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I’m Alinta, an animal lover who writes reviews about cruelty free products as a distraction from my chronic illnesses. Read more…
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Bonsai and I looking happy and relieved to see that Australians actually voted for action on climate change this past weekend. Seeing the number of votes The Greens got is heartening. I hope that the joint pressure from both The Greens and the new teal independents will force the government to take proper action on the climate. I’m grateful for everyone who voted for a better future, but remember that the current Labor climate policy is severely lacking. Labors 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target (below 2005 levels) is only 43%, when we need the 75% reduction of The Greens plan. Your voice, time and action is still needed in this fight. There are heaps of Aussie environment and climate orgs that you can volunteer for and donate to. If you want recommendations just ask. Some Indigenous-led ones that you should donate to and check out are @ourislandsourhome @wjstandingourground and @seedmob.
I’m so happy that the LNP is no longer in power, but there is still a lot that Labor has no plans to fix - like the climate, refugees, First Nations treaties, Medicare etc. Some of you may be ‘sick of’ politics after the election, but if you want a better future, you need to fight for it.
These photos are from summer after @nicolegroch_hairmakeup did my hair and makeup with cruelty free and vegan products. The extra photos are so you can see my pretty @tasitravels sustainable dress which you can buy from @velvetyethical (affiliate link on my blog). Picnic rug is from @weaver.green_au and made from 100% recycled plastic bottles.
#auspol #ausvotes #climateaction #climateactionnow #lovealinta
13 hours ago
‘If you were going to pick a continent that is the worst possible place for human beings to live in the face of climate change it would be Australia.’ Prof Michael Mann, Climate Scientist at Pennsylvania State University, on ABC Four Corners.
Today is Earth Day so it is a good time to remember that we’re in a climate crisis. You are seeing the impacts of climate change all around you right now, but the worst is still to come - we need to act fast.
There are things we can do as individuals to live more sustainably like flying less, driving less, buying less, eating less meat etc. There are however some things that governments need to accomplish, and that will not happen unless you put pressure on them to do so. That means getting out there and protesting, mailing MPs, joining climate movements, and for Australians, that means voting for the climate in the federal election next month. The recent IPCC report has given the world three years to act. That makes your vote this election more important than ever.
Governments around the world need to work together to deliver massive reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, but Australia is just not pulling its weight. Our government has no plans to phase out coal and is in fact planning on digging up more. Australia is the second biggest coal exporter in the world. This cannot continue if we want to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Demand that the government keeps fossil fuels in the ground. Australia’s current climate policy is atrocious, but the election is coming, so you can do something about that. Please vote for the climate and don’t stop fighting once the election is over. Climate action is needed now, and every single one of your voices is needed to ensure that happens.
#earthday #climateactionnow #lovealinta
1 month ago
I promised the wedding vendor details and then forgot to follow through, so here they are.
Photography @rick_liston
Venue including food @yarravalleyestate
Hair and makeup artist @nicolegroch_hairmakeup
Celebrant @ceremonieswithsarah
Flowers @lilacandthecat
Cake @katscakesmelbourne
Rings @ethicaljewelleryaustralia
Dress @madilanebridal
Dress boutique @luvbridal
Dress alterations @seamworks.au
Prop hire @twilightglamping
If you know me, you’ll know I tried to make my wedding as ethical as possible. I think just about everything but the dress was ethical or sustainable in some way. My hmua, #NicoleGroch is so talented and she only uses cruelty free and vegan products. The venue, #YarraValleyEstate, is sustainably focused, they have solar panels, are carbon neutral and were happy to go along with all my sustainable ideas. All our food was vegan and vegetarian, we were going to do just vegan but I compromised and did the mix to stop family getting upset (but that happened anyway so I should have just gone with vegan). Our veg cake from #katscakesmelbourne had vegan and gluten free cupcakes with it so everyone could enjoy some cake. The flowers were from the sustainable florist #lilacandthecat who uses local blooms and no plastic/cellophane/floral foam etc. The rings from #ethicaljewelleryaustralia are made with lab diamonds and recycled platinum. As you can see, the photos were amazing. #RickListon is a local to the Yarra valley and is truly amazing at what he does. Continued in comments …
1 month ago
I have been MIA for a while, but that’s because I have some news … I got married on the 22/02/2022.
