2 . Some Thoughtful Mother’s Day Gifts

Mother’s Day is right around the corner and it’s a special day for showing some gratitude and appreciation to mothers worldwide for raising and caring for their children. Naturally there are a lot of potential gifts out there for the occasion to choose from, so we’ve put together some thoughtful gifts you can send.

This scrabble frame offers a more personal and alternative touch for Mother’s Day, with a simple but thoughtful message. You can also customise the names on the pieces to your own family names.

Sometimes a small and simple gift can do just the trick, so if you wanted to go that route, this Katie Loxton pouch would be a great choice. It’s made from vegan leather and carved with “Wonderful Mum” on its front. It’s pocket-sized and can also handily fit in a handbag as an option for carrying small items.

Spring is in the air and so are the fragrances that are commonly associated with it. Presented in a lovely, brightly-coloured bottle and also diamond-shaped cap, this Jimmy Choo fragrance is a great gift for Mother’s Day and the blossoming of a new season, with its sweet and warm floral scents.

If your mum is into crafts, needling or is a plant lover, then this is the perfect gift for her. Made from cotton, beech wood and recycled plastic, it’s a punch needle kit ideal for hanging on a wall or help decorate a table stand with its nature themed fern look. Every gift is wrapped in recyclable packaging as well. Included inside is: the needle fabric, a model design, and detailed needling instructions for beginners.

On my way home from work yesterday, I     1     (stop) off at a local supermarket. Among other things, I wanted to buy a couple of     2     (coconut). When I picked them up, I was     3     (amaze) that each coconut was wrapped in clear, thin plastic. Supermarkets want to make sure that coconuts reach the consumer in the     4     (good) condition. The packaging helps to keep the product fresh; it means the product will last longer.

I understand that, but in this case it’s     5     (complete) wasteful and unnecessary. It already has its own     6     (nature) packaging. It’s got a tough shell that’s almost impossible to break!

I really believe we should do away with packaging completely. There is     7     supermarket in Germany that has no product packaging at all. Its customers take refillable containers with them when     8     (shop), and use them instead of plastic boxes and bags.

6 . Make Our Wardrobe Special

It may be the beginning of a new year, but by January it certainly feels like it should be the end of winter. Unfortunately, we still have a couple of cold grey months to get through. One bright spot in January, however, are the post holiday sales. I treat these sales as a chance to find something warm, comfortable and stylish to get me through the next few months, and future winters.

Here’s what I purchased last year: a cozy, vintage-looking, faux-fur coat. It met all of my criteria for a good purchase. It’s well made and will last me for many years. It’s a timeless style that won’t date. It works with everything else in my wardrobe. I can dress it to be either very smart or very casual. It’s practical and warm as well as stylish. And last but not least, it makes me feel great when I wear it.

I view the January sales as a great chance to pick up things you genuinely need while retailers offer hefty discounts to clear their shelves before spring. To make sure you’re not buying something impulsively that you might later regret, ask yourself a few questions: Will you wear it at least 30 times in a year? Is the price worth it or should this same money be better spent on something you’d wear more frequently?

If you don’t trust yourself to stick to a budget, leave the credit cards behind and take cash only when you shop in a store. The most important step before you walk into a shop is to look at your wardrobe and assess where there are gaps. Is a pair of boots completely worn out? Do you need a more modern style of jeans? Is a jumper beyond mending and repair? Try to replace those items rather than buying another blouse simply because it is heavily reduced in price. It has never made sense to me to spend a lot of money on something such as a dress to attend a wedding, rather than putting that money towards a great camel coat that would get far more wear. Make your everyday wardrobe special.

I haven’t always been as thoughtful and conscious about my purchases as I currently am. However, when I consider that the fashion industry is the second most polluting on the planet after oil and gas, I feel compelled to make much more principled purchases now. So this is my New Year’s resolution for myself and also my challenge to you: buy only what you need, buy only what you truly love, and consider every purchase carefully, just as our parents and grandparents did before cheap, disposable fashion took over retail. Let’s make our wardrobes special in 2022.

It may soon be easier for shoppers to find beauty products     1     toxic chemicals. The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization, launched a new label this month     2    (call) EWG Verified, which certifies personal care products as free from chemicals of concern.

