It has flown by, but one of my highlights in January was attending the Better Business Summit in Manchester.

Inspired by the Better Business Summit

It’s an annual gathering of inspiring people running businesses small and large, all finding ways to do business in a better way. There were conversations on all the topics you might imagine — paying staff fairly, making products with sustainability in mind, and questioning what each of us can do to both sell and shop more thoughtfully.

Rather than relay the whole thing here, go check out the post I wrote on the EcoSend Blog about the Better Business Summit.

Patagonia, clothing, and going back in time

One of the images that has stuck in my mind since the Summit was from the impossible-to-pronounce Patagonia movie about how our habits around buying clothing have changed over the last few hundred years.

There was a time, some years after we evolved from Neanderthals, but some years before today, where we had clothes, but significantly fewer.

There was a time where each of us had just two clothes hooks.

One hook was for our everyday clothes — the ones we wore to work the land and around the house for six days of the week.

The other clothes hook was for our special clothes — the fancier of the two options that would be worn to church on a Sunday — that we kept clean and pristine.

Some years later, supposedly the French aristocracy invented something called “fashion” and it’s all gotten a bit out of hand since then.

In today’s world of fast fashion, things have changed somewhat. Even compared to 1980 (quite recent in the scheme of things), as a percentage of household spending, spend on clothing has halved, while the number of items purchased has more than doubled.

What can I do about it?

It prompted me to ask, not just for my clothes, but for all aspects of my life: do I need as much stuff?

What do I need? What do I want? And what can I give to a better home?

Last weekend I found it therapeutic to clear out over 30 items of clothing, sending them all to the local charity collection.

I now have much more space in my wardrobe. I can see more easily what I have. And I appreciate the clothes I kept.

And I still need a LOT more than just two clothes hooks.

Other things

• I never normally catch the Super Bowl, but I always love to see the ads. Nike’s ad was my favourite this year. Incredible marketing, and a great sound track. So Win.
• Also Super Bowl related — the Half Time Show is quite something. Here’s a look at how they put on a full-on concert in the space of about 15 minutes. I am such a geek for insider information like this!
• The Art of Fauna is my favourite new iOS app / game — it’s a beautifully made puzzle