Consumption

A library of things

We’ve all heard of libraries.  Most people, I imagine, associate them with books.  Book libraries have been in existence to some extent ever since records began.  From the mid-19th century in Britain, community libraries funded by the state came into existence.  However, the principle of lending and borrowing has recently started to include other items. …

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Food and climate change

Professor Sarah Bridle was originally an astrophysicist, but when she started to think about climate change, her curiosity led her to pivot her research in a new direction – food and climate change.  She shared her knowledge on the podcast; here are some highlights. How does food relate to climate change? Food and climate change …

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Composting

Composting takes materials we often consider general waste and produces a material highly valuable for soil. What is composting?  Composting is the break down (decomposition) of organic material such as food and garden waste by microorganisms in the presence of oxygen, providing a nutrient-dense resource for enhancing soil quality. Why compost? How to compost at …

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Sustainable fashion

What’s not to love about clothes? At the very least, clothes protect us from the elements, and at best, fashion gives us a way of expressing our identity, fitting in or standing out!  However, the fashion industry and clothing production can be contentious because of: What do we mean by sustainable fashion? Sustainable fashion indicates …

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Sustainable living

What do we mean by sustainable living? Sustainable living means living in a way that does not impede the ability of future generations to live.  The UN refers to the need for three core elements to be in harmony: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection.  In short, we have a finite amount of natural …

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Food waste

What do we mean by food waste? Food waste refers to food discarded at the retail or consumer level of the food system, such as produce failing to meet size/shape standards required by retailers. Food loss occurs before the retail system, for example arising from inadequate storage or poor handling processes. When it comes to …

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Why use a toy library?

The Toy World online magazine states that total toy sales in 2020 were a staggering £3.3billion, with the UK being the largest toy market in Europe and fourth largest globally.  This is a 5% increase on the previous year, ascribed to the Covid pandemic and time spent in lockdowns.  On the one hand, this conjures …

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