BDSM eco-friendly lingerie, India farmers' protests, Climate journalist at The Guardian

Women power protests in India against detrimental farm laws: Hundreds of thousands of farmers in India are protesting three new farm laws. Women are active leaders, marching not only to protect their livelihoods but also to win visibility as farmers; Harinder Bindu, a farmer for 30 years from Punjab, led a group of 10,000 women towards Delhi. Full Story >

Leading Belarus' fight for democracy– an interview with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: Tsikhanouskaya has become her country’s representative to the world, challenging the ongoing dictatorial regime's claims to have won the elections. In this recent interview, Tsikhanouskaya shares her journey into politics, including how former Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė helped her overcome a deeply internalized conception of herself as "just a weak woman." Full Story >

The marine biologist building an inclusive climate movement: When Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson walked out of a major climate conference last year, she was so disappointed with the lack of diversity in leadership that she decided to gather women from across the environmental movement to share their wisdom. Out of that idea came a collection of essays by women climate leaders – and, eventually, an NGO and a whole community of intersectional climate activists leading change in their communities. Full Story >

Taiwanese designer, Bei Kuo, designed eco-friendly lingerie inspired by S&M. Bei sought to design underwear which not only encouraged BDSM but was also size-adjustable to fit bodies of every type. She also works with the non-profit One Tree Planted to plant a tree for every product sold. To sum it up in her words, the lingerie line is made with "eco fabrics and naughty thoughts."

Sneaking this in here again...our SURVEY!

Imagine if sports — and society — designated the same amount of resources toward mental health screening and treatment as they do to physical well being and viewed a healthy body and mind as equally important to success? NYTimes explores the question in this thought provoking mini-documentary featuring Olympic athlete Alexi Pappas. 

Inspired by Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love, Su Min, a 56-year-old woman started a solo road trip across China in September which she live streamed on social, garnering widespread applause as China's feminist awakening spreads to older housewives. For several decades Su had sacrificed her happiness to live up to Chinese society's idea of the perfect wife and mother, leading to clinical depression. After helping her daughter and son-in-law with their kids, she decided to start a new life by living freely, starting with driving all over China.

Shereen Marisol Meraji is the co-host of the Code Switch podcast which tackles race head on and explores how it impacts all parts of society. In a recent podcast she examines the term POC and asks if it should rather be replaced by the term BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Colour).

–Today's reflection is brought to you by Jasmine on The Bloom team–

@brightly.eco is an incredible educational resource on all matters sustainability and conscious consumerism. As someone who is quite new to eco-conscious living, I appreciate Brightly's educational approach; bite-sized micro-actions you can take to better your own habits. Their "buy this, not that" comparative posts are a great example. Big impact starts small, and Brightly makes that small step so so much easier. It's one thing to listen to podcasts or watch documentaries on sustainable living and climate change, but it's another thing entirely to follow Brightly. It's one of those companies and accounts that intrinsically encourages you to take action because they make it easy and fun.

What I especially appreciate about Brightly is that they recognise that this kind of lifestyle is a privilege. Living sustainably is hard – and it's not just the financial cost, but the extra time it takes to live this way. Take shopping for example; the time-cost of shopping for sustainable, ethically sourced clothes is much more costly than fast fashion – but Brightly makes it easier to find alternatives. I trust their judgement and suggestions, and because of that I would highly recommend them to anyone willing to take micro-actions towards living a more conscious life!