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By Ellie Peach
LaBante's new collection of trainers are made from primarily recycled Apple skin leather. They are a beautiful combination of style and practicality while being completely environmentally friendly. In fact, they are so advantageous to the planet (in addition to the ten trees planted with each order) your carbon footprint is actually reduced by purchasing a pair.
So what is apple skin leather?
Apple skin leather is a great natural alternative to animal hide leather. It is durable and breathable while also being hypoallergenic and UV resistant. But the most important thing about it is; it is entirely sustainable and ethical.
How is it made?
Manufacturing the leather involves dehydrating the apple waste and turning it into powder. The powder is then mixed with natural ingredients and a binder and spread onto a sheet until it naturally becomes a flexible leather material. Finally, it is mixed with polyurethane to create more durability and become PETA approved vegan leather.
Why is it good for the environment?
We source the apples from Tyrol, a region in Italy with a sizable juicing industry and a bountiful harvest of fruit for our new range of products, Apple Leather Shoes. Naturally, this industry created a lot of waste products, and the pulp, skin and core were often discarded, having no other usage. This is not the case anymore. We can now make vegan leather by recovering this waste product and transforming it into a sustainable material combined with other recycled fabrics to produce a textured fabric that looks and feels like genuine leather. Whats more, the few virgin materials used means fewer natural resources are extracted from the planet, creating lower emissions and lower energy consumption across the entire production.
Our new collection
LaBante's new line of unisex shoes are primarily made from this apple skin leather, the laces are made from recycled plastic bottles, and the sole is made from a recyclable plant-based rubber. Thus, making the entire shoe not only vegan and sustainable but breathable and comfortable for your feet. The sustainability message embroidered onto the back of the shoe showcases your commitment to the environment, and LaBante will plant ten trees for each purchase making the purchase itself carbon-negative- a fab step in the right direction for sustainable consumerism!
Head over to the website's bespoke page for more information and preorder your new apple leather shoes in Black, White and Nude!
By Ellie Peach
Mother's Day is the one dedicated day to shower your mum with love and little presents to tell her how much you appreciate her (this is not to say you shouldn't be doing this all the time, but this day is the most important!). Here are some excellent ideas to give your mum the most special day, no matter how last minute you leave it!
1. Bake a cake and serve afternoon tea!
Baking something from scratch is a small but touching way to tell someone you really care about them. If you have children, you could also let everyone help out with the decorating making it a fun family bonding activity. Home-baked goods added to your outdoor tea party is a fun way to spend time with a mother who loves to be around nature and her family. You can give some freshly picked flowers and spend the day relaxing and eating the little treats you've spent time making.
If you haven't spent quality time with your mother for a while, often just having a good catch up, whatever the location will be so lovely. Make it perfect by making the place comfy and cute to show you care. The past few years have been tough on many families with not being able to see each other, so go all out this Mother's Day if you are able. Alternatively, if you won't see your mum this Mother's Day, perhaps arrange a video call. You can spend a few hours talking while making cakes and having the tea party separately but together.
2. Matching LaBante necklaces and a mini boat trip or booze cruise!
If you have any lakes or rivers nearby, a mini cruise is a fun outing to go with your mum. This doesn't have to be on a big fancy yacht; a longboat would be equally entertaining and relaxing! You can choose whether you want it to be a social occasion by selecting a group boat trip or a more personal one with only the two of you. Just imagine how lovely a little trip with only you, your mother and a glass of champagne would be!
You could give her a LaBante heart or star pendant necklace to round the day off. It is the perfect 'I love you' that doesn't need words, and It is sure to get you both feeling very nostalgic and grateful for one another.
3. Relaxing spa day and follow up dinner.
If you both need some peace, what better place than a spa to spend some time together while melting your troubles away. After this, you will feel so refreshed and calm that you will relish the idea of going out for a meal and sharing a bottle of wine with your mum.
Book a nice restaurant with a cuisine you both enjoy to tell your mum you love her! A sweet way to finish the day is a little gift to show her that you appreciate everything she has done for you. Perhaps buying corresponding LaBante clutches so you can play well off of one another. What's more, purchasing twin bags like this will ensure wherever you both are, you always have something to make you feel close to one another.
4. Apple leather shoes and a shopping spree in a city.
If you are your mum and shopaholics or just love walking or exploring, then a city escape is the perfect gift. Walk around the high street while catching up and stop in a little cafe for lunch and a coffee. There is usually some event in a bigger city, particularly on special occasions such as Mother's Day, so maybe be spontaneous and go to one. It could be anything from a comedy show to sculpting experience days! Just have a look around until you see something that might pique both of your interests. Spontaneous outings are always the most fun, so make the day memorable! An excellent way to treat your mum is a nice new pair of LaBante apple leather shoes. She's been walking all day; time to spoil her with some new fancy flats that will not only make her feet happy but the planet too! Being so sustainable, they are the best choice for eco-conscious mums!