The programme is an extension of the group’s work with the Skin Deep database, which for more than a decade now     3    (give) tens of millions of visitors’ information on the chemical contents and relative safety of their favourite cosmetics and shampoos.

Before now, the personal care industry has mostly shied away from eco-labels,     4    rising interest in non-toxic beauty products from consumers and the     5    (increase) popularity of eco-labels for other types of consumer products.

    6    number of eco-labels on consumer products across industries has grown from a few dozen in the 1990s to more than 400 today. The labels have helped some companies justify price premiums, but have also served to confuse consumers in industries like food where a large number of labels with varying degrees of credibility — ranging from baseless “all natural” claims to more rigorous organic certifications — can make it difficult for shoppers to separate the green from the greenwashed.

On-package labelling could become a common practice    7    retailers like Walmart and Target roll out programmes vetting the chemical ingredients in personal care products.

“Eco-labelling is a critical step in the regulation of the private sector, and third party labels are generally more trustworthy than the industry’s self-certified labels,” says Xinghua Li, a professor of media studies at Babson College,     8    researches green advertising. “The cosmetic industry needs it just as urgently as the food industry: the products we put on our skin are just as important as the food we put into our mouths.”

    9    (qualify) for the EWG Verified seal, a product must not contain any of the ingredients on EWG’s lists of restricted and unacceptable ingredients. The EWG    10    (hold) a meeting on whether companies fully disclose all ingredients on the label (and not use any catch-all terms like “fragrance”, for example) this time next Saturday.

9 . Stores play music to change the way customers feel. Clothing stores for teenagers play popular music. It is exciting and makes the customers feel happy, but music does more than that. It can change the way a person shops.

According to studies, the volume (音量) of music changes how people shop. Customers shop quickly when store music is very loud. They hurry through the store, but they buy just as much. When music is quiet, customers shop slowly. Customers take time to look at the products and talk with the salespeople. Quiet music is good for products that take time and information to buy.

Slow music makes people slow down. In restaurants with slow music, customers spend more time eating. Slow music also slows down customers in supermarkets. Customers notice more products as they walk through the store. With slow music in supermarkets, sales go up by 38 percent.

Familiar music gives shoppers a good idea of time. People know the beginning, middle, and end of a familiar song. When customers hear music that is not familiar, they don’t notice the time. When they don’t notice the time, they spend more time shopping and buy more. People remember past experiences and feelings when they hear familiar music. Many stores play old, happy music so customers feel good. When customers hear new music, they forget about the world outside of the store. Some stores use new music so their customers relax while they shop.

Stores choose music that fits their products. A bookstore plays classical music and jazz. It gives the store a serious and intelligent feeling.

10 . The souk in the city of Fes in Morocco is an ancient shopping center with lots of narrow alleys crowded, with shops and stalls. In the souk, people are making deals. This is business. Moroccan-style, and many people in the souk are bargaining (议价) as hard as they can.

All the sales happen face to face; it’s very personal and very busy! The vendors (摊贩) have everything a shopper could possibly want. There are sandals next to fish bowls, and nearby, birds in cages watch the whole scene. In the souk, there really is something for everyone. A visit to the souk is a lesson in Moroccan bargaining culture. For visitors, the question is not “What should I buy?” but “How should I buy it?” That’s where they get a real education in making a deal.

A Dutch couple talk about what they have learned so far in the souk. “You have to start somewhere around one third of the price they say at first. And then you bargain up to 50 percent,” said the husband. “And they go down twice as hard as we go up with the price! Then you get it at a much lower price than the original one,” added his wife. It’s really a game. The Moroccans are very good at bargaining and probably the best in the world. Visitors, however, had better be careful! Beginners at bargaining pay more. Sometimes 20 to 30 percent more than the price the Moroccan people pay.

The vendors of the souk are not trying to cheat customers. It’s more like a test to find out who is the strongest bargainer. The real test for any bargainer is the carpet shop, where the sellers really pressure customers to buy something. Sometimes, strong salesmen don’t give up easily! One English tourist explains, “Once you end up in a shop, you sit there drinking tea, and you say ‘I don’t want to buy anything.’ But then he’s like, ‘Well, just offer a price...500? What’s your best price?’ And you’re like, ‘We don’t want to buy it.’ And they said, ‘OK, 300!’”