Emily Fletcher is the founder of the Clean and Conscious Awards, and the Head of Education + Research at Clean and Conscious. This year, we are celebrating our fifth year of running the awards, which is a huge milestone, and one that we would’ve never reached without the support of our followers. **This blog post is a transcribe of a Q&A video published on our Instagram account** What was your biggest motivator behind starting the awards? Well, I really wanted to create the most accessible way for all of us to be able to make easy decisions on the products we buy. I also wanted to highlig ..read more

Social Responsibility is the obligation of businesses and individuals to look after the planet, it’s people and their local and global communities. As a mother of 2 young children myself, the importance of doing all I can to create the best possible future world weighs heavily. In a world where drastic action is needed to curb the Climate Crisis, plastic pollution and human rights violations, the enormity of the problem may feel overwhelming. However, we as individual consumers have great power if we choose to only support Socially Responsible businesses through our purchases. Knowledge is Pow ..read more

It feels as though Christmas has crept up on us so quickly this year. Our lives, now without restrictions and back to full speed, made this year action packed, in sharp contrast to the previous ones. Our team has definitely enjoyed spending more time with friends and being able to engage with our local communities. We hope that you too have found joy in your re-emergence. In our family, our tree has been put up early and carols have excitedly begun to slip into our playlists – a warm, happy sparkle to end the year with! However, continuing with the change of habits that the previous few years ..read more

Social Responsibility is the obligation of businesses and individuals to look after the planet, it’s people and their local and global communities. As a mother of 2 young children myself, the importance of doing all I can to create the best possible future world weighs heavily. In a world where drastic action is needed to curb the Climate Crisis, plastic pollution and human rights violations, the enormity of the problem may feel overwhelming. However, we as individual consumers have great power if we choose to only support Socially Responsible businesses through our purchases. Knowledge is Pow ..read more

It feels as though Christmas has crept up on us so quickly this year, having only just had time to draw breath from the rollercoaster that was 2021. We hope that you’ve been able to find the rainbows that may have appeared amongst the chaos – more family time and time in nature being our team’s highlights. In our family, our tree has been put up early and carols have been playing for weeks with much excitement – a warm, happy sparkle to end the year with! However, continuing with the change of habits that this time has thrust upon us, we’ve been focusing on how to make sure our actions stay tr ..read more

Valentine’s Day represents a celebration of love and connection. This can be between a couple, family members, friends or for oneself. It’s a wonderful opportunity to let people know you care about them and a time we want to feel the aliveness of butterflies in our stomachs and joy in our own hearts too. Valentine’s Day ideas and gifts can unfortunately trigger a lot of landfill waste with shiny cards, wrapping, plastic and teddy bears, however it doesn’t need to. There are many ways to celebrate your love for another, whilst also caring the planet and its people. Here are our favourite consci ..read more

The desire to travel and explore once again is on my mind as I’m sure it is yours. With the uncertainty of lockdowns and being stuck overseas, I’ve found myself looking to our own beautiful country to meet my craving. More than ever, I am also aware of our planet and the impact of my own actions upon it – for better or for worse. With conscious intentional planning however, sustainable travel or even ‘Regenerative’ travel is possible – helping to leave a place even better than we found it. Here are my tips for having a planet positive effect from your adventures and to supporting incredible in ..read more

When we purchase products, whether it be for gifts or home, it is so easy to do it on the fly without much thought. Once we’ve found what we want, a ridiculously low price tag can feel like the ultimate win. After all, money doesn’t grow on trees! However, unfortunately when we dig just below the surface, those low prices often reflect a much darker and less desirable origin. With 168 million children between the ages of 5- 17 involved in child labour and slavery worldwide, it is important to make sure our personal purchases aren’t helping perpetuate the problem. Children are used in a range o ..read more

Conscious consumerism is our weapon as individuals to fight for the world we want. This movement is already effecting widespread change, however it becomes even stronger with every extra individual who joins in. Not only does making conscious purchases make us feel congruent with our values and good about ourselves, it’s also incredibly empowering knowing that our individual actions are having a true impact. What is Conscious Consumerism? Conscious consumerism is the understanding that every time we spend money, we are making a vote with our wallet, on the kind of world we want to support. I ..read more

For the longest time, my biggest hurdle to making conscious spending decisions myself, was feeling like I wasn’t in the financial position to support it. I desperately cared about the environment and the wellbeing of the people in other parts of the world who might be making my products, however there was then a disconnect between my actions and my ethics. I’ve come to realise there doesn’t need to be an inner conflict and I CAN stay congruent to my values by making informed and conscious purchases. All the whilst, actually sometimes saving money – or at least not spending any more than I woul ..read more