peppermint magazine - style, sustainability, substance

Autumn Issue 49

• Meet the winners of the Kindness Cup! • The climate activists fighting for change • Breaking the binary of gendered fashion • A fun upcycled DIY with thrifted business shirts • Chuckle your way to nirvana in a laughter yoga class • Healing country the First Nations’ way • Hack your diet to lower your carbon footprint • Go behind the seams of transparent fashion label Elk • Much-loved cook Alice Zaslavsky serves up salad gold in praise of veg •

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Five Takeaways from BrisStyle’s Create and Connect Conference

It feels like connection has never been more important than it is right now. Whether it’s actual in-person face time...

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Recipe: Who Says Hot Cross Buns Are Just for Easter?

Whoever decided hot cross buns could only be enjoyed at Easter, had another thing coming. And while store-bought always does...

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Everything You Need to Know About the Xinjiang Cotton Statements

This financial year, an estimated 24.3 million tonnes of cotton will be harvested worldwide. Around 20% of that crop comes...

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Made the Wide-strap Maxi Dress Yet? Here’s Some Hacks to Get You Hooked

There’s a whole lot to love about the Peppermint Wide-Strap Maxi Dress pattern. We collaborated with Lauren Boyle of Perth-based...

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11 Easy Ways You Can #SwitchForNature Beyond Earth Hour

Saving the planet doesn’t have to mean turning your life upside down. Australia has the opportunity to make the switch...

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The Monthly Mint: Everything We’re Loving and Living For This March

It’s time for another edition of The Monthly Mint – a chance for you to join in the Peppermint office chat...

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how to go a year without shopping – sustainable lifestyle

Challenge Accepted – Lessons From My Year Without Shopping

Last year I challenged myself to stop shopping. No new clothes, shoes, or accessories...

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Seven Tech Tools to Offset Your Online Footprint

Streaming a movie, sending an instant message or simply storing photos in the cloud – they’re the seemingly insignificant online...

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Five Reasons Why Being Kind Makes You Feel Good – According to Science

Everybody can appreciate acts of kindness. But when it comes to explaining why we do them, people often take one...

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Ocean Optimism: Restoring the Great Barrier Reef One Coral Fragment at a Time

The decline of the Great Barrier Reef has become a household topic as news of mass bleaching events flood the...

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Trash to Treasure: Six Australian Brands Reframing How We View Waste

Recycling may have its issues, but it’s still an important ‘R’ in the #reducereuserecyclerefuse life goals mantra. And as today...

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Sewing School: The Peppermint Valley Jumpsuit

Jump for joy in our latest free sewing pattern – the Peppermint Valley Jumpsuit! We worked with French patternmaker Raphaëlle Bonamy of...

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"Only when we start to understand the language of the land, can we read the landscape like a book."

- LEETON LEE, ISSUE 49

Weekend vibes - what bat are you today? We’re a strong top left with elements of bottom right 🦇⁠
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Conjuring images of disease, Dracula and death, it’s fair to say bats have had a bad rap in recent history. But in her latest photo essay, ‘Spilt Milk’, featured in our latest issue, @harrietspark_ of @grumpyturtlecreative goes out to bat for the furry critters keeping our forests healthy. ⁠
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Grab a copy at your local newsy or online now to see more of the adorable orphaned pups of @tolgabathospital.⁠
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They say don't cry over spilt milk but how could you not looking at those lil milky faces 😭⁠
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#peppermintmagazine #flyingfox #tolgabathospital

Peppermint stands with those on the streets demanding justice and a stop to Aboriginal deaths in custody on tomorrow's national day of action. Head to @stopblackdeathsincustody for more details about the marches happening across the country. ⁠⁠
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From @thedailyaus via @clothingthegap:⁠⁠
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"April 2021 marks 30 years since the Final Report was released following the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.⁠⁠
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These core recommendations have not been implemented. 30 years on and the situation is worse than ever.⁠⁠
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There have been more than 440 Aboriginal deaths in custody since the report was released.⁠⁠
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In 2020, these numbers had exploded to more than 13,000 people - the highest rate of incarceration of any group of people on the planet.”
@warrevolt ⁠⁠
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We encourage you to follow these accounts, learn more, be outraged and take action! ⁠⁠
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@warrevolt @stopblackdeathsincustody @dhadjowa_foundation @boorloojustice @lidiathorpegunnaigunditj" ⁠⁠
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Artwork from @thedailyaus
#NoJusticeNoPeace #StopBlackDeathsInCustody #blacklivesmatter

“ I mean... I couldn’t think of a better award to be winning. Kindness means the world to me — inject it into your space, pay it forward and celebrate the individuals around you.

