Fashion Accessories for People with Disabilities: Empowering Confidence and Style

Vithanage Erandi Kawshalya Madhushani Jade Times Staff

V.E.K. Madhushani is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Fashion.

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Image Source : DESTINY PINTO

A New Era of Inclusive Fashion

Destiny Pinto, a woman from Crawley, West Sussex, was inspired to create a line of stylish fashion accessories after struggling to find fashionable options for her compression gloves, which she needed for rheumatoid arthritis. Realizing there were few stylish choices for those with medical devices, she expanded her range to include fashionable covers for hearing aids, stoma bags, and other medical accessories.

"It’s almost like everyone forgot about these devices in fashion," Destiny said, reflecting on the lack of options. Her designs have since gained massive attention on social media, catching the eyes of prominent figures such as Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles, singer SZA, and model Tasha Ghouri, who wears a hearing aid and is set to appear on the 2024 season of Strictly Come Dancing.

Creating Confidence Through Fashion

Destiny’s designs have resonated with many individuals who wear medical devices, including children and adults who often feel self conscious. "I hear personal stories, like children who wear colostomy bags or hearing aids, and they’ve never felt confident before seeing my designs," Destiny shared.

Her best friend, Nikola, who underwent life saving bowel surgery at 21 and now permanently wears a stoma bag, explained the challenges of finding clothing that is both fashionable and functional. Tight clothing can cause complications, so Nikola has to opt for baggier or differently styled clothing to avoid discomfort. The few stoma bag covers available tend to be plain or clinical looking, but Nikola prefers something more expressive.

"I like to be out there and I want something that makes a statement different materials, different designs," Nikola explained. She added, "These covers let me match my outfit. They’re not just practical; they allow me to feel like myself again, turning the stoma bag into a stylish accessory rather than something that detracts from my look."

The Importance of Inclusive Fashion

Libby Herbert, chief executive of Colostomy UK, emphasized the importance of accessible fashion, explaining that it can help prevent feelings of isolation and poor mental health. "If the industry doesn’t embrace accessibility, people may avoid returning to work or struggle to maintain relationships. But being able to express yourself even with a stoma bag through fashion can significantly impact someone’s wellbeing," she said.

Building a Supportive Community

Destiny’s mission goes beyond just selling fashionable accessories. "I want my project to be more than just a shop. I want it to be a community a platform that I never had when I was diagnosed, and that Nikola never had either," she explained. By combining fashion with function, Destiny is not only transforming medical devices into stylish accessories but also creating a sense of belonging for people with disabilities.

Her innovative designs are changing the way people perceive medical devices and are making fashion more inclusive for all.

French Archaeological Dig Unveils 200-Year-Old Note from Past Excavations

Vithanage Erandi Kawshalya Madhushani Jade Times Staff

V.E.K. Madhushani is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Europe.

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Image Source : Guillaume Blondel

Surprise Discovery in Northern France

A team of student volunteers conducting an archaeological dig in northern France has uncovered a fascinating link to the past. While excavating the remains of a Gaulish village on the cliff tops near Dieppe, they stumbled upon a surprising artifact on Monday an earthenware pot containing a small glass vial.

According to Guillaume Blondel, the team leader and head of the archaeological service for the town of Eu, the vial resembled the type used by women in the past to carry smelling salts around their necks. Inside the bottle was something even more remarkable a rolled up message, tied with string.

A 200 Year Old Message

On Tuesday evening, Blondel carefully unrolled the fragile paper to reveal its contents. The note was written by P.J. Féret, a local of Dieppe and a member of various intellectual societies, who had carried out excavations at the same site in January 1825. The message read:

"P.J Féret, a native of Dieppe, member of various intellectual societies, carried out excavations here in January 1825. He continues his investigations in this vast area known as the Cité de Limes or Caesar’s Camp."

Féret was a notable figure in the area, and municipal records confirmed that he had led the initial dig at the site nearly 200 years ago.

A Rare Archaeological Find

"It was an absolutely magical moment," said Blondel. "We knew there had been excavations here in the past, but finding this 200 year old message was a total surprise."

Blondel compared the discovery to time capsules left by carpenters during building projects, noting how rare it is for archaeologists to stumble upon such a direct communication from past excavators. "Most archaeologists prefer to think that no one will come after them because they've done all the work!" he added with a smile.

The current dig was initiated due to concerns about cliff erosion at the site, which has already claimed a significant portion of the oppidum or fortified village.

