This time last week I was headed to Brick Lane for this year’s Fare Healthy event. A gathering of food, fitness, and mindfulness, it was a lot of fun to walk around and see old faces, new businesses, and hear how the world of wellness is moving forward.
Here are my highlights from the day (and if you went, is there anything I missed?!)
Ethical clothing
As soon as I walked into the Fare Healthy studio space, I spied not one, but TWO ethical clothing brands. This is new and I’m loving it! As a purveyor of ethical clothes in conjunction with living in a more conscious way, it’s nice to see brands connecting the dots between living healthily and also living in a mindful way.
The first stall I visited was Conscious Tee, a company built around simple organic cotton shirts with messages promoting environmentalism, veganism and health. They had some really cute sweatshirts made especially for the event too!
The second was Pico, a brand after my own heart with its minimalist vibe and very functional offering. Specialising in organic cotton underwear that’s wearable every day, it’ll be the next place I go to when I need to replace my current undies.
Turmeric trends
Juicing, cleansing… I have to say, I’ve been there and done that! Now though, I’m really starting to see a wave of turmeric blends taking over, which is great as turmeric acts as a detoxifier, helping to purify blood, liver, and immune system, as well as being rich in antioxidants and minerals.
First there was Botanic Lab’s Tonic 2, a shot of turmeric with spikes of ginger, citrus, and a base of ashwaganda that made it really delicious. Second was something I’ve never seen before – turmeric tonic by Jamu Kitchen. Designed to be drunk first thing when you wake up, it’s a really clever way to get your turmeric fix and shows how tonics are starting to creep out of the medicine aisle and into the kitchen.
All organic
The third and final highlight at the event was the massive presence of organic brands. Soil Association, the organic certification body, had its own stand showcasing a number of different organic beauty brands including Herbfarmacy, La Eva, and Neal’s Yard Remedies. Looking through some of the other stands, a lot were Soil Association certified too, showing a real correlation about eating healthily and eating organic! If you haven’t read it already, here’s why I eat organic where possible.
On the Fare Healthy Discusses stage, I also caught the Soil Association’s presentation, and was surprised to find out that you can get up to 60% more antioxidants in organic foods than non-organic, but even the SA is aware that a wholly organic diet isn’t always possible! Instead, their recommendations are to go organic for concentrated foods such as juices, purées and salads, and to add to that I’d recommend trying to purchase the ‘dirty dozen‘ as organic too!