I think it is THE COOLEST thing to be in a space that has a default setting of kindness. Kindness lifts, it doesn’t discriminate and it makes a world of difference. Most of all, kindness makes waves and moves mountains.”

Ahhh these words are music to our kindness-loving ears. (And how cute is this video?!). Meet Sarah Weston, who was our @bankaust People’s Choice Winner in our recent Kindness Cup.

Seeing a real need to weave kindness into her classroom, primary school teacher Sarah Weston, aka @giftedandtalentedteacher, created a free 20-Day Kindness Challenge which has since been downloaded 20,000 times. Grounded in a research-based approach to wellbeing, each day the resource presents a challenge to students and teachers alike to try something new, something kind or something to promote positivity within themselves, others or the world.

“My hope is to always make a difference beyond the four walls of my classroom,” Sarah says. “Kindness means lifting, loving and supporting. It means being proud of yourself and being proud of others. Kindness is an act that lifts one’s self, others and the world. When we are concerned with giving ourselves permission to focus on our social, physical, emotional, cognitive and spiritual wellbeing, we elevate our health and inadvertently move ourselves, and others, to a place of thriving. Kindness means being selflessly considerate about the feelings, emotions and wellbeing of others. When one receives a random act of kindness they are likely to pay it forward (the research shows – I promise!). Just as importantly, kindness means being a champion of our world. To volunteer and to consider the bigger picture. When we work as a collective, we don’t just make ripples, we make waves.”

We heart you Sarah, along with our 10 winners and every single person who was nominated. And of course big thanks to our friends at the @bcorpanz -certified @bankaust for helping make it happen. 🙏🏼

#thekindnesscup #kindness

"Small business tests you in all kinds of ways you might not expect so you have to be inspired and have a real love for what you’re doing to meet those challenges."⁠
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Since their meet cute moment in a Melbourne bar, artist @maggiemayyy__ and musician @joshkellymusic have created a life – and shop – filled with love, friendship and creativity. We caught up with the pair in Issue 49 – grab a copy today to read more. ⁠
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📸 by @kateshanasy. ⁠
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#peppermintmagazine #thinkthornbury #buylocal #localmakers #supportyourgirls

This financial year, an estimated 24.3 million tonnes of cotton will be harvested worldwide. Around 20% of that crop comes from one place: the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwest China.⁠
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Cotton farming has been a source of contention since time immemorial – from the British Calico Acts to slavery in the American South and the drying of the Aral Sea. In recent years, strides have been made to regulate and monitor the environmental and human impact of the cotton industry. But it wasn’t enough to prevent yet another cotton controversy from erupting, this time around human rights abuses and forced labour in the world’s second-largest cotton producing nation.⁠
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So what exactly are the Xinjiang cotton statements, what prompted China to retaliate by boycotting the brands, and what does it all mean for the fashion industry more broadly? Over on the blog, we take a closer look. Head to the link in our bio to dive in and read more!⁠
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#peppermintmagazine #xinjiangcotton #sustainablefashion #ethicalfashion #socialimpact

Whoever decided hot cross buns could only be enjoyed at Easter, had another thing coming. And while store-bought always does the trick to curb our cravings, there’s not much better than indulging in a fresh bun, straight from the oven when the chocolate stash runs dry. *Wipes away drool.*⁠
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We feel for our gluten-free friends though, so to ensure no one misses out this long weekend (and beyond), our wonderful friends over at the much-loved @nododonuts have given us their hot cross buns recipe so you can indulge in their famous treats wherever you are! Full disclosure: you won’t be able to eat just one. Hit the link in our bio to get baking now!⁠
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📷 @nododonuts⁠
#peppermintmagazine #glutenfreeeaster #hotcrossbuns #glutenfreebakery #nodo #nododonuts #glutenfree

