Why are ethically produced & sustainable products so costly?

We are aware that ethically produced and sustainable products are still quite costly.

We get that a lot, as we know, that our products we offer aren’t cheap.

Why is that?

The base costs that go into sustainable fashion are inherently more expensive due

to sourcing costly eco-friendly natural materials and paying people a fair wage for making the products.

1. The Labour Cost

Every piece is handmade on a sewing machine by someone, somewhere.

Ethically run sewing facilities pay their employees well and offer important human rights,

such as limits on working hours and a safe working environment.

Choosing to manufacture with these ethical companies drives up the costs significantly for sustainable brands.

2. The Material Cost

Sustainable fabrics often come from plants and animals.

Just like food crops, these natural resources are farmed and cost more than synthetic

materials that are made of chemicals. Ethical materials must also be farmed in sustainable manners (i.e. disposing of waste water properly and limiting the use of pesticides) and involve paying farmers and weavers a fair price. All these factors combined make sustainable fabrics very expensive.

3. Sustainable Fashion is still a niche

sustainable fashion is growing in popularity, but it is still a niche industry.

Due to smaller customer demand, sustainable brands must produce in low quantities

which drives up the price of production.

To Sum it up /

At the end of the day, we need to ask ourselves, do we want these people to work in a safe environment and get paid a fair wage, just as we would expect to be treated, or do you want the cheap run, buy cheap fast fashion, which is mainly made by kids, not for kids. Unfortunately this is still a sad reality, which we need to work hard on for it to change.

Every day.

5 ECO-FRIENDLY XMAS IDEAS

This Christmas, we are rethinking our consumption habits as well as being a little bit more consciously aware and sustainable. It is not about doing everything perfectly and right, but about doing what we can to be kind to our planet. We would love for you to join our journey!

Here a few ideas

1. Re-usable gift wraps

Fabric bags aren’t only cute, but a perfect way to wrap your gifts and re-use them later! The NZ brand Merry Waste free Christmas makes the cutest bags.

Or if you feel like being a bit more creative, the beautiful Japanese style fabric wrapping method Furoshiki is a traditional method of using cloth to wrap up and transport gifts. How beautiful do they look? Here a tutorial link.

Decorate your gifts by twining a few twigs of eucalyptus or rosemary into the string – it’s both sustainable and beautiful!

2. Buy Sustainable

Rather than buying several gifts for one

person, why not buy one great sustainable

and high quality item that will last and go a long way?

Choosing to gift less presents will reduce waste and also ensure people don't end up with lots of little ones they don't need.

For example a gift card for someone special for one of our cool, sustainable & ethical products.

3. Christmas Tree

The kindest thing you can do for the planet is instead of buying a cut tree that will go to waste after Christmas, is buying one in a pot that can be planted afterwards.

You can get them from PottedNZ an amazing small NZ business and they even ship NZ wide!

Small versions are also available at Bunnings.

If you aren’t big on trees, why not decorate one of your house plants?

Easy Peasy!

4. Give your local shops some love!

I know you most likely have heard this so

so many times already this year,

but they need it now more than ever.

Supporting small businesses helps

boost a strong, sustainable local economy.

5. Go Meat-Free

The meat and dairy industry is responsible for more emissions than all the world's planes, trains, cars and boats put together.

Most likely the hardest move for all

non-vegetarians, as it is such a tradition to have a nice piece of meat to share on Christmas day. If that's not possible, you could make just small changes to your Christmas dinner menu and buy meat and produce from local farms.

Here some delicious and fun meat-free xmas dinner ideas from no one less than Sir Jamie Oliver.

HOLLY JOLLY XMAS SOUNDS

A fun playlist of christmas classics, new releases as well as some 80s and 90s tracks to get in the mood of the festive season, for tall and small!

Here the link to the playlist!