Mindfulness is taking time to relax in a day and not worry about trivial things. This might be a five-minute meditation, a quick dance around the room, or just spending some quality time with your thoughts. It is essential to incorporate mindfulness in your daily routine because it can directly influence your outlook on life and mental health. It becomes even more critical when you think about how poor mental health could affect us physically. It's time we all make some changes.
Labante London’s classy ‘Mae’ bag in pink has been featured in the Victoria and Albert Museum in the ‘bags: inside out’ exhibition. The exhibition is running now until the 16th of January 2022, so be sure to check out the exhibition where our bag and other amazing designers work have been featured.
Choosing what to buy for a woman who deserves the world can be challenging, but we're here to help with some present ideas you just can’t go wrong with, worthy of the queens they are, for the upcoming holiday! These ideas take the environment into consideration making them low impact presents in terms of sustainability.
Father’s Day is just around the corner, this year happening on Sunday the 21st June.
Fathers are celebrated in the UK on the third Sunday of every June (in case you have trouble remembering).
If you’re only realising this now, don’t worry, there’s still plenty of time to buy a gift, and here at LaBante London, we have a list of all of the most popular gifts to buy for Father’s Day.
Father’s Day is about honouring all of the special male role models in our life, and it’s a day that so many get a massive amount of joy from. But how did it all start?
We’ve put together a short history of the day, and even discovered some interesting facts about the way that it’s celebrated in countries around the world.
Unlike Mother’s Day, which is a traditional Christian holiday in the UK, known as ‘Mothering Sunday’, the premise behind Father’s Day is a lot more modern. It also took a lot longer to become acknowledged.
Britain actually followed America in celebrating Father’s Day, so when the date was set to the third Sunday in June, the Brits quickly followed suit. The history of Father’s Day in America – and therefore in the UK – has a couple of different origins.
The first ever Father’s Day happened in 1908, when a West Virginian Church held a special sermon honouring fathers, after 362 men were killed in a mining accident. Parishioners gave out flowers, both red and white, to honour the living and the dead, in commemoration of all that our fathers do for us.
However, the church community here didn’t celebrate it again, and it seems that it was more linked to the mining accident than a serious attempt at a national holiday.
In 1909, the year after the ‘Father’s Day’ in West Virginia, a woman called Sonora Smart Dodd made it her mission to set up a national Father’s Day. Upset by the fact that there was a Mother’s Day, but no corresponding day for fathers,
Dodd petitioned her local community and government to change this. Originally, she wanted Father’s Day to be on June 5th, which was her own father's birthday, as a way of honouring him. He was a Civil War veteran who had raised six children on his own after his wife died during childbirth.
Washington state celebrated its first Father’s Day in June 1910, although it was delayed until June 16th.
Father’s Day slowly spread to other states, however it was never really as popular as Mother’s Day. This is partly due to women seeming to be more sentimental, and so therefore more appreciative of gifts and expressions of thanks. Ideas such as this seem totally outdated to us now, but it was what many men thought, and the day didn’t always go over well.
That all seemed to change in World War II, when advertisers grabbed an opportunity to use Father’s Day to promote the troops out on the field. By the time the war was over, Father’s Day was a national institution.
Richard Nixon finally declared Father’s Day a national holiday in 1972 when he signed it into law in the middle of his re-election campaign. The UK by this stage was already celebrating Father’s Day after following America's example. Now it’s the day that we all know!
In the 1930’s in America, there was a campaign to get rid of both Mother’s Day and the emerging Father’s Day, and to have an all-inclusive Parents Day. This was quickly defeated, in part because the local economy got a boost from people buying gifts and cards for two separate events.
When is Father’s Day? It all depends on where you are in the world.
Many countries, including Spain, Italy and Croatia, celebrate Father’s Day on March 19th. This is due to the links with Roman Catholicism that this date has. March 19th is the Feast Day of St Joseph, the husband of Mary and adoptive father to Jesus. This day was traditionally used to celebrate the fatherhood as well as spiritual fathers.
In Russia, Father’s Day is celebrated on February 23rd and is known as ‘Defender of the Fatherland Day’.
It was originally created to support the people in the armed services and was made a state holiday in 2002 by President Putin. Now however, it has incorporated aspects of Father’s Day from around the world, and gifts are given to important men in your life, including dads, husbands, and boyfriends.
In Thailand, Father’s Day is celebrated on the late King Bhumibo’s birthday, on the 5th of December. Seen as the father of Thailand, the country not only remembers him, but commemorates fathers everywhere.
Father’s Day is about spending time with those special men in our lives, whether it's an overdue visit home, or a special meal out.
