We carefully choose which suppliers to work with based on our key criteria of fairness, quality and sustainability. Our Spinners, weavers, knitters and dyers are audited for both social and environmental criteria, either through their own internationally recognised certifications such as GOTS, GRS and SA8000, or through inspections for our own GOTS licence.
With the exception of trims and accessories, our products are made entirely of cotton. Cotton is a wonderful natural fiber, with fantastic hypoallergenic and thermoregulatory properties. Perfect for Babies! It is strong, soft, and at the end of its useful life, it is biodegradable.
Then comes the dilemma; most of the world’s cotton is grown in a way that is very damaging to the environment. Global demand and intensive agricultural techniques are depleting the worlds resources and polluting the planet. Did you know that one t-shirt using conventionally grown cotton uses 2700 litres of water to produce? That’s enough to sustain one person for 900 days! (Source WWF). Therefore we believe cotton should never be wasted, should be sustainably and ethically grown, and should always be used to make products that last.
This is why we were early adopters to Organic cotton in the 1990s and are one of a few UK manufacturers to be GOTS certified, which includes full traceability along our supply chain, from field to product.
Sustainable cotton initiatives: Our preferred route is GOTS, but sometimes, for the more price-sensitive items and customers, mainly wholesalers who aren’t GOTS certified traders, we use cotton that has been sourced through approved, sustainable cotton initiatives, to ensure our standards are still maintained. Our nécessité range, and blue packaged glovesheets are examples of this.
Recycled Cotton: Every factory creates waste materials, and whilst we try not to waste any precious cotton, some pieces are too small to use, so we have partnered with a regenerative spinning mill to turn our clean, sorted waste clippings into new yarn for cellular blankets.
Recycled Polyester: The satin trim on our blankets is manufactured from recycled water bottles, certified by GRS. Why should we use the earth’s resources, when the world is full of discarded plastic that can be turned into something special?