Five Things I Learned While Working on the Autumn Issue of JUNO Magazine
That buying sustainable clothing is complex…
Preparing this issue, we thought a lot about sustainable clothing – what does sustainable clothing mean? It’s difficult for us as consumers because there is so much to think about when we buy, and our choices are not always easy or obvious: do we look at water consumption during fabric production or employee rights, or whether the fabric is organic or made from recycled plastic bottles which saves them from landfill but then releases microplastics… Everything we buy has an impact, which is why…
…buying second hand is sustainable
We enjoyed finding out about Oxfam’s #SecondHandSeptember which we have been supporting. I’m also a fan of Livia Firth’s #30wears campaign which is simply about asking, ‘will I wear this 30 times?’ before buying something. Using this hashtag, people celebrate the clothes that they love wearing, time and time again. I have many clothes that I’ve owned for years and have probably worn 300 times, and this is something to celebrate and feel proud of!
The power of illustrations
We are sent some amazing books in the JUNO office, and for our books feature this issue, I selected three titles with incredible illustrations – The Stone Giant by Anna Höglund, published by Gecko Press; Annie Lumsden, The Girl from the Sea by David Almond, illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna, published by Walker Books; and The Jackie Morris Book of Classic Nursery Rhymes,published by Otter Barry Books. The words and images are just mesmerising and it was good to celebrate the illustrators as well as the talents of the authors.
That robins can live for 19 years!
Just incredible – and one of the fascinating pieces of information in Frances Tophill’s Rewild Your Garden, published by Greenfinch.
The benefits of play
It helps to keep being reminded of the simple things in life, and I enjoyed Sarah Vaughan’s feature for the reminder of how play – such a basic and instinctive occupation – can be so supportive to children. In her feature, she reflects on how her children’s play has changed and supported them during the challenging times of 2020.
Saffia Farr started her working life as a City lawyer before moving to Egypt then Kyrgyzstan with her water-engineer husband. She now lives in the Bristol area and is mum to three children. Her involvement with JUNO started in 2009 when she had an article published about her experience of ante-natal care in Kyrgyzstan. She became editor of JUNO Magazine in 2011.
Find out more about JUNO Magazine here.
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