✨Joy to the world: why you being happier is better for the planet 🌍
Tuck into beautiful bright objects, a banging winter curry and possibly the world’s greatest festive-feels playlist
By now we’re all Christmas jumper-deep in the Season of Joy, awash in meaningful meet-ups, the welcome whiff of mulled wine and increasingly blurry twinkly lights…
It’s that time when we’re a little more open with our affection and appreciation of the good ones in our lives, of feeling that warmth mirrored back at us, and having that true, shared sensation of connection, contentment and happiness – that heady dose of authentic, innate, right-here, right-now in front of that crackling (bio-fuel) fire, JOY.
There’s nothing more powerful.
Especially when it’s unleashed in the right direction, too.
That’s why an increasing number of planet-positive brains are calling out the fact we need to make saving the world a truck load more fun. There’s Solitaire Townsend, for example, the woman behind sustainable strategy gang Futerra (sidenote: ace site design), who recently wrote a piece for Forbes (sidenote: terrible site, sorry) which is so bang-on and ‘BRiMM’ it’s worth us quoting it here (to save you clicking). She says…:
"We need a sustainability discourse that doesn’t just ask people to sacrifice or suffer for the greater good, but invites them to celebrate the possibilities of a better, richer, more fulfilling life."
This is us. The belief that living in a more low-impact way doesn’t have to be sacrificial, or anything less than JOYFUL to the maximum, to the BRiMM.
The Guardian ran an equally reading-our-minds piece about Sustainability and Joy back in 2013 too, which, apart from a few timely references, could be published tomorrow. Sadly. But maybe it’s a message that more of us are ready to get giddy about and fully embrace, as we embrace each other, into 2025.
Tune in, team up and let's turn the tide.
Team BRiMM
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PS – Struggling to sustain your happy face amid all this festiveness? Eye a bauble. Honestly. Designer and Aesthetics of Joy founder Ingrid Fetell Lee discovered that ‘round things’ actually naturally spark pleasure in humans. And what is the original shiny green ‘round thing’… ? It seems the more you look, the more she’s at the heart of everything.
This 10-minute TED by Brooklyn-based marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a must-see, if it hasn’t already crossed your radar. While it starts off pretty joyless (a quick gloss of humanity’s collective problems), it soon moves onto a Venn graph (love) that you can personalise to harness your joy and what you’re good at to helping address the planet’s (“gargantuan”) issues. Because organised fun can mean more fun, for all.
Like a sickly styled Cub Scouts but for adults, Wildish Club was born in the Yorkshire Dales to bring together outdoorsy folk who may have been feeling a bit lonely before. They go on Wildish Walks led by Wildish Guides, drinking Wildly Good Coffee. Sounds so awesome, we wish there were more groups like it. Know of any? Share the deets!
From a bench partly made from pineapple leaves for Adidas London, to Project Earth campaign-themed Selfridges window displays, North London artist and designer Yinka Ilori's fighting the good fight using fistfuls of fun, creating meaningful, artisanal, a-bit-bananas objects and looks made to last (*nudge* gift tip).
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In Japan, there's a fleet of Joyful Trains offering unique experiences to celebrate the country’s natural beauty, history and culture. Closer to home, we’ll be embracing the delight of the journey via a trip by train into Europe in 2025, on a customised break by Byway, the first totally flight-free travel platform.
Try before you buy with this free Creamy Tomato Curry with Coconut and Roasted Squash Recipe, taken from East London-based chef and sell-out Caribbean supper club cofounder Marie Mitchell’s gorgeous book, Kin.
MUSIC FOR CLIMATE OPTIMISTS
BRiMM brother Matt’s up this week, with his lovingly laced-together Jingles’n’Joy set. It’s the thing you never knew was missing from your life: a varied, well-mixed Christmas playlist. Whack it on once you’ve set down the sprouts for balanced big-day bliss.
FROM THE COLLECTIVE
Christabel shared some lusty beanspo from new project Bold Bean Co. She’s all-in on the Smoky Chilli, served with a good hunk of sourdough // Dan’s back with a very pretty and practical blog post he found, to help us keep a more planet-friendly coffee habit // And Sam has us buzzing about a rewilding project up near Perth, where the bumblebee population has boomed to a whopping 116 times as big in just two years.
What's BRiMM again?
We’re building a shop, journal and collective to prove that living within limits isn’t living less – and to put the profit to work for the planet.
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