The Ancient Wisdom Issue

Ancient wisdom for modern life • How to be happy • Why straws suck • Op Shop to Runway • Natural wines • Perfect houseplants • Fresh zero-waste tips • Who Gives a Crap • Sisters doin’ it for themselves • Wide-leg pants pattern •

Buy now

A print magazine about style, sustainability and substance

Buy a subscription
Kangan Institute Rags to Runway

Fashion focus: Rags to Runway

We all know the damage fast fashion does to both people and planet – someone, somewhere is always paying the...

Read more
Oxfam Fairtrade Fortnight

FAIRTRADE FORTNIGHT: why it matters

Oxfam worker Kate Bensen recently spent time in Nepal, meeting women who make some of the fair trade products sold...

Read more
Low Tow Life and Peppermint magazine: Buy nothing new curry

RECIPE: Buy-nothing-new curry

We’re rounding out Plastic Free July with a recipe that embraces no-waste living with gusto – imploring you to use...

Read more
Plastic Free July Bin Audit

Bin your plastic habit

We all need a little help when it comes to cutting down our waste, and this Plastic Free July we’re...

Read more

ISSUE 38: FREE SEWING PATTERN

Have you sewn yourself this season’s hottest trouser shape yet – the wide-leg pant? This cute version (above) of our...

Read more

SIX SEASONS: Wattleseed Chocolate Pudding

Did you know the calendar of the South West’s Nyoongar people includes six different seasons? Birak, Bunuru, Djeran, Makuru, Djilba and...

Read more
Never ever pay retail and Peppermint: op shopping denim jacket

OP SHOP GOLD: one jacket, five ways

We love op shopping, you love op shopping, we all love op shopping, right?! For Hannah Klose, aka the gal...

Read more
QUT The Bowerbird and the Bride

Calling all vintage fans…

If you love vintage frocks and you can get to Brissie from now until 19 August, we recommend you make...

Read more

Indigenous fashion inspiration

As CIAF kicks off again this Thursday evening, top art collectors from across the country converge on Cairns to soak...

Read more

Winning The War On Fashion

In case you missed it, the War On Waste took out the gong for Most Outstanding Documentary at this year’s...

Read more
Plastic free July: Low tox life Alexx Stuart

HOW TO: go low-plastic

Happy Plastic Free July! In the month where we try extra hard to give plastic the heave-ho for good, we’re...

Read more
Peppermint magazine: ethical winter warmers

AWESOME ETHICAL WINTER WARMERS

We must confess we look forward to winter each year – not just for the idea of drinking steaming cups...

Read more

The benefits of looking to the past are very straightforward: pure simplicity

- COSTA GEORGIADIS, ISSUE 38

hang out with us on instagram

  • In a small, light-filled kitchen in the heart of Byron Bay’s green hinterland, Carter Were is lovingly kneading the dough for one of her signature breads. Her gluten-free sprouted buckwheat bread, fresh organic sourdough loaves, and chiefly, her show-stopping sourdough crispbreads gently pressed with edible flowers and flavoursome herbs have become the talk of the town. She sells these – alongside other homemade or homegrown goods, including baked treats, fruit, vegetables, kraut and pickles – through her business Were Bros: a tiny food delivery company with heart that’s been embraced by the Byron Shire’s tight-knit, food-loving community. A lover of travel, Carter first realised “what good food was” while living and working in Greece and becoming acquainted with the local way of eating. “I learnt that as long as you have good-quality ingredients on hand – like olive oil, lemon and salt – you can make anything taste great,” she says. It was during this time that she also realised the joy she got from being in the kitchen and transforming simple ingredients into something beautiful: “I think I love food because it’s a creative outlet for me – I enjoy using my hands,” she explains. . . Read more in Issue 38 of our cover story on Carter Were from @werebros. Words by Sonya Gellert, photos Nat McComas. #peppermintmagazine #jerf #foodmadewithlove #localfood #realfood
  • “Fast fashion may have a cheap price tag but it comes with massive ethical and environmental costs. A recent survey by YouGov found that 3 in 10 Australians have thrown away clothing after wearing it just once. This cheap throwaway mentality adds up to an incredible amount of waste and we really need to ask the question – when is enough, enough?” 〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️ These are the wise words of Vicki Nicola - a teacher at Melbourne’s Kangan Institute’s Diploma of Applied Fashion Design and Merchandising. Students on the course take part in Rags to Runway - a project where they’re challenged to use recycled materials for a collection that’s then shown as part of Melbourne Fashion Week. With this year’s event taking place on 4 September, we’ve got interviews with Vicki and course student, Amy Butler, over on the website 👉👉👉👉👉 Enjoy!
  • It felt special sitting with Durga in her home and workshop, with all of her sisters, knowing that they were earning a fair wage and loving their work. After spending the last few weeks meeting women in Nepal who were married as children – some as early as six years old – and unable to earn an income, it was overwhelmingly encouraging to hear such strength and success from an unmarried woman, able to support herself and her family so wholly. “I am not married. Neither is my elder sister,” Durga says with a proud smile. “In a way, I’m free to go anywhere… I am most happy about that.” I ask Durga how she feels about working for a Fairtrade certified supplier and what this means directly for her. “There are many things I want to say but I would like to thank you all for buying our products, because it gives us employment and we don’t have to remain unemployed. “Because of them, we have been able to have two meals a day. Without work, we won’t be able to feed ourselves, and now we have work. Please give my regards to all of them and also express my gratitude.“ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oxfam worker Kate Bensen recently spent time in Nepal, meeting women who make some of the fair trade products sold in Oxfam stores. On our website, for Fairtrade Fortnight, she shares her story of seeing firsthand the life-altering difference of trading fairly. @oxfamaustralia #fairtradefortnight #shopfairtrade #fairtradematters #humanrights #womensrights #shopethical
  • Hello, hump-day deliciousness in the form of the dreamiest doughnuts! These guys were whipped up using Just Blends pea powder which you can get from @zianibeauty – an online treasure trove of organic, natural and locally made health and beauty products that's just one of our awesome, discount-offering Issue 38 Marketplace partners! These special discounts are only available for a couple more weeks (before Issue 39 hits the shelves), so head to the Reader Offers section of our website for all the money-saving deets! [📸by the amazing @featherandcrumb]
  • In Melbourne and into natural dyeing? Then this is your time to shine, as from 20 August – 10 September there's all manner of natural dye wizardry coming your way! The Festival of Natural Dyes will be popping up right across the Melbourne area in the form of a conference, an exhibition and a whole load of classes on everything from shibori to eco dyeing – all tied together with the idea that perfect palettes can come from plants and be specific to a place. Colour us happy!
  • On the other side of the world it’s summer and our free drawstring shorts pattern is enjoying its time in the sun. We’re loving this pair from @trine.schroeder ❤️#peppermintpatterns #peppermintdrawstringshorts @wearethefabricstore #thefabricstore #freepatterns #freesewingpatterns (P.S last day to subscribe to receive our 10th anniversary issue - shipped plastic free!)