I saw these a while back and finally came round to actually trying a pair on while on a weekend lunch break. I thought ‘these are pretty cool canvas tops, surprisingly comfortable, plus they make me feel a little like a ninja so why not?’

The toms movement is more than making puerile minded individuals like myself feel like they belong in a crouching tiger combat sequence. Its simple – for each pair of shoes bought, a pair is distributed to a child in need.

With a remit to build a truly sustainable business that has the concept of giving as its primary driver the toms movement serves as a prime archetype for sustainable enterprise models.

- Cal, part time ninja x

On a field trip last week to the Lake District National Park, I was enlightened. When I was younger I was fortunate enough to have a mother who had a profound appreciation for the outdoors. Frequent visits to the Peak District and the Welsh countryside established the foundations for connection with the anti-urban.

Before tea my room mate and I decided to scale the modestly sized hill behind the hostel we were staying in. The hill began to emerge, a series of truncated views revealed something bigger. It began to get dark an became difficult to see, foolishly we trudged on. An ever steepening path transformed into a tightly winding trail.

We failed to reach the summit, however we did reach the snowcap. It was cold and dark however, we were afforded enough light by the setting sun to appreciate what we’d achieved, where we were and most importantly what we have – previous lectures on rural diversification, SSSIs (Sites of Special Scientific Interest) and AONBs (Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) made wonderful sense.

When you next have the chance, leave the big smoke behind, see how it makes you feel and what we’re trying to preserve.

- Cal

Source: Brandon Shigeta

HARVEST is the brainchild of creative Haroshi, an artist who has given an innovative twist to the concept of recycled artwork.

As an ex-skater, the artist began to question as to how best dispose of the ever increasing series of fractured skate decks accumulating in his home, the result – an exhibition of self expression, constructed using a medium that is personal to the artist, however, conveying a literal message of global importance.

We believe that if the small things we do can connect to sustainability then we’re doing something right. We’d be satisfied in our effort when people look at products and start thinking of ways to recycle.

-Haroshi