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Brand Story: Nkuku

Nkuku produce beautifully handmade home and lifestyle products. Every one of their products has a story to tell through the talented artisans that created them.

Nkuku was founded in 2003 by Ali and Alex Cooke. The brand was inspired after the pair set off on a year-long round the world trip. Through their travels, Ali and Alex were inspired and humbled by the talented craftspeople and their beautiful work. Upon returning from travelling they moved from their busy London home to rural Devon to start their next adventure.

Completely inspired and amazed by their travels, they then started to work with artisans from around the world. Ali and Alex were passionate about supporting and celebrating these artisan skills through bringing their products to a wider audience and sharing their talents with the world.

Brand Story: Nomads

Nomads is a contemporary Fairtrade clothing brand in which everything produced is made with natural and organic fibres. Along with this, Nomads celebrates great design and traditional artisan techniques.

Nomads’ mission is to prove that it is possible to live a stylish, sustainable life by creating high quality and long-lasting clothing. They also wish to increase the awareness of the need to shop responsibly.

Nomads has been creating ethical and Fairtrade clothing for over 30 years. Its founders Duncan and Vicky met in India where they fell in love with the culture and decided to invest in their first selection of Fairtrade handicrafts. This was the starting point for their now lifelong relationships they have with the artisan producers and Fairtrade factories in India. They now design and create contemporary clothing that is 100% ethically produced and celebrates artisan skills. Nomads strives to use the best quality natural fibres and environmentally friendly processes with their clothes designed to last.

The Fashion Industry’s Response to COVID-19

The world is currently facing a pandemic, and this is having a huge effect on the people who make our clothes.

Retailers have had to close their doors and encourage their customer base to order online. None the less, the desire to buy new clothes appears to have decreased due to the Coronavirus making us focus on other aspects in our lives.

It is worth noting that there is potentially a positive amidst this crisis that we are learning to care for the clothes we already own better, more and more people are opting to mend and make clothes and also adopt a mindset of longevity when it comes to our wardrobes; suggesting an encouraging step to end overconsumption.

However, the halt in manufacturing has meant that the most vulnerable, lowest paid people in the fashion supply chain are feeling the worst effects. IndustriALL, the global trade union has reported that millions of garment workers have lost their jobs as a result of the virus and have no access to social or financial safety nets.

Fashion Revolution Week 2020 – Our Brand Spotlight

2020 marks the seven-year anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster. The Rana Plaza factory was a five-story building that housed garment factories for big global brands. In 2013, the factory collapsed killing 1,138 people and injured 2,500 more people; many of the victims were mostly young women.

From this the Fashion Revolution movement was born. The people behind the Fashion Revolution movement have called for an overhaul of the fashion industry and strive to make sure exploitation of people comes to an end and ensure that production methods respect our environment.

Taking place from the 20th – 26th April, this year’s Fashion Revolution Week will once again encourage millions of people to come together to campaign for systemic change within the fashion industry.

Meet Method eco-friendly cleaning

We’re big fans of Method, and stock a wide range of their excellent eco-friendly cleaning, laundry and home products. As well as being stylish enough to want to keep on display instead of hiding in a cupboard, their range reflects their ethos of creating positive social and environmental change. Continue reading Meet Method eco-friendly cleaning

Tips to Reduce Household Waste

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – a mantra we’ve all heard, and for the younger generations, three words drummed into you practically from birth, and for good reason too! Millions of tons of household waste ends up in landfill sites every year, with a lot of that actually being recyclable! Here are some tips to reduce your household waste so we can all work together towards a more eco-friendly lifestyle! Continue reading Tips to Reduce Household Waste

Choose Fairtrade Jewellery

There’s such a wide variety of products you can buy that are Fairtrade Certified – coffee, tea, chocolate, bananas – most of these are already available, but did you know that you can also buy Fairtrade Certified Silver? There is currently only one silver mine in Peru where miners are paid a fair price for the demanding and dangerous work they do every day, helping to support them and their families. Continue reading Choose Fairtrade Jewellery

Mosami Jewellery

Finding that perfect piece of jewellery that you can’t stop wearing makes you both look and feel great, but knowing the jewellery has come from a good place, made with love and care is even better! Mosami make sure all of their jewellery is ethically sourced. They work alongside exceptional jewellery designers from the UK to create fashionable and timeless pieces of jewellery. Continue reading Mosami Jewellery

Ethical Gift Ideas for Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, and it’s one of those holidays where some of us just aren’t too sure about what to get our significant other. It can be particularly difficult to find ethical gifts that are within your price range – Valentine’s Day isn’t always a day for splashing out. Here are some of our top choices for the perfect ethical Valentine’s Day gift.

Continue reading Ethical Gift Ideas for Valentine’s Day