我們每天使用在臉上的、身體上的或是吃下去的，都知道它們的來源和成分嗎？位於西環的永續生活用品店Slowood的主理人之一Dora說：「找尋適合的產品時，我會盡量不去選擇大品牌的，有些只為取得有機證明才去做這件事。相反，有許多小型的品牌花了很多時間和心思把永續的生活呈現在產品上，這創作的過程是很漫長的。」她說，這些小品牌和Slowood一樣，在背後支持著他們的，同樣是放慢腳步、懷著感恩的心去保護大地，過永續的生活。從這理念中，伸延出不同的產品，由生活細節開始，過著美好的慢生活。
由提供無包裝的食物、環保的生活用品和護膚品外，最近Slowood也引入了環境友善、無害的化妝品。Sundays是來自紐約的美甲品牌，創辦人Amy Ling Lin在美容學院學習時，發現一般的甲油有著難聞的氣味，無論是美容師或是顧客都長時間地呼吸著有毒的空氣。於是，她設計了一款無毒、純素和不做動物實驗的甲油，讓人們不為愛美而犧牲健康。簡約的瓶身和溫潤又低調的色澤，為身體減少了負荷，也美得自然健康。Amy說，簡單如替自己塗甲油也是一種冥想的方式，在繁忙和壓力的生活下的一刻專注與喘息。
「無論工作如何忙碌，我都不會給自己很大的壓力，我認為高效率和焦急是兩回件事呢。放鬆心態、舒服地去做事，找到生活和工作之間的平衡才是最重要。」Dora說，準時下班才能有足夠的時間做些自己感興趣的事，還有享受與家人相處的時間。「Sundays這甲油品牌也是一樣，在追求美和環境友善中得到了平衡。」因此，她引入了Sundays，希望人們學習了解物品的來源和成分，也能夠作出更具環保意識的生活抉擇。
Dora說，她喜歡種植，和丈夫一年裡有一半的時間會待在紐西蘭的家，屋子的後面有一個小花園，他們會種些蔬果，過一些簡樸的日子。「我很享受種植的過程，簡單如除雜草、澆水和看著一粒種子發芽。我習慣每天早上都會看看它，雖然眼看好像沒甚麼變化，但它卻是一直在生長，這是一個很緩慢的過程。當看到它多了一塊葉或是一朵花，會單純地感到很高興。也許有些人會覺得這很無謂啊，但我認為這才是最貼地的事情，種植是知道自己吃的東西是怎樣造出來的。」永續生活就是專注在每一個微小的細節上，以自己的步伐來與大自然和諧共處。
「我們永遠不用去為美而犧牲，我們都能以自己的方式而美麗。」這是Sundays想傳遞的訊息。
When applying skincare products on your face or putting food into your mouth, would you spend a moment wondering where are their origins? Slowood is a shop in Sai Wan that specializes in sustainable products. One of their founders, Dora says, “When sourcing products, we tend to avoid big brands as they sometimes only spend efforts on sustainability just for the sake of getting a certificate. However, many indie brands actually spend considerable effort in promoting a sustainable lifestyle through their products. It takes them a long time to design their products.” Dora believes what supports Slowood and these indie brands is the mindset of being thankful for nature. We have to slow down our pace to protect mother earth and live a sustainable life. This is the concept behind their products. The brand hopes to show people the beauty of slow life and advocate a change starting from the small details of our everyday life.
The shop began with selling package-free food, environmental-friendly daily necessities, and skincare products. Recently added to the shop’s shelf are some eco-friendly cosmetics. Sundays is a New York-based nail care brand founded by Amy Ling Lin. When studying in a cosmetology school, Amy was quite irritated by the odor of nail polish. This is the smell that both the nail artists and the customers need to endure. This has inspired her to design vegan nail polish that is toxin-free and cruelty-free, so that people no longer need to sacrifice health for beauty. Her nail polish comes in subtle colors contained in bottles of minimal design for her consumers to beautify their nails without having to risk their health. Amy says simple actions like painting your own nails could be a form of meditation, which provides you with a peaceful moment to concentrate and relax after a hectic and stressful day.
“I try not to give myself too much pressure even on the most overwhelming days. To me, panicking doesn’t help to bring efficiency. The most important thing is to work at a relaxed pace, and to maintain a work-life balance,” says Dora. If you do not get off from work on time, how can you spend time on your hobbies and enjoy quality time with your family? “This is the same as the lifestyle Sundays promotes — we need to find a balance between beauty and eco-friendly.” She hopes Sundays’s products can teach consumers to understand the origin and ingredients of the products they consume, and hence make well-informed decisions after considering the potential impact we can bring to the environment.
Dora enjoys gardening. Every year, she and her husband would spend half of the year in their house in New Zealand, where they grow vegetables and fruits in the backyard and live a humble life. “I enjoy every single step of gardening, like removing weed, watering, and watching a seed sprouting. It is my habit to look at my plants every morning. Although the changes are not always obvious, my plants are indeed growing bit by bit slowly. Seeing my plants growing a new leaf or a new flower simply brings me pure joy. Some people might find this irrelevant, but to me, this is the most down-to-earth thing that lets us get to understand where our food comes from.” A sustainable lifestyle is to attend to minute details, and explore our own means to coexist peacefully with nature.
“We never need to sacrifice for beauty. We can all be beautiful in our own way” is the message that Sundays aspires to deliver.
