Weekend Loves: Sustainable fashion, a luxury raffle and classic coffee pots

Ruth O'Connor's guide to eco-friendly ideas and beautiful things

Ciara Daly, Darragh Wynne, Anna Pringle, presenters of the Climate Alarm Clock podcast

Tune into the Climate Alarm Clock podcast

Hosted by Darragh Wynne and Anna Pringle, The Climate Alarm Clock Podcast is Ireland’s first dedicated podcast for climate news.

Having launched last October, the podcast is back for another season, providing listeners with weekly updates on all things climate as well as the work being done to help monitor and mitigate the problems arising from climate change. Hear from a range of experts as co-presenter Ciara Daly asks the kind of questions many of us ponder but are afraid to ask.

Recent guests include Niall Hatch, of Birdwatch Ireland, comedian Colm O’Regan, and Pádraic Fogarty, of the Irish Wildlife Trust.

CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB

• Available on Spotify and Apple.
• Instagram: @climatealarmclock.
• Twitter: @theclimatealarm

Aoife McNamara’s latest collection

Aoife McNamara's new sustainable fashion collection

The new collection from sustainable fashion designer Aoife McNamara is now available online and at her Adare shop which is housed in a quaint thatched cottage. The 15-piece collection, entitled Enchanted by Nature, In a Disenchanted World, is made in Ireland from sustainable materials and includes beautiful pieces in blush pink Irish linen, mint green satin and coral tweed.

• Keep an eye on the designer’s website, aoifemcnamara.com, and social media for news of upcoming events

Luxury raffle in aid of the Irish Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal

A Mona Swims kaftan - part of a luxury raffle in aid of the Irish Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal

If you fancy being in with a chance to win a luxury designer item while supporting the Irish Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal then check out the designer raffle being organised by Wicklow’s Coco Reynolds.

Prizes include a spa day for two at the Powerscourt Hotel Resort and Spa, an exquisite leather bag by celebrity favourite Úna Burke, a €200 voucher for garden shop Howbert & Mays and the beautiful silk kaftan (pictured here) by Irish swimwear brand Mona Swims. The raffle closes this coming Monday, May 16. 

Classic coffee with minimum waste

The Bialetti Moka Pot in a new vibrant yellow shade

More often than not the old fashioned and simple ways are the most environmentally friendly ways — think darning your jumper, mending your shoes or making coffee with a classic Moka pot by Bialetti, the Italian company first established in 1933. Now also available in contemporary colours such as vibrant yellow, light blue and fuchsia pink prices range from €34.99 to €55 depending on size.

• Bialetti products are available from Stock Design, Arnotts, The Kitchen Whisk and online retailers including choose2reuse.ie.

Get growing for the Irish Hospice Foundation

Irish Hospice Foundation, Pledge to Plant.

The incredible Nurses for Night Care service by the Irish Hospice Foundation provides free expert night nursing care and support to people who are dying of illnesses such as dementia, motor neurone disease and heart failure. It also provides reassurance to the loved ones of those being cared for at home.

If you have green fingers and would like to help raise funds for this vital service then it’s not too late to sign up to the foundation’s Pledge to Plant campaign. Apply online to receive seeds, a promotional poster and labels for your plant pots and get growing and selling your seedlings for a good cause.

• For more information and to register for your pack go to hospicefoundation.ie/pledgetoplant.

Irish skincare that won’t cost the earth

The Regenerating Gift Set by Dublin Herbalists comes packed in biodegradable packaging made from mycelium

We are delighted to see more and more Irish companies opting for sustainable and biodegradable packaging and this new gift set by Dublin Herbalists is blooming brilliant. The packaging is made from mycelium (that’s mushrooms to you and me) which is grown around hemp fibres. The packaging is fully organic and biodegradable as well as having a negative carbon footprint. Simply break up the pack and dispose of in your compost heap or bin after use.

The gift set contains an anti-aging Regenerating Night Cream, Day Cream and Elevating Eye Cream and costs €89.95

• Available at stockists nationwide and from dublinherbalists.ie