"Reading is an exercise in empathy; an exercise in walking in someone else’s shoes for a while." — Malorie Blackman⁠
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And if you’re in need of a good read this long weekend, our latest issue is packed to the brim with beautiful yarns about those doing good in the world, if we do say so ourselves. ⁠
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One such story comes from Melbourne label @elkthelabel who, standing steadfast in an industry buffeted by the trendy winds of fast fashion, is holding itself to account while plotting a roadmap to a more transparent future. ⁠
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Have you picked up a copy yet? Let us know what you thought below 👇. If not, grab a copy from our website or your local stockist today and embrace the kind of slow considered read you can only get in print! ⁠
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📸 by @elkthelabel⁠
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#peppermintmagazine #sustainablefashion #ethicalfashion #naturalbeauty #socialenterprise #regeneration #socialimpact #climatechange #handmade #bodypositivity #giveback #worldchangers

Anyone else keen to find their sewjo this long weekend? ⁠
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There’s a whole lot to love about the Peppermint Wide-Strap Maxi Dress pattern. We collaborated with Lauren Boyle of Perth-based pattern label @elbe_textiles back in Issue 44, to create this effortless wardrobe staple – the quintessential throw-on dress to take you from day-to-night and season-to-season.⁠
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And by the looks of it, you love it too – judging from all the unique and creative versions you’ve been sewing up! We’ve been so inspired by all your makes, we decided to round up just some of the lovely versions and clever hacks that have caught our eye at Peppermint HQ.⁠
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Not only is this pattern very wearable in it’s full-length glory, it’s easily ‘hackable’ too. You could shorten it into a floaty summer top, add gathered tiers for extra flounce factor or create a patch-work inspired look. The only limit is your imagination!⁠
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Maybe you’ve had your eye on it for some time and it hasn’t quite made it to the top of your sewing pile yet, and you need a little reminder to get your maxi on. Or possibly you’ve already made it and need some inspo for version two (or maybe three…?). Head to the link in our bio for a few tips, tricks and treats from our friends in the sewing community.⁠
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📸 by @jasper_creek ⁠
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#peppermintmagazine #peppermintpatterns #peppermintmaxidress #freesewingpatterns #sewersofinstagram #freepatterns #memade #sewcialists #slowfashion #sewinglove #makeityourself

It's easy to forget that each time we hit send, search or play we're consuming energy, and that what we do online has real impacts in the offline world.⁠
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But as more and more of us start to consider the link between our digital footprint and carbon footprint, a new suite of tools and services has emerged to help us monitor and offset our impact. ⁠
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A more sustainable online presence is just a few clicks away. Head to the link in our bio for seven tech alternatives you can start using to offset your online footprint today.⁠
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#peppermintmagazine #sustainabletech #sustainabledesign #greentech

Trans rights are human rights!

Today is #TransDayOfVisibility – a day dedicated to celebrating trans people and their achievements while raising awareness of the discrimination faced by trans people worldwide. It’s an important day to listen and start conversations and @parkourpierre has put together this incredible resource for talking about gender. As @minus18youth says: “Raise up the voices of trans folks, celebrate your mates, brush up on your knowledge, and rally your community!”

#transgenderpride #translivesmatter #transrightsarehumanrights

“We should be considering building orientation for climate comfort; building smaller, better-quality homes; and stop knocking down trees and instead design around them. We also need to consider how design can impact our interaction with the local community. We can either build a big wall and block everyone out, or do something generous and responsive to neighbouring blocks. We need to think local." ⁠
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Brisbane-based architecture collective @five_mile_radius is out to prove a local approach to architecture can build a better world. We caught up with founder and sustainable building advocate Clare Kennedy in our latest issue to find out how the team is going the extra mile. ⁠
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#peppermintmagazine #sustainablearchitecture #closedloopdesign #buildwithwhatyouvegot #socialimpact

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