Sustainable Squad

Mooncup menstrual cups is a Brighton based business and they've saved over 3 billion plastic period products from entering our oceans and landfill over the last 20 years. I'm talking to Senior Marketing Manager Lena Koskela about periods, culture, women's sport, how to use a Mooncup and top tips as well as what Mooncup is doing to waste less and buy better. It was a pleasure to chat about our pers...

This mother and son team, Nish and Ru, invited me in their home to cook and eat with them for this humbling episode. Majahma is based in Brighton and they deliver authentic and incredible veggie and vegan Indian thalis in stainless steel tiffins - an Indian style stacked lunchbox. Made to order to reduce food waste, delivered in a reusable and returnable tiffin to reduce plastic waste. Simply sign...

Shane Jordan is a food waste chef from Bristol who cooks plant based meals using every edible part of his ingredients. Shane shares how he got into cooking through the charity Food Cycle and how he came to write and publish his book, Food Waste Philosophy. You can take more inspiration on plant based eating and recipe ideas from his Instagram account.

This was a fun chat with Martyn Odell aka Lagom Chef. Martyn has recently been on the new Jamie Oliver TV show - The Great Cookbook Challenge, where he cooked a tasty looking meal while pitching his cookbook idea to a panel of judges including Penguin books.   We find out how he became a chef and what inspired him to focus on food waste. We go slightly off piste talking about ultra running and his...

For the first time ever, I recorded my podcast infront of a live audience and it was so much fun. For this episode, I had 3 guest speakers sharing information and ideas and answering live questions on how to tackle food waste. My guest speakers were Kelly Dibbert from Fare Share Sussex - Fighting Hunger, Tackling Food Waste. Paul Loman from The Real Junkfood Project in Brighton - Feeding bellies,...

Learning about natural wine while drinking it? I'm IN! This week I'm joined by sommelier and wine consultant Ania at a great little venue in Brighton called Vine Street Tap.  Ania loves natural wine and has a big appreciation for the process and the individual style of each wine maker. We tried 3 different natural wines during our chat and I learnt so much about why it's natural, sustainable and t...

I'm delighted to be launching series 4 with one of the newest restaurants in Brighton, Kusaki. Serving plant based Japanese food and drinks in the Preston Circus area. Kusaki is the latest venue to be opened by owner Fabio Lauro who also owns Wolfox, Six, Food for Friends and Botanique.  I'm joined by Michelin trained executive chef Reuben Waller and operation manager India De Silva at the end of...

With so many more people growing vegetables and plants over the last 12 months, it's my pleasure to be talking to Miles from Mileshky's Beets & Beats about his allotment plot, battles with greenhouses, chilli sauces, fermenting veg and doing his first 'no dig' this Spring. He loves his music and my favourite saying of his is Plants Love Trance. His chilli sauce is available to buy and it's delicio...

We have enough clothing on the planet right now to cloth the next 6 generations of the human race. This is why a business like Super Looper, a rental service for baby and toddler clothing, is the future. I'm joined by founder Jenny to find out more about the service, the clothes and the support you get as a new mum. You can find this amazing business on social @superlooperlife and online superloop...

I'm joined by Matt, Ryan and Charlie who founded Ethicul - a reward platform to help us make positive purchases by shopping local and supporting businesses that are looking after people and planet. They have partnered up with over 40+ businesses from around Brighton and Hove. We find out more about these partnerships and what it was like to launch during a pandemic, ending on a light-hearted quiz...

If you want to be more eco-friendly but don't know where to begin, then Lianne Bell's book is a great starting point. We open this episode talking about writing and self-publishing a book and then move onto fashion, food waste and beauty.  Lianne's approach to sustainability is to start somewhere and not beat yourself up over things you're not doing - which I love. You can find Lianne Bell on Inst...

We've all experienced wardrobe fatigue, you look at your clothes and claim you have nothing to wear. Often, you just need a fresh pair of creative eyes to help. This week, Sophia from Fine Tuned Wardrobe is a personal stylist and talks to us about fashion, her tips on shopping second hand and the emotional pull of consumerism. You can find Sophia on Instagram and online at FineTuneWardrobe.com

We're becoming more and more aware of the damage fast fashion is doing to our planet, but what about other textiles? I speak to Katie Briggs from The Textile Review about why she started a business to tackle the tonnes of fabric that's wasted in the events industry. A true advocate of the circular economy, Katie is on an exciting mission to help businesses change their mindset and take responsibil...

There's evidence to suggest that 18% of green house gases come from farming meat. In this episode, I'm talking to Lizzie and Mark about living a vegan lifestyle. They're two lovely people who like to keep fit and healthy, but like most of us, they have bad food days too. We discuss the benefits of and reasons for cutting out meat and dairy, adapting to a new diet, touch on how crap their cooking s...

This episode takes drinking responsibly to a whole new level. Not only was it fascinating to learn how beer is made, but it was really encouraging to hear what Franklins Brewery are doing to create less waste and have less of an impact on the environment. These guys make delicious beer in Sussex and they're a couple of sustainable legends in my eyes. You can buy their beer nationwide! Follow them...

I'm launching series 2 with help from my friend Sabrina, who has represented Sustainable Squad in Thailand!!! Sabrina interviews Lisa from My Best Life CNX - the first zero waste shop in Chiang Mai. Lisa tells us how she came to Thailand as a volunteer and now donates 100% of profits from her shop and vegan cafe to support refugees at her education centre, Thai Freedom House. Huge thanks to Sabrin...

We all love a wedding, they're the best days of our lives! But when you add up the number of single use items purchased for just one epic day, they can often be the most wasteful days too.   Jade from Two Woods Estate talks to us about how a few simple swaps can make a huge difference to the environment and to our bank balance. We discuss caterers, plates and glasses, alcohol, decorations and wedd...

Around 60% of all landfill waste in the UK comes from construction and demolition. The Wood Store rescues surplus timber from contractors across Sussex to restore, re-use and sell on at their fabulous shop in Brighton. They're an award winning not-for-profit organisation and the National Community Wood Recycling Project was modelled on these guys! Steve tells us about all the great work they do, w...

The Fast Fashion industry produces 1 billion new garments every year and is responsible for producing 20% of global waste water. It's an enormous problem and this is why it's so important to have businesses like Slow Re Purpose, because they teach us how to fall back in love with the clothes we already own by turning them into something new. Sara tells us about projects she's worked on, future col...

In the UK alone, we produced 52.3 million tonnes of landfill waste waste in 2016 and I have no doubt the figure has grown considerably since. This is why businesses like M-24 are crucial to tackling this enormous problem. Mat, the founder, tells us how he transforms lorry tarpaulin into super tough and super sustainable bags. We talk about his inspiring journey from turning an idea into a successf...

Food waste is a major problem and a big contributor to climate change. 1.9 million tons of food gets wasted by the food industry every year in the UK alone! Not to mention the food we throw in our own bins. Fare Share Sussex are trying to reduce this problem and feed the hungry in the process.  Sabrina talks about all the amazing work they do, who they work with and tips on how we can all help red...

It's no secret that single use plastic is everywhere and suffocating our planet. But with inspiring people like Harriet and Mhiran in our lives, there's still hope. In this interview we talk about the concept of plastic free shops, their products and customers, tips on how to reduce single use plastic, what it's like working together as a couple and a cheeky game of Mr and Mrs at the end. You can...