When I was a kid I always knew I wanted children myself, but I never thought I would get married. To be fair, I’m still not a big fan of weddings as a lot of the traditions are steeped in misogyny and the oppression of women, but I changed/cut out some of the parts that made me the most uncomfortable. In another world I would happily continue living the rest of my life with my partner and not get married, but we unfortunately live in a world where having a husband makes getting appropriate health care easier. I do plan on continuing to fight the sexism and ableism of the health care system, but sometimes I need a break, and having a husband will make that easier for me.
Anyway, now that I have told you the realities of the situation (because it would feel like a lie if I didn’t include that), I can tell you that we had a small covid safe wedding with those closest to us. We got to celebrate our love and see our families which we haven’t been able to do for the past 2 years. The day was so relaxed and I had such a wonderful time. And because it was so small, those there completely understood how necessary the covid protocols were that we had in place.
Since then, I’ve been back home in isolation again. Trying to wait out the virus so I don’t become another casualty. But I’m glad that I got to celebrate this milestone in my life, especially because it meant seeing loved ones.
And obviously because it’s me, I tried to make my wedding as ethical as possible so I’ll post some of that info in another post but I have to give credit to our wonderful photographer @rick_liston. If you need a Yarra Valley photographer check him out, he’s amazing.
#weddingday #lovealinta
2 months ago
Reminder - we don’t celebrate genocide around here. It is horrendous that there is a public holiday to celebrate the colonization of Australia. Australia Day needs to be abolished. If you don’t understand why, please read all the detailed information that has been put online for free by many amazing Indigenous creators. Show up for them and support them. I also recommend listening to the Frontier War Stories podcast so that you hear some real stories.
Oh, and before anyone says anything about “tradition” - Aus day has only been celebrated on the 26th since 1994. Whereas in 1938 Indigenous Elders called for a day of mourning on the 26th of Jan. There is no tradition here, and there is no celebrating invasion, colonization, dispossession and genocide. Indigenous people continue to be oppressed, so please show up for them tomorrow (and every day).
@nitv_au has a good round up of all events happening tomorrow. Because of case numbers, nothing in person is happening in Narrm (Melbourne) but there is an online dawn service starting at 5:15am being run by the Vic NAIDOC Committee.
#alwayswasalwayswillbe #invasionday
Image 1: Just a reminder we don’t celebrate genocide graphic by @sar.ra__ (check out her other artwork).
Image 2: stylized version of @aiatsis_ map - they sell hard copies of the original you can buy.
Image 3: Frontier War sites by University of Newcastle.
4 months ago
Ultraviolette recently released their Dream Screen skin tint. As I’ve explained previously, sunscreen is very important to me. Skin cancer is prominent in my family and I’m even fairer than the my other family members. I can get burnt within minutes of being in the sun, so I am always wearing sunscreen (and avoiding the sun) to try and prevent future skin cancer. The reason why this interested me is because it’s SPF 50 and it has a sheer dewy finish. I typically wear a bb/cc cream with SPF, but I always have to add so much white to it, making the SPF negligible. I can however actually wear Dream Screen in shade V1 without adding white, which is awesome. I use my Supreme Screen underneath, and then layer Dream Screen on top and they work well together. It’s important to remember to wear a base layer of sunscreen, as you’re unlikely to put enough of a tinted product on to get the labeled SPF coverage. The finish is a bit too dewy for me, so I use a little bit of translucent powder over the top, and then I’m good to go. The packaging is interesting. It’s a squeeze tube which makes it easy to use, but probably very hard to recycle. Dream Screen comes in 11 shades and is vegan. Ultraviolette is cruelty free but I really want to see them Leaping Bunny certified. I’ve got all of their sunscreens so I can post swatches of them, or do a video showing application if that interests anyone. Whatever helps you to wear more sunscreen, I’m willing to do 😬
Photo description - beige ultraviolette bottle laying in plain black background with ultraviolette products surrounding it.
