Reviews & Articles

Shedding light on the most durable (and shoddy) products. Read our independent reviews, advice on living a calmer, less wasteful life, plus the latest news about our mission to end throwaway culture.

What is planned obsolescence, and what can you do about it? - Buy Me Once UK

What is planned obsolescence, and what can you do about it?

We’re leading a movement against planned obsolescence. By carrying out thorough, independent research into product longevity, we want to facilitate smart shopping choices for the long term.
The Murky World Of Textiles Recycling & How To Beat It - Buy Me Once UK

The Murky World Of Textiles Recycling & How To Beat It

Buying durable products that last a lifetime keeps non-biodegradable materials out of landfill for as long as possible. But when we replace our unwanted clothes and shoes with better quality ones, or when the things we own just don’t work anymore, we need to be very mindful of how we go about disposing of them. Simply throwing away unwanted textiles with the usual rubbish won’t cut it.
A Wrap of the Most Durable Articles of 2019 - Buy Me Once UK

A Wrap of the Most Durable Articles of 2019

No prizes for guessing what topics were the most popular with our readers and followers in 2019. Buying long lasting products. We believe if more of us can think about buying durable products, we can use it as an accessible entry point to sustainability and save you money. 

Tara Button: 2019 in Review - Buy Me Once UK

Tara Button: 2019 in Review

2019 may have been tumultuous in many ways, but there are reasons to be cheerful. Never before has climate change gathered so much momentum - this is the year that the message reached a tipping point with the general population.
Tara Button: How it felt to meet The Minimalists - Buy Me Once UK

Tara Button: How it felt to meet The Minimalists

Tara Button sits down with Joshua Fields Milburn and Ryan Nicodemus - founders of The Minimalists podcast, to talk all things minimalism and the inception story of BuyMeOnce. 
The BuyMeOnce Start-Up Story: The people back us! - Buy Me Once UK

The BuyMeOnce Start-Up Story: The people back us!

There comes a time in every business journey where you have to decide whether to go big or go home. Whether you’re happy for a business to stay small and bring in a cosy income or to continue to set your eyes at something more ambitious. For Tara, this decision was made years ago. The day she set out the mission of BuyMeOnce: To change the way the world shops from short-term buying to long-term buying.
Made in the UK: The new home of fast fashion? - Buy Me Once UK

Made in the UK: The new home of fast fashion?

The Guardian’s Sandra Laville this week delved deeper into Boohoo and their production practices. It’s emerged that the brand produce one of their hero pieces, a bandeau dress coming in at a whopping £5, at a factory in the UK. ‘Made in England’ has always been a badge of honour and carries with it an association of quality and craftsmanship, expertise and trust. But we have to wonder: when a dress costs the consumer £5, who’s left paying the rest of the bill?
Apple plans eco "Everlasting" iPhone - Buy Me Once UK

Apple plans eco "Everlasting" iPhone

Apple to launch an "Everlasting" iPhone! Will this be the end of planned obsolescence and waste in the phone industry?
BMO Behind the Scenes: Copenhagen Fashion Summit - Buy Me Once UK

BMO Behind the Scenes: Copenhagen Fashion Summit

Last Tuesday, us and other punchy startups, luxury giants and manufacturers descended on Denmark for the sixth edition of the Copenhagen Fashion Summit to tackle sustainability in one of the dirtiest industries on the planet. The event promised to get to core issues and deliver practical solutions for businesses to take away and create meaningful, positive change; turning words into action was the buzz phrase of the week. But did the event deliver?
Interview: The True Story of France's Fight against Planned Obsolescence - Buy Me Once UK

Interview: The True Story of France's Fight against Planned Obsolescence

For almost a century, companies have been designing products to fail, so they can sell the same thing to you again next year. It’s called planned obsolescence. In August 2015, France became the first country in the world to define and outlaw the practice. To get the full story and find out what’s going to happen next, we spoke to the people fighting planned obsolescence on the front line.
BMO Behind The Scenes: Fashion Revolution Week - Buy Me Once UK

BMO Behind The Scenes: Fashion Revolution Week

It was in the spirit of Fashion Revolution Week that I found myself on my way to East London on a wet Tuesday afternoon to hear a panel discussion on the future of sustainable fashion. I fought my way on to the overcrowded shop floor of Kitty Ferreira and settled in to listen as four experts attempted to answer the big question: 'Can Fast-Fashion Ever Be Sustainable?'
The Best in Ethical Fashion: A Revolutionary Study - Buy Me Once UK

The Best in Ethical Fashion: A Revolutionary Study

Here at BuyMeOnce, we carefully choose brands that are not only sustainable but ones that are also models of ethical fashion. We’ve curated a list of superhero BuyMeOnce brands who have heard the call of the Fashion Revolution movement and are happy to share their supply chain process, from the farmers who grow the raw materials to the factory workers who stitch everything up.