However you choose to celebrate, it’s important that you choose the right gift.
Father’s Day present ideas can be a difficult thing to come up with. The presents have always revolved about traditional ‘male’ gifts, although nowadays there is a huge range to choose from. Here's a list of the most popular gifts that dads are given to help you make up your mind.
The main event, a card is one of the staple gifts for Father’s Day. From the days when you made them in school, to when you were too broke to get anything else, a card is a small token of appreciation every dad loves.
Whether it’s gushing and sentimental or a big joke, giving a card is a must, and is the thing that makes dads smile across the country. Sure, it’s commercialised the day massively, we all know it. Yet there’s something about a card that really sticks with us, and so no one really minds at all.
A tie is still the UK’s most popular Father’s Day gift choice, and it’s certainly traditional.
From cartoon ties, to ties dotted with fish, tractors, or golf clubs, there’s something for everyone, and making your dad wear the most ridiculous one possible has always been endlessly entertaining.
It’s also practical and the type of gift that every dad can appreciate. After all, there’s always going to be an occasion to wear a tie at some point.
What is it with dads and socks? They love getting them, we love giving them. For Father’s Day, it can be even more difficult to know what to buy than at Christmas, which is why socks are another one of those safe, practical go-to gifts.
Like your mum and a nice bunch of flowers, everyone appreciates a good pair of comfy, long-lasting socks to keep their feet warm and dry.
A stylish gift that your dad can carry around with him everywhere, wallets make amazing Father’s Day gifts.
Of course, there’ll always be the joke that his children are the only reason he has to open it. Yet a proper, good quality wallet is something that every man it your life can appreciate.
Here at LaBante London, we have a beautiful range of high-quality microfiber leather wallets for you to choose from. This vegan leather is not only 100% cruelty free, it is strong and durable, and can survive all of the wear and tear a man's wallet is put through.
Alcohol is one of those ‘thanks for putting up with me’ presents for Father’s Day. It’s also a great way to show your dad that you know what his favourite tipple is – and maybe even spend a bit more and treat him to something top-shelf.
Alcohol is a gift that adults give adults. You might not be a kid anymore, but you’re still his child. A gift of alcohol can be cracked open and shared between parent and child – and it’s moments like those that every dad is sure to treasure.
Whatever you decide to buy your dad this Father’s Day, we’re sure that they’ll love it. There are so many unusual gift ideas out there that if the traditional isn’t for you, maybe your dad would like something that helps others instead.
Giving to your dad’s favourite charity on their behalf is a great example of this. Not only are you showing that you care about the same issues that they do, they’ll appreciate your effort much more than simply buying some last-minute chocolates.
In order to help reverse climate change and make the world a more sustainable place to live in, we need as many trees as we can get. The National Forest has a scheme where you can dedicate a tree to someone for whatever the occasion, and we think that it makes a great Father’s Day present idea.
So there you have it, Labante’s guide to all things Father’s Day. Remember at the end of the day, spending some time with the important men in our lives is more important than any gift. It’s great that we have a day that we can show them how much we appreciate all that they do for us.
In the next week, two major conservation days are happening: World Environment Day, and World Oceans Day.
Both of these are sponsored by the UN, making them global events that encourage sustainability and education about the world around us, and the impact that humans are having on it.
Here at LaBante, we’re here to give you all of the details, so you can get involved in your own way, and learn how to celebrate while campaigning for a better world.
World Environment Day is celebrated on the 5th of June each year. Its aim is to raise awareness for a wide range of environmental issues, and it has a different theme every year, as well as a different host country. In 2019, the theme is Air Pollution and the host country is China.
World Environment Day is a brainchild of the United Nations General Assembly, which is why it is a day of worldwide participation. The very first Environment Day was in 1974, with the theme of ‘One Earth’ and it has grown and grown ever since to what we know today.
Celebrities get involved in raising awareness alongside businesses, NGOs and governments to encourage action on dealing with the major issues our environment faces such as climate change, wildlife protection, overpopulation and plastic pollution.
People celebrate WED in all different types of ways. From cleaning up beaches, to planting trees, anything goes as long as it shows care and consideration for the world in which we live.
This year, people are being asked to take a picture of themselves wearing a mask and post it onto social media, in support of the many people in our world who aren’t breathing clean air.
Other things that people are doing to celebrate WED are:
You may not think that air pollution is that bad as many recent environmental protection campaigns have been concentrating more on the problem of plastic, however it is an area of major concern.
Did you know that approximately 7 million people worldwide die prematurely each year from air pollution? Around 4 million of these deaths happen in the Asia-Pacific region, which is why China is playing host to WED this year, as it is a country that is greatly affected by this issue.
If renewable energy sources can be encouraged and money put into researching green technology, this air pollution can be reversed, saving millions of lives around the world and helping to solve global warming at the same time.