@ultravioletteau #ultravioletteau #lovealinta
4 months ago
It’s Bonsai’s 9th birthday today. The vet is unsure how many more birthdays he’s going to get, so I’m giving him as much love as possible while he’s here. We got the news last month that his heart is failing, which is just another health problem my poor little guy has to deal with. He’s on lots of meds to reduce the symptoms, but there’s no way of slowing down heart failure for him. I thought I would get another 10 years together with him (being a chihuahua and all), so knowing his time is limited has been tough. He however has no idea he’s sick and is just as happy and silly as always. His weird antics continue to make me laugh every day, which is why I also wanted to remind you all to adopt your next pet - and don’t discount the sick or disabled ones, they can be amazing pets too.
Picture description - close up of blonde chihuahua looking at the camera with his tongue out and folded over.
#chihuahua #rescuedog #adoptdontshop #lovealinta
5 months ago
What is a sustainable product? I have spent months thinking about this and what I want to write and on my blog and post about here. There is no easy answer to this. Just when considering greenhouse emissions for a company alone, it’s immensely complicated. There was a good article in nature recently going over how Microsoft are trying to achieve net zero, but most companies don’t have the means that Microsoft does. Most companies rely on carbon offsets, which is often planting trees (problematic solution in itself), rather than ensuring their business has no emissions at all. And they don’t take into consideration all the emissions that occur from suppliers and freight of suppliers etc. Then there is the problem of waste. Ideally, I don’t want there to be any permanent waste to occur from any product I buy, but that’s certainly not the case. Most beauty products can’t even be recycled in curb-side recycling bins. I would preferably want my products to be biodegradable, refillable at home, or reused and refilled by the company so that there is no waste. However, I don’t know of an actual solution that encompasses those criteria for some things - like vegan makeup brush hairs as seen with eco tools brushes. I do prioritise this lower than single use plastic, as I get many years of use from makeup brushes. But it’s just another level of complexity that I’ve tried to figure out. So in saying all that, I don’t have the solution or a perfect company or product to talk about as I don’t know of one. I do however intend to support and share about the companies who are trying to be more sustainable. I hope that in supporting them, we will get to a point where companies can fit my ideal criteria. I would like to write a blog post on this but that requires more energy than I have right now - I would however love to hear your thoughts on sustainable products. What is a sustainable product to you? Eco tools was actually the first big company I ever noticed that was promoting eco beauty. It’s interesting how much has changed since then.
*press sample #lovealinta #sustainablebeauty #sustainablebrand #ecobeauty #ethicalbeauty #ecotools
8 months ago
Since the IPCC report was released on Monday I’ve seen a lot of people expressing how overwhelmed and helpless they feel about climate change. These feelings are absolutely valid. The situation we’re in is dire. The report confirmed that we are currently experiencing the effects of climate change which can be seen in the increase in extreme weather events. We’re currently sitting at 1.1 degrees and we will well overshoot 1.5 degrees by the end of the century if nothing changes. This will cause widespread suffering, death and destruction for humans, animals and ecosystems.
But there is good news. We know what the problem is and we know the solution. We can avoid the worst case scenario if we act now. De-carbonising the economy needs to be our top priority, we simply cannot rely on fossil fuels any longer. The most important thing you can do is to get involved and apply political pressure. That means voting for the people with the best climate policies, emailing your local representative, going to climate protests, physically blocking new fossil fuel infrastructure, telling everyone you know to also act - whatever it is you can do to make change, do it.
Australia was recently ranked last on climate action against 193 other UN member nations. This cannot continue. COP 26 is around the corner so speak up, tell the Aus gov that you want climate action now. I know many of you don’t have a degree about climate change like I do, so I’ve tried to make this simple and give you examples of what to do, and I’m happy to go into more detail or explain anything you don’t understand, just ask. Do your best to be informed and be prepared to fight for a better future. It will be worth it for every life, species and ecosystem that can be saved.
Picture from a Bloomberg article of a graph showing world average temp over 2000 years with obvious uptick since 1850. Title saying heat spike.
#climatechange #climateaction #ipcc #ipccreport #lovealinta
9 months ago
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