Unanswered Questions about the Gaulish Village

The excavation site, known as the Cité de Limes or Caesar’s Camp, is a Gaulish settlement, but much remains unknown about its history. "We knew it was a Gaulish village," said Blondel. "What we don’t know is what went on inside the village. Was it a place of importance?"

Since the dig began a week ago, the team has uncovered several artifacts dating back to the Gaulish period, primarily pottery fragments estimated to be around 2,000 years old.

This unexpected discovery not only sheds light on the village's history but also creates a poignant connection between modern day archaeologists and those who came before them.

The Importance of Setting Methane Goals

Chethana Janith, Jadetimes Staff

C. Janith is a Jadetimes news reporter covering science and geopolitics.

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At last year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai, countries agreed to submit updated 2035 emissions-reduction targets by February 2025. These new targets must include methane and other super pollutants if the world hopes to achieve net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050.

A flare burns off methane and other hydrocarbons as oil pumpjacks operate in the Permian Basin in Midland, Texas. Image Source : (David Goldman/AP)

SANTIAGO/BOSTON – As summer in the northern hemisphere draws to a close, hundreds of temperature records have been broken, and there is a roughly 95% chance that 2024 will beat 2023 as the hottest year since measurements began. But millions of people don’t need data to tell them that – they are living through it. In 2023, the United States suffered 28 climate-related disasters that each caused at least $1 billion worth of damage, while China experienced both extreme heat and devastating floods, with a typhoon displacing more than 120,000 people in Beijing.

It is clear that warming is occurring faster than expected, and that the world needs to pull an emergency brake on rising temperatures. China and the US, as global superpowers, could work together to drive change, and they recently held a high-level meeting to discuss opportunities for reducing greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. As these conversations continue ahead of the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) and into 2025, they should focus on dealing with the climate crisis that has already arrived. To address it requires increased efforts to mitigate emissions of super pollutants, which are responsible for more than half of climate change.

Super pollutants, specifically warming agents like methane, N2O, tropospheric ozone, and hydrofluorocarbons are tens, hundreds, or even thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide per ton. Methane, for example, is a GHG that is roughly 80 times more potent than CO2 over a 20-year period and contributes to ozone smog. But it remains in the atmosphere for only around a decade, whereas CO2 can last centuries. This means that reducing methane emissions is the fastest and most effective way to fight climate change and improve air quality.

Cleaner air is especially important for communities living or working near cattle farms, oil and gas infrastructure, landfills, and other pollution sources. Deteriorating air quality has become a pressing public-health problem, and reducing methane levels in the atmosphere would lower rates of death and asthma, and lessen the severity of wildfires, flooding, hurricanes, and other extreme weather events.

The good news is that there are ways to cut methane emissions by as much as 45%, which could reduce warming by 0.3° Celsius by 2040, bolster energy and food security, and put the world on a path to a healthier future. In addition to the broad public support for government intervention to address methane emissions, there is also global consensus on the need to address non-CO2 GHGs. To date, 158 countries have signed the Global Methane Pledge to cut emissions by 30% by 2030. And at last year’s COP28 in Dubai, countries agreed to submit updated 2035 emissions-reduction targets, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs), that are economy-wide, cover all GHGs, and are aligned with limiting global warming to 1.5°C.

Increased global attention to non-CO2 GHGs could not come at a better time, as updated NDCs are due in February 2025. While current NDCs contain meaningful CO2-reduction targets, they often lack concrete, measurable goals for cutting super pollutants. Countries must recognize that this approach does not fully address the fight against climate change and raise their ambitions accordingly. Strong 2035 targets for methane and other super pollutants are necessary to achieve net-zero GHG emissions by 2050 and would reduce potentially irreversible planetary changes.

Methane has historically been hard to track, making it difficult to include specific targets in NDCs. But now, after addressing critical funding and technology gaps, methane-detecting satellites are improving data collection. Satellite programs launched after the previous NDC update, including MethaneSAT, Carbon Mapper, and the WasteMAP, have helped local authorities pinpoint and address emissions sources. Given these developments, there is no excuse for submitting NDCs that lack methane targets.

China and the US can build on the climate commitments they made in last year’s Sunnylands Statement by including robust super-pollutant targets in their updated NDCs. The Chinese government has already expressed its intention to do so, while the US has shown a willingness to implement ambitious climate policies, including support for research on emissions-reduction innovations.

The world must unite to reduce super pollutants and usher in a new era of cleaner air, improved food production, and greater energy security. The public overwhelmingly supports measuring and mitigating methane emissions across sectors, and it is time for governments to listen. A good first step would be for the US and China to set quantifiable non-CO2 targets in their revised NDCs and encourage other large methane-emitting countries to do the same.