Helsinki Times

BARF isn’t bad for dogs

The Biologically Appropriate Raw Food diet is becoming popular among dog owners, and pet shops will soon sell as much raw meat as dry food.

RAW chicken wings, internal organs, neck and heart, pork back ribs, bones and puréed vegetables. That’s the diet of bull terrier Birdie.

“Birdie likes meal times more than before. She jumps eagerly beside me when I put her food in a cup,” Annika Tiainen, the owner of the eight-month-old dog says.

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Lappeenranta: love at first sniff

This is one south eastern corner of Finland you wouldn’t mind painting yourself into.

IF YOU reach Lappeenranta on a day when the air is still and the barometric pressure low, you will find that money does, in fact, smell – even though they purify the flue gases at the paper mill, the regrettable side effect of conventional pulp production remains a pungent sulphuric smell.

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Towards a greener green

Golf courses are now being designed with sustainability in mind.

THE legendary Pinehurst No. 2 golf course in North Carolina, US, was recently restored to honour the vision of its original designer, Donald Ross. While the restoration was completed with an eye on the US Open Championship and the US Women’s Open, scheduled for successive weeks in 2014, it also represents a step toward more eco-friendly course design and maintenance.

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Studying fashion in Finland

In spite of the shrinking employment opportunities – due to the current economic situation – the study of design subjects has managed to maintain its appeal, with application numbers on the rise.

The Aalto University’s School of Art, Design and Architecture – which resulted from the merger between the Helsinki University of Art and Design and Helsinki University of Technology in January this year – saw an eight per cent growth in Master’s programme applications this spring in comparison with the previous year.

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Choosing comfort over chic

Clothing brands have recognised the rise of environmental consciousness in parents.

FORGET about stripes and polka dots: today the hottest words in children’s fashion are “natural fibres”, “ecological” and “ethical”. International clothing brands have recognised the rise of environmental consciousness in parents, and these companies are addressing the issues of organic materials and sustainability by providing new options to consumers. Several major clothing brands already have a separate children’s collection.

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Changing the way we see clothes

In an era of big-label mania and cheap mass-produced fashion, the clothing industry is in dire need of change. Will small businesses bring ethics back into the trade?

WITH garments costing the equivalent of two hours’ wages for a waitress, many of us have taken the habit of buying items that we don’t need, or, in the worst case, even use. Globalisation has enabled cheap mass production, which has changed the way we think about clothes: they have become disposable.

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Peace, quiet and convenience

Beth Morton, a 28-year-old writer, lives in the garden city, Tapiola, which is also one of the major urban centres in Espoo.

Where do you live?

I live in Pohjois-Tapiola, on Keijumäki which is just off Louhentie.

How long have you lived there?

I have lived here for two years.

What kind of neighbourhood is it?

It is in the suburbs in Espoo, a 15-minute bus ride from the Helsinki city centre.

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Second hand is no longer second best

Finland is the promised land of flea markets.

PEOPLE worldwide are becoming increasingly conscious of what materialism and consumerism is doing to the planet and are often opting to recycle their superfluous items and buy used goods whenever possible.

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A very special Sunday

This Sunday is Mother’s Day, a celebration honouring mothers and celebrating motherhood, maternal bonds and the influence of mothers in society. Though considered by some to be more of a commercial celebration than a heartfelt tradition, you may forget the importance of this day this at your peril.

Though different cultures have had their own incarnations of Mother’s Day, the modern celebration is chiefly a US invention.

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The Curse of the Perfect Mother

Feminist theorist and author Elisabeth Badinter argues women are being shackled by expectations of what it takes to be a good mother.

Women once again need to start talking frankly to each other about what it means to be a woman. Contrary to a coalescing body of opinion, it does not mean being a mother. If we don’t have an open discussion, the dream of gender equality will remain exactly that – a dream.

The gains of the feminist revolution that empowered women to make independent, personal choices about the kinds of lives they want to lead are being quietly eroded on several fronts.

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