Q&A: FRUGI – ETHICAL CHILDREN’S CLOTHES
Here’s our Q&A with Lucy Jewson, co-founder of Frugi.
What is Frugi?
At Frugi we are on a mission to show that children’s clothing can be beautiful, fun AND ethical. We are the largest organic childrenswear brand in the UK. Frugi’s HQ is in beautiful Cornwall and not only do we make gorgeous, innovative, long lasting clothing, we also do lots of fabulous things like give 1% of our turnover to charity, share 10% of any profit with our team and we always ensure that everyone in the supply chain is looked after well.
What inspired you to create Frugi?
Frugi started life in 2004 as Cut4Cloth – which stood for “Cut for Cloth nappies,” when I was on maternity leave with our first son, Tom. We wanted to use washable nappies to be a bit kinder to the environment, having heard that all disposable nappies ever made were still sitting “in-tact” in landfill. Kurt (my husband) and I both had a Marine Biology/Science background and this fact seemed completely unsustainable. The washable nappies were great, but they did give Tom a slightly bigger bum and we found it really hard to find clothing then that fitted over them. That was our lightbulb moment!
We did lots of research and found “cloth nappy forums” on our, frustratingly slow at the time, “dial up” internet. Lots of parents were having the same problem, but with no background in clothing design or manufacture there was going to be a lot to learn – and quickly, if we were going to get a business up and running before my maternity leave ran out!
It made sense that our clothing would follow ethical principles, so it HAD to be organic, we HAD to look after the supply chain and most importantly, if we were going to appeal to the design conscious, we HAD to be bright and colourful – just like the children we wanted to wear it. (In those early years, “organic” had tended to mean drab, oatmeal coloured and not always the best quality).
Our main driving passion was to prove that you could run a successful, profitable business whilst doing everything right – by being truly ethical. 16 years on and I hope that we’ve proven that, although it’s hugely important to always look for new and exciting ways to improve, our work will never be done!
What are the issues that Frugi helps to address when it comes to children’s clothes?
The textile industry is one of the world’s top polluters and we’ve been lulled into a culture of “fast fashion” that is known to be destroying the planet. At Frugi we try to minimize the impact of that in several ways:
- We use Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified organic cotton – Why? With conventional cotton being the most heavily pesticided crop in the world, (responsible for 25% of all chemical usage in agriculture) using organic cotton is a no brainer. It also uses 91% less water, causes 46% less emissions of greenhouse gases, (according to the Soil Association), biodiversity is much improved and it is far kinder on your child’s skin. Why would you use anything else?
- We use recycled plastic bottles to make our rain and swim wear, dramatically reducing the need to use virgin polyester.
- Children grow fast! So we incorporate longevity in our designs, where many of the clothes can “grow” with the children to last far longer and we make them great quality so they can be handed down (and down, and down).
- We encourage the second-hand market of Frugi so it becomes more accessible to a wider audience and far easier to justify a spend, when you know you’ll get 60-70% of the value back when you pass it on.
- We design clothing that children love to wear – bright, full of humour and snuggly soft!
How does Frugi help the environment, people and wildlife?
Frugi’s commitment to the environment is not only in the materials it uses but also in our Little Clothes Big Change initiative. Through this Frugi has given away £750,000 over the years to many grass roots charities, both environmental and child centric.
Currently Frugi is supporting “Eco-Schools” – an initiative that is helping to raise the next generation of “Eco-warriors.” Frugi is funding 150 schools to join this “Green Flag” scheme which would cost around £200 per school to get involved in – by doing this we are hoping many more schools will be able to take advantage of this fantastic opportunity, when funding is so often stretched.
Through Frugi’s “Happy Childhood Fund” the brand also helps a variety of smaller charities and opens its doors three times a year for applications from charities our customers have put forward.
Frugi is also incredibly mindful to look after everyone on “Planet Frugi” – from the farmers that grow the organic cotton, the spinners, the fabric mill workers, the tailors that stitch so carefully, and finally to the children that wear it. We believe that only if everyone is treated fairly and is happy, can you have a truly great product.
The majority of scientists, and our great idol David Attenborough, are hammering home that we are in a Climate and Biodiversity Crisis. We all need to take that very seriously and make better choices. We need to buy less, but buy better and wherever possible, buy organic to help maintain our soil health. We won’t get another planet!
How does Frugi stack up against its not-so-eco-friendly competitors?
We don’t like to knock the competition. We think we are lucky to be in a market where parents, sometimes for the first time, really think about what type of planet their children are going to inherit. Just becoming a parent makes you think about the future, it’s a time when people naturally think about their priorities and often undergo a bit of a “reset”.
We believe that people are looking for more environmentally conscious clothing to protect the planet for their children and the fact that Frugi is fun, clever and colourful makes making those choices far easier! We are trying to change people’s wardrobes one organic cotton outfit at a time!
What next for Frugi?
In our Spring/Summer 21 range we give a creative nod to Holi, a popular ancient Hindu festival, known as the Indian “festival of spring”, the “festival of colours”, or the “festival of love”. The festival signifies the victory of good over evil. Bringing to life the colourful vibe of this festival and the beautiful lush flora and fauna found in this breath-taking part of the world, Frugi clothes are featuring the Indian elephant, mugger crocodile, Indian leopard and Asiatic lion, jumping out in friendly appliques and adorable, bold designs throughout the range.
Where can we buy/find out more in UK?
Frugi is available online at welovefrugi.com or through 500 independent stockists across the world.
Facebook: @welovefrugi
Twitter: @welovefrugi