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“I was born in a peaceful Europe. But today my family is stuck in Kyiv. My father, brothers, and childhood friends are fighting with guns in their hands, while my mum and six and eight-year-old nieces are sheltering from bombs. They all got attacked while the country was sleeping,” - Olya Kuryshchuk What can we do to help Ukraine? In the face of a humanitarian crisis, it's understandable to feel powerless. Especially when social media and live news channels present us with real-time, shocking glimpses of the conflict. It's easy to feel lost with feelings of hopelessness, or understanding how you can begin to...

What is a sustainable influencer? A sustainable influencer is someone who uses their online platform to promote sustainable and ethical lifestyle or fashion choices. This serves as a significant part of the journey towards a fairer and more planet friendly fashion world due to the huge influence social media has on consumers and their shopping habits. SO, we've compiled a list of our current fave influencers and activists who balance cool fashion with planet conscious lifestyles to inspire all of you to shop more responsibly... 5 sustainable fashion bloggers you need to follow 1)  @mikaelaloach  At the age of just 24 Mikaela Loach...

Why is it important we still celebrate LGBT history month? In the UK February is recognised as LGBT history month, a time to promote positive understanding of the history of gay rights. Like Pride month, it's not just a celebration of people and culture – its a protest against hate and marginalisation. It was introduced in response to Section 28 - a ban on the 'promotion of homosexuality' in schools which was introduced in 1988 by Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government. Section 28 meant that a big majority of queer history was created behind closed doors and the impact of this still remains. To draw visibility and...

What is transparency in sustainable fashion? In the fashion world, transparency is the practice of a brand being honest and clear about where their garments were made, who they were made by and how! Being transparent means openly sharing ALL of this info...not just the good bits.   Supply chain transparency - what to look out for!  At Ilk + Ernie transparency is something we hold close to our hearts. We understand the value of being clear about every little detail of how our business runs - so that you lovely lot can put your trust in us! There's plenty...

As we say goodbye to 2021 and enter the new year we're faced with the encouragement to focus on self-reflection. This means you're probably spending some time overthinking too. For some, this may be on achievement and hope. For others, it can come with a healthy dose of dread and disappointment.       After close to two years of being dragged through a national pandemic, it's safe to say you likely feel it may have changed (or dare I say ruined) how you expected things to pan out; whether this be health, career or lifestyle. There is most definitely something disheartening about the...

Did you know the average person buys 60% more clothing than they did 15 years ago, meaning our outlook on shopping is worse than ever. The impact that this has is the demand it creates for fast fashion, which supports companies who want to make clothes as cheaply and quickly as possible. This of course comes at a cost, not for consumers but for our environment and hundreds of thousands of vulnerable garment workers.  Fast fashion and textile waste Our societies mindless attitude towards shopping means a huge amount of what consumers purchase might only be worn a few times, or worse - never. ...