Archivo del autor: Ana Fernández

After the #Metoo campaign, it was painfully obvious how every woman suffers abuse at a global level. It also proved that it could happen to woman, from any country, social status, race or religion. It also hurt to see friends sharing that hashtags and wonder why we didn’t notice anything. The thing is that we can’t know unless we share. And that’s a really brave thing to do.

Scottish photographer Mhairi Bell-Moodie has worked during the last year on a project that shows 25 brave women and their stories. They’re not only about abuse, and some aren’t issues that only occur to women, but they’re definitely more frequent for us.

Sigue leyendo «Photographer Mhairi Bell-Moodie talks about her feminist photo project»

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Seguro que últimamente has escuchado de forma reiterada los términos “moda sostenible” y “moda ética”; es probable que te hagas una idea de lo que abarca y también es posible que te resulte un sistema de consumo demasiado complicado como para participar. Es cierto que supone un gran cambio de hábitos a la hora de comprar ropa, pero son cambios fáciles y necesarios que te encaminaran al único futuro posible en la industria textil: las sostenibilidad. Que no te abrume toda la información disponible, que por suerte es mucha y de calidad, y empieza a dar pasos en la dirección correcta. Leer este artículo puede ser el primero.

¿Qué es la moda sostenible y ética?

Como las propias organizaciones ecologistas afirman es difícil aportar una definición exacta, pero lo que sí tienen claro es que hay ciertos requisitos que se deben dar durante la producción de la prenda para ser ética y ecológica, como un sueldo y condiciones de trabajo dignos para todos los trabajadores de la cadena de producción o el uso de materiales ecológicos. La diseñadora de moda Andrea Jara afirmaba, en la página de la Asociación de Moda Sostenible de Madrid, que “la primera regla de la sostenibilidad es cambiar el consumo masivo por un consumo responsable y mesurado. Esto es aplicable tanto al consumidor final, como a las empresas productoras”. Además, mencionaba los tres ejes sobre los que esta sostenibilidad tiene que tener presencia: “el ecológico, el social y el económico”.

Sigue leyendo «Moda sostenible y ética: guía para principiantes»

Since last week, every time I am browsing through internet, ads keep popping up to let me know that Black Friday is around the corner. This year, it seems that some stores and big companies won’t wait until the day following Thanksgiving, when the event it’s supposed to be celebrated since these big scale sales started in the United States. Black Friday is now a whole week of scandalous sales and crowed malls, where people waits hours before the doors open.

Many Americans used to see this date as the beginning of the holiday season, and the best moment to buy all the gifts for their families and friends. Then, companies were smart enough to see it as a business opportunity to encourage consumerism. Years after, Black Friday got to Europe.

It started with big discounts on clothes items and tech, but now it reached jewellery brands, bookstores, and even restaurants. People are ready to jump on those deals, and it’s expected that shoppers spend about £2.6bn, or £1.8m per minute, this year in the UK.

However, why are we participating in this? Some may say that it’s a great chance to go shopping and get everything we need before Christmas. It’s understandable because, look at all the deals! This could be a proper reason if this wasn’t often untrue.

During the past years, customers have complained about the misleading offers in many products, meaning that, actually, many items do not really have a discount or that the stores play with the offers tags to attract customers. “Now £250, before £700” may be in reality a £20 discount from £270. It is still a discount, but the reaction that they get from the customers is very different. Consumer organization Which? has “tracked the prices of 35 of the most popular products[…], and found that six in ten Black Friday ‘deals’ didn’t quiet add up”. This group also offers a couple of advices to avoid these situations: “look at the price, not the saving” and “do some research in advance” so you decide beforehand what to buy.

They are useful tips, but with this information in our hands, there isn’t space for the “it’s a great deal and once in a lifetime opportunity” thinking anymore. Maybe, avoiding this event completely would be the best option. That will definitely help us stay away from doing some impulsive purchases and buying things that we don’t really need, and fight the inevitable attraction that we feel towards that ‘80% discount’ sign.

In addition, we have to consider the waiting time, all the pushing, stampedes and the possible minors injuries –or big ones in some occasions- that we may suffer while trying to check if we are being deceived, at the same. Ask yourself, is being part of Black Friday events worthy?

Text for the University of Edinburgh

Hay varias formas de viajar a un lugar desconocido: la primera es el paquete turístico que ofrece escasos segundos para las fotos de rigor, en el punto más turístico y concurrido de la ciudad, además de la amplia parada para comprar en las tiendas establecidas por el guía; otra manera es la de preparar hasta el más mínimo detalle del viaje, documentándose sobre el sitio y con el libro lleno de anotaciones siempre a mano, por si se olvida algún detalle histórico; y la última se trata de llegar y pisar ese lugar desconocido sin ninguna idea preconcebida, sin ningún conocimiento, e investigar sus calles desde la curiosidad.

Si bien suelo hacer mis deberes antes de viajar, en el caso de Taipéi llegué con mi mente en blanco, preparada para absorber lo que esta ciudad taiwanesa podía ofrecer. Quizá por eso hay varios aspectos que me sorprendieron y se grabaron fácilmente en mi cabeza:

Sigue leyendo «10 cosas que descubrí sobre Taipéi»