We’re determined to lower our footprint (and help you do this too), increase environmental education, grow a supportive and bright community that creates action in the world, lift each other up and do business fairly & ethically no matter where it takes place.
We are very conscious about how we run this business, the products we use, the work we do each day and the scale we create. Our very first steps were to grow community, provide a year of free education online and off, and remodel our little production centre into a comfortable, bright, safe and positive workplace that everybody feels happy in… all before launching anything.
Our impact & your impact is entwined – whether in regard to our time in this world or with the products and work we do here. Your support of our products means we get to have a greater impact and as we live and breathe environmentalism, we’re continuously conscious in the choices we make. Together this means we get to have the following impact.
Environmental
We reduce our footprint as much as humanly possible as a small business. We do not believe in creating a business that damages or consistently demands more from the environment. We are highly selective of the materials we source, the processes we undertake and what we create. This often cuts huge chunks into our profit margins but we would rather make just enough to support our research and education rather than make so much that in turns damages our fragile Earth.
We use 100% pure hemp from a sustainable farm which is the most eco friendly fabric. Hemp grows much faster than other sources including cotton and linen, requires far less land and water per comparable yield, absorbs a lot of C02 whilst it grows, returns 70% of nutrients back to the soil, is really strong, resistant to mould & UV light, and is naturally antimicrobial.
Our linens and cottons are redirected from landfill in the local Cambodian economy (where there is no mass textile manufacturing) or sourced from left-overs and waste from other businesses that are closing their loop.
By using recycled materials rather than virgin materials, we save on the entire manufacturing process from water, chemicals, labor and energy to transport and pollution.
People
Our company was created and is led by a woman and our core team includes a female principal Environmental Scientist (whom we could not run this shindig without!). We employ mostly women at our small centre in Cambodia to create many of our products and to make a safe, child-friendly space for work. We really believe in providing opportunities to women and in the abstract, bettering our laws & attitudes in the world to create more equity (we feature a lot of women we think everyone should know at our kids project Skwoodle). The rest of our team is made up of designers, coordinators and botanists to wood workers and we believe in a diverse range of experiences and people. Working or purchasing from us means we get to combine our work and life to do things we are passionate about.
Traceability
We aren’t in this to just order a bunch of products online and sell them. We are deeply involved in every one of our custom products and have nearly full traceability of most of them. As we have been part of creating nearly every step of these, and live in the areas we create, we have a much greater insight and are able determine our processes and sourcing a lot more. We’re also friends with nearly everyone involved along the way which helps!
Local business & partnerships
We love paying other freelancers and small businesses! Whether for photography work, for their products, science expertise or more we adore that through our business we get to support so many others and couldn’t imagine doing this without them! We have created a diverse team of contractors and freelancers that we work with and are constantly looking at expanding this further and ensuring we are inclusive of all people in this sector. If you think there is somebody we should really be partnering with, let us know!
Community support & education
Our work runs the production centre and pays for all its operations and staff. The small centre also houses a classroom which teaches local children technology skills for jobs in the future. At our centre we also run plastic brick workshops, climate change & plastic education classes along with supporting a local organization in implementing environmental education across schools in the region. We strongly believe in supporting education, solutions & working with people on the ground with what they need and want. Lis, our founder, previously lived in this area working on education projects and regularly returns often for months at a time to do work on the ground. Khmer is definitely the hardest language she has learned (and definitely not mastered)!
Skills development
Our centre enables the provision of sewing skill classes to vulnerable women in the community. These are usually mothers who have had challenging upbringings or aren’t making enough money to make ends meet. Working with a local organization, women are selected during their family meetings and community outreach and attend our centre for free skills training for 12 weeks. At the end of this period a number of these women are immediately employed by local organizations and often others start their own businesses at home. With skilled workers and mothers who can earn a living wage, standards in the community increase and as school is able to be afforded, children are educated and have better prospects for the future.
Happy workplaces
No matter where we work, we believe in happy workplaces. Spaces that are clean, organized, positive, friendly and look after varying needs such as access to drinking water, snacks, kids play areas, tampons, break area etc. Whether in Europe, Australia or Cambodia we want places to feel safe, fair, productive and good. Our studio hours are Monday – Thursday so everybody gets long weekends, and in Cambodia they are Monday – Friday with 7.5 hour working days. We say if you have your period and want to work on the couch with Netflix – go for it!
Industry change
Though we are not a fashion provider (and will never be!), we do work within the larger garment industry by creating these products which is fraught with issues. By running our own little centre we’re able to create a happier and more positive workplace and show other businesses what is possible whilst increasing awareness for fair labor and environmentally friendly practises. When workers know there are alternatives they can seek better conditions in their own workplace. Once we complete renovating our centre we hope it becomes a small scale model of what is possible even in a rural area on tight budgets.
When we work with suppliers on a few products or wholesalers on some of the products in our kits, we request plastic free packaging and seek to reduce environmental impacts together. Hopefully this slowly extends across the business and has a flow on effect in the industries we all operate in.