As we emerge out of the festive frenzy and blink our eyes to see 2020 in all its dazzling potential, January is a time for us to set out new goals and contemplate fresh beginnings.

 

Last year saw concerns for the state of our planet reach fever-pitch. This was compounded by the Oxford English Dictionary who named 2019’s word of the year as ‘climate emergency’, after seeing usage of the phrase soar by 10,796%. Sparking news stories and fuelling conversations worldwide, we are constantly reminded of the precarious state of our planet and left with no other option but to take action.

This is why we launched our glass bottle range for all of our 250ml products. We are delighted to offer you this more sustainable alternative to our recyclable, biopolymer plastic packaging and we see this as major progress in our mission to be more sustainable.

We promise to continue in the same vein over the next 12 months and our goal for 2020 is to challenge ourselves when it comes to making more sustainable choices. Watch this space for further updates and join us as we continue our fight against the plastic pandemic. 

 

“There are 1.4 billion insects for each one of us.” This fact from National Geographic is hard to comprehend especially when we consider how many creepy crawlies we can find in our own gardens. Despite this untenable large population, there are many species at risk of extinction and for life on Earth, this could be catastrophic as they have a huge impact on migration patterns and carry out crucial work including pollination and decomposition.

At Bramley, we constantly find inspiration from the British countryside surrounding us and this includes bugs. We understand their importance and as a brand with plants at its very core, we would be lost without the work of insects. For every Bramley Room Spray or Body Lotion sold online, we donate £1 to Plantlife, helping to protect endangered plants such as the juniper bush and the native cornflower, which are so important to Bramley and our beautiful countryside. For 2020 our goal is to build more insect-friendly environments to help cultivate insect populations and encourage different species to our home in rural Wiltshire.

Coming in from the great outdoors and getting back to basics, another goal of ours for 2020 is to breathe. Not just inhaling and exhaling but mindfully connecting with the potential and power of our most efficient breathing. As the increased amount of breathwork classes and teachings supporting the transformational effect of these suggests, we are not fully benefitting from our respiratory systems. Breathing may be second nature to us all but often in amongst fast-paced schedules and polluted air, it can be difficult to breathe effectively and this can also impact how we feel. More often than not, inefficient, shallow breath is associated with panic, anxiety and stress.

As a small gesture to help encourage more functional breathing, we suggest running a warm bath, lighting a couple of candles and adding our Soothing Bath, Body and Shower Oil, with chamomile, lavender and geranium. Whether you make it a daily ritual or a once-a-week retreat, a relaxing bath can offer a feeling of energised calm and hopefully help your breathing for the better.

So join us as we start out on the New Year journey ahead. We hope 2020 offers you a wealth of opportunities, little and large and we look forward to sharing news and stories from the world of Bramley very soon.