Offering gorgeous organic baby & kids clothes locally or Australia wide has always been a very enjoyable journey over the last 2 1/2 years for us.
Seeing little ones wearing something that not only looks magical but also feels good in every sense is one of our top priorities.
We believe in ethics, sustainability & taking care of the planet with every piece of baby & kids clothes we sell online here in Australia, it is important to do more than just making a profit.
Here's some important background information about our online shop ethics and goals for many years to come.
1. Reducing
- There are a few companies that are already setting an example for a plastic free clothes packaging and it gives us great pleasure to open parcels from German Eco fashion labels leela cotton, loud+proud & Puenktchen Komma Strich as their parcels contain nothing but organic clothes. Every piece of organic cotton clothing just comes as it is.
- New Zealand based Eco baby fashion label, Nature baby, also supplies there gorgeous baby boys & girls clothing range in biodegradable packaging.
- Swedish Eco fashion label Duns has two pieces of clothing in one bag instead of one bag for each. That already, in itself, reduces the use of plastic bags by 50%.
- We are very hopeful that over the next few years we will be able to add to this list of green kids fashion labels.
2. Scrunch & Recycle
But sadly most of our organic range still gets delivered in plastic bags....One piece of clothing, in one plastic bag... adds up really quickly.
All of our online shop orders are getting packed in either recycled tissue paper or recycled paper bags.
Before we wrap every order, all clothes are freed from their plastic packaging, which we then collect and recycle at our nearest recycling drop off in Coffs Harbour.
This free program is made possible through RedCycle, which has worked with Coles and Woolworths/Safeway Supermarkets to set up collection bins in stores across most of metro-Australia.
The cost of collecting and processing the material is covered by many of Australia’s best-known manufacturers (including the Planet Ark Endorsed Naturale Toilet Tissue.)
The plastic is made into furniture for schools and kindergartens among other things. (If there isn't a store near you, you can post your soft plastics to: RED Group, Attn: Plastic packaging recycling, 38 Chelmsford Street Williamstown North VIC 3016.)
3. Reuse
All of our packaging is made from either 100% recycled paper or plastic.
Even our mailers from eco enclose are made from 100% recycled plastic and can also be reused and later recycled again.
4. Organic & sustainable baby & kids clothes in Australia
Sustainability can take many forms but here we consider it as reducing the environmental impact of production processes, cutting out harmful chemicals used to make clothes, and ensuring ethical guidelines are in place when it comes to safe working practices in factories, a fair wage and so on.
For mums and dads, sustainability means quality too.
It means buying long-lasting, robust clothing for kids, with the potential to be handed down to future siblings.
With longevity in mind, brands often incorporate features that allow garments to grow with your little one (for a few months at least), the likes of roll-up hems and adjustable shoulder straps.
Top of the list for new parents and parents-to-be, is often the fabrics used; the safest and softest materials possible to protect delicate newborn skin.
For this reason, all brands in our range use organic cotton, produced without the use of the pesticides or chemicals that can irritate skin or exacerbate allergies.
The absence of chemical fertilisers in the organic farming process also helps minimise harm to the environment.
From making sure factory workers have a fair wage and safe working conditions to preventing child labour, brands go above and beyond to make sure the whole process from factory to shop floor is as transparent as possible.
The easiest way to identify if your tiny tot’s clothes follow these principles are to look out for official certification, such as Organic cotton clothing is recognised by Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS) or Oeko-Tex, which means no chemical pesticides or fertilisers can be used in production and farmers must work under safe conditions with an agreed minimum wage.
At Elves in the Wardrobe we’ve chosen brands where their whole range is sustainable to ensure the best for our babies, children and planet!