creates the opportunity to play a special part in someone else's story. Kiva is beyond a charity.... More than 1.7 billion people around the world are unbanked and can’t access the financial services they need. Kiva is an international non-profit, founded in 2005 in San Francisco, with a mission to expand financial access to help underserved c...

What ever you grow, will save a bro - Movember 2021 What is Movember? Throughout the month of November men are encouraged to grow their moustaches to raise awareness and spark conversation for men’s health issues, particularly prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health. But where did Movember begin? Movember started in 2003 as two mates from Australia, Travis Garone and Luke Slattery, jokingly decided to bring back in fashion the moustache by convincing their friends to grow one. Inspired by a friend’s mother who was fundraising fo...

What is the difference between vegan and plant based? You have most likely heard the hype? It’s everywhere, right? Plant-based and vegan diets are becoming popular, thanks to campaigns such as Veganuary – in January, documentaries like ”The Game Changers” and the significant rise in young adults avoiding meat and dairy products as their contribution to keeping the planet a nicer place to live for humans, it’s easy to get the two terms mixed up. If you are confused and wondering what the difference is between being vegan and being plant-based, y...

What is Diwali, and how is it celebrated? Diwali, the festival of lights, marks the time when millions of Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the world celebrate the triumph of good over evil with beautiful rituals such as festive lights, fireworks, fantastic food and family gatherings. We delve into the Diwali story, history and traditions, to find out how Diwali is celebrated and how you can take part in the magical festivities. To different religions, Diwali means different things. “In Hinduism, Diwali celebrates the return of the deit...

Pirate Black Friday - Why we are going against the trend Black Friday is one of the biggest shopping days of the year due to the major deals offered by retailers. However, as conscious consumerism rises, shoppers may feel guilty when shopping to excess due to the environmental impact. What is Traditional Black Friday? Traditionally an American phenomenon, Black Friday occurs the day after Thanksgiving – the last payday before Christmas – calling for the ultimate climax in the festive shopping season. The history of Black Friday dates back to a maj...

Easy DIY Halloween Yarn Ghosts - Plastic Free Easy DIY Yarn Ghosts - Plastic Free Halloween is only around the corner, but it can filled with a lot of one time use plastic. Here is how you can make plastic free, zero waste halloween decorations in only 10 minutes. These cute yarn ghosts require minimal materials, and can be great to do alone, with friends, or with kids. What you will need: Scissors Glue Yarn Pipe cleaners 1. Start by wrapping the yarn around a template of your choice. It will depend on the required length of your g...

Economic Empowerment Through Fair Trade As a child, I knew little about fair trade. I remember seeing the Fairtrade logo on bars of chocolate in my local Coop and I knew that this meant something good, but I wasn’t quite sure what. Now, as an adult, I am far more aware of the importance of fair trade, and what makes those chocolate bars special. Fair trade plays a significant role in the economic empowerment and sustainable development of marginalised communities. Like many people, I am saddened that fair trade is something we have...

Crafting Your Path to Mental Health Following on from our Upcycling and Halloween Crafting blogs Hannah and Lisa were interested in how crafting can support mental health. We did some research and true enough, there is substantial evidence to show that you can craft your way to better mental health. I remember when my daughter was under huge mental stress with A level examinations imminent, she suddenly took up patchworking. The repetitive movements with just enough focus to be mindful seemed to help ground her and reduce ...

DIY Easy Tetra-Pak Haunted Houses - Plastic free Start by designing your house with a pen. The great thing about this craft is that you don’t need to be an artist. They are haunted houses, so crooked windows make it look more authentic. Take scissors and cut out your design. Paint with black paint, or any colour you desire. Go careful not to water down the paint as it will not stick to the shiny material of the bottle. Remove the bottom of the bottle if needed for a flat surface. Place a candle of your choice inside. Our tip – use batt...

War Against or Truce with Plastics? A Little History The first mention of plastic was a cellulose based product developed by John Wesley Hyatt in 1869. A formula using camphor and cotton cellulose to create a product durable and resistant enough to replace elephant ivory and tortoise shell. This was a boon for the ‘animal protectionists’ of that era. I am certain most pachyderm and large shelled amphibians were also quite thankful. Replacing billiard balls and tortoise shell eyewear with this new synthetic polymer is an example...

Trash to Treasure - Creative Reuse Part 2 Following on from Part 1 here are few clever Upcycling Ideas: Tin Cans: We all know about the abundance of tin cans in our recycling bins and there are many things you can do with tin cans. How about decoupaging a can with wallpaper as a storage container for all your bits and bobs? Glass: Why not find some new uses for glass bottles, jars, and even windows before you immediately put it in the recycling bin? Use wine bottles and beer bottles as rustic vases or decorate them as wedding centre...

Why a Circular Economy Recently in the news there has been chatter about a circular versus a linear economy. What is the difference? Which is better? How do we go about supporting such things? The short answer is: if we as individuals, societies, as the global community want a cleaner, greener future we need to change from a linear economy to a circular economy. While some change at a political and cultural level is underway, currently our society is one of fast manufacture of new produced from new raw materials; f...

Trash to Treasure - Creative Reuse Part 1 Upcycling And Recycling: What’s The Difference? The difference between upcycling and recycling is that the latter takes materials like paper, metal, plastic, or glass and breaks them down by pulping or melting etc and then remoulds the raw material into a new product. A good example is taking plastic recovered from the ocean and turning them into swimming costumes> Hence an entirely new product is created. This is not the case with upcycling, where products are not broken or melted down, t...

How to Choose a Beard Balm Credit to Jeremiah Newton for his excellent guide. How to Choose a Beard Balm For any bearded guy who is ready to take his daily beard care routine to the next level, The Bearded Bastard beard balm is a great way to go. Beard balms are becoming more and more popular as they are multi-functional products that are typically loaded with ingredients that your facial hair absolutely loves. Due to the surge in popularity, you’ll find that the beard balm market is loaded with a diverse and exten...

Our Ethics Welcome to our brand new store. By way of introduction here is what we are about. Our aim is to carefully select products that are ethically sourced and sustainable from suppliers that we trust. With the descriptions of these products we aim to inform you as far as possible, about the story of your product. Some call this the backstory, we prefer to call it the frontstory. This detailing of the products we believe helps connect you with the producer or artisan. We also believe in sharing our...

Passion for Refashionistas Way back when, longer than I care to admit, I was invited to a rather posh do: a “grand ball” no less. Being a Uni student with barely two pennies to rub together, I had no money to buy a ball gown. Meanwhile some of my fellow students were dolling themselves up in all manner of Taffeta and Brocade. I asked my flatmate, Lou, for inspiration. ‘Hey, don’t worry about it Lisa, we can make you something’. ‘Make me something?!’ My only experience of sewing was a rather disastrous attempt at ...

Pet Therapy It is well-known anecdotally that interaction with a gentle, friendly pet has significant benefits. What is less well known is that there is strong scientific evidence to back this up. Here are some of the more common: For Physical Health lowers blood pressure improves cardiovascular health releases endorphins (oxytocin) that have a calming effect diminishes overall physical pain the act of petting produces an automatic relaxation response, reducing the amount of medication some folks need...

The Healing Power of Aromatherapy- A Rainbow of Possibilities. … The Greek Physician Hippocrates, known as the ‘ Father of Western Medicine’, said in the fourth century BCE… “ The way to health is to have an aromatic bath and scented massage every day” Certainly, the Greeks and later the Romans followed his advice. Throughout time people have recognised the protective and healing power of plants and their aromas. The ancient Greeks held aromatics in high regard and the ancient Egyptians used aromatics for incense, embalming and perfume. The holy anointi...