I recently shared my favourite spots to buy second hand and vintage in London on my Instagram, but as I myself am an avid google addict, I thought it was only appropriate to share the joy on the blog as well. Below are my favourite places to shop when it comes to vintage an secondhand in London. I have also listed a bonus spot for vintage furniture.

Vintage - Retromania 
The best spot for vintage is East London right? Wrong! The east is a tourist trap and whilst its not bad, its not the best. The best is the hidden gem, Retromania in Victoria. The prices are reasonable and each tag tells you about the items origin era. Think old school Dior and Armani in the plenty.

Second hand - Royal Trinity Hospice shops
So for this its not one specific shop but several different ones of the same chain. The chain is Royal Trinity Hospice. My favourite ones are the one in Victoria and on Kings road but they all have the same aesthetic which is boutique feel. Items are displayed nicely and neatly, and the whole place feels very clean. 

Furniture - Alfies market
For those who want original furniture Alfies market is the go to place. This place is a giant warehouse so make sure you go when you have a lot of time on your hands. 

I had the pleasure of visiting Zurich this summer and as usual I was on the hunt for sustainable shopping. Here below are two of my favourite spots in the city worth checking out on your next visit!

FIZZEN Fashion&Accessories 
This is boutique mixes both ethical labels and vintage clothes in one store. You can find anything from small goods such as reusable straws and cups to jeans both new and upcycled. The prices are affordable and the staff is friendly and helpful. 

RRREVOVLE - Fair fashion store
A lovely and upscale boutique chain with several stores around the country that sells fair fashion brands. The curated pieces all have a colour scheme flow throughout the store, and there is a very peaceful atmosphere when shopping. The prices are high but most of the items are classic staples that are worth investing in. 

For the second part of the sustainable material series we are covering a more common household material - glass. I frequently get asked what a more sustainablealternative to plastic is for things like containers and reusable water bottles. One of the best options is switching to glass. Here are some of the benefits of glass:
 
It’s better for your health
Glass is made from natural ingredients (sand, soda ash and limestone) and is non-toxic. It does not contain harmful chemicals that may leach into food and drink.
Food and drinks taste better
Glass is non-porous which means it doesn’t affect the taste of food and drink and keeps its contents fresher for longer
It’s endlessly, 100% recyclable
Glass bottles and jars can be recycled indefinitely, without a loss of quality.
 Recycling saves energy and reduces CO2
We can reduce harmful emissions and save on raw materials by using recycled glass to make new bottles and jars.
 
This post is sponsored by British Glass and their initiative Friends of Glass. Friends of Glass is a community that helps supporting and advocating the use of glass to benefit health, taste and sustainability. For more information on what they do, their partners and tips on how to use and recycle glass to be more sustainable check out their website friendofglass.com

As everything else in this day and age, missinformation and missrepresentation flies around a lot in sustainability and even more so in sustainable production. I’m starting a mini series looking at different materials and how they are a sustainable alternative to existing ones.In this post we are looking at one of the upcoming new alternatives for leather - Pinatex aka Pineapple leather.

Vegan - Pinapple leather is a vegan alternative to animal derived leather, and the composition of the “leather” is made of waste pinapple leaves. The process also avoids the use of toxic chemicals.
Ethical - This is an ethical classed product as it helps farmers in the Philippines create more income streams with something that would otherwise be waste.

No waste - the process of making the leather involves extraction of the fibre from the leaves, but any leftover biomass is used as either natural fertiliser or biofuel so that nothing gets wasted.

Check out more on the brand, samples and what brands they work with on their website 

One of my all time tips for buying vintage and second hand is to not fixate on sizes.
Sometimes a dream piece is a few sizes too big or too long or maybe just slightly out of fashion (shoulder pads, looking at you). So the best solution is to take it to a alteration service, preferably one that can also do dry cleaning with eco friendly products. I recently discovered 1 Stop Wash in London that those all these things. Few months ago I found a vintage Christian Dior piece that was about 3 sizes too big and looked worse for wear. I took it to 1 Stop Wash and they had it altered and dry cleaned and voila! Perfect vintage blazer.

Highly recommend their service and you can find them at 100 Caledonian road London.
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