Renewable energy and green technologies can improve air quality in cities and regions across the world.
92% of people worldwide do not breathe clean air.
Not all causes of air pollution are man-made, with dust storms and volcanoes being major contributors. However, we can’t deny that humans have a massive impact on the quality of our air. Here are just a few ways that we cause this.
Agriculture has a big impact on air pollution.
Livestock produce huge quantities of both methane and ammonia, which have a terrible impact on our environment and contributes greatly to global warming.
Another way in which agriculture causes air pollution is the burning of agricultural waste.
One of the best ways to combat this is to reduce the amount of meat we eat and try to support vegan products. Here at LaBante, all of our products are 100% vegan, because we don’t think that any animal has to die for fashion. Not only this, but it is so much better for the environment, and new alternatives to leather are being invented all of the time.
The burning of fossil fuels, particularly in the developing world, to light and heat homes has a large impact on air pollution.
3 billion people still use this type of fuel around the world. Not only is modern technology safer to use, it will also reduce illnesses caused by breathing in smoke.
Power-plants, diesel generators, and other industrial processes that use chemicals, continue to pollute our air all over the world.
While renewable sources are used, more can still be done to encourage governments to move towards cleaner, more efficient energy.
Our cars, planes, and other methods of transport all effect our air quality. This is particularly true of diesel emissions.
Investing in better public transport, and cleaner cars, is a must if we are to keep these emissions to a minimum. Cleaner fuels alongside technology can reduce vehicle emissions by 90%
Across the globe, an estimated 40% of waste is burned out in the open. This releases a whole host of harmful toxins and gases into our atmosphere, which we then breathe in.
Improving how we manage the waste that we produce is the only solution.
Composting for biofuel is one way of improving this, producing an alternative energy source at the same time. Recycling is also to be encouraged. The linings of our handbags are made from recycled plastic bottles, which are first turned into pellets, and then into material.
We also have a zero-waste packaging policy, so you won’t be putting anything in a landfill when you buy one of our products.
World Oceans Day takes place every year on the 8th of June.
It was originally brought about in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio, to bring our oceans into the foreground of environmental policy. Ever since 2010, effort has stepped up to promote World Oceans Day with many NGOs and leading organisations coming onboard to celebrate and campaign to protect our oceans and the wildlife that lives in them.
The original concept was for World Ocean Day, singular, as our ocean is a global one. However in 2009, ‘World Oceans Day’ became officially recognised by the UN, so the name was changed, as this endorsement helped to bring our oceans to the attention of people and governments around the world.
There are a lot of special events that are organised to celebrate World Oceans Day, including special events at aquariums and zoos, beach clean ups, photographic contests, and sustainable seafood events.
The World Oceans Day Youth Advisory Council has been heavily involved in efforts to save the ocean since 2016.
World Oceans Day is a day to think about everything the ocean provides for us, and to consider environmental sustainability and conservation.
The ocean iso important because it:
This year, the United Nations brought two big topics together: gender and the Oceans. This is the theme of the 2019 World Oceans Day and is seeks to explore the gender dimension of our relationship with the ocean. This might sound strange at first, but it makes sense.
Even in environmental and conservation work, there is very little gender equality, and the same goes for areas such as marine biology, within fisheries, and policy making, etc. Our oceans are also used for human trafficking, which is something that the UN continues to oppose. By using World Oceans Day as a platform, we can bring these issues to the attention of a global audience.
Plastic also has a major impact on our oceans, which is one of the issues that World Oceans Day does its best to raise awareness about. "There will be more plastic than fish in our oceans by 2050 if we continue on the path we are on" reported the World Economic Forum in 2016.
This year, the President of the General Assembly launched ‘Play It Out', a global campaign against plastic pollution. The ‘Attenborough Effect’ has seen the general public’s perception of plastic and our oceans change dramatically in the last year, with people now campaigning against single use plastic in straws, as well as the use of plastic bags for our groceries.
Decades of overuse of these items has led to a global environmental catastrophe, and the worst part of it is, these plastics will take hundreds of years to break down, and so will be impacting marine life for many more years to come.
At LaBante London, one of our main goals is to do as much as we possibly can towards environmental sustainability. That’s why all of our materials come from sustainable sources.
We pay all of our workers a fair wage, because the global environment means caring for each other as well. You can check out our 100% vegan handbags here.
However you're celebrating World Environment Day and World Oceans Day, we hope you have a rewarding and inspiring day.
Share the Love, Spread the Change!Love your LaBante?
Now’s your chance to share it with someone special! Introduce a friend to our world of sustainable luxury, and you’ll both enjoy a treat. It's our way of saying thank you for helping grow our eco-conscious community. Let’s make a difference together—one friend at a time!
Help us support a better tomorrow.
