As a small business owner who strives for a greener, cleaner and healthier way of living, it is exciting to see that I am not alone in my aim to run a green business. 

Finding other businesses, like English Eco kids fashion label Pigeon Organics, that hold the same ethical values creates an amazing network of positive change, awareness and sustainability. It encourages me on my journey to provide beautiful, ethical and organic children's clothes worldwide.

I recently received the latest principles of Pigeon Organic's company philosophy. They have left me feeling inspired and I would love to share them with you all:

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

We’re a small company – tiny in fact - and so we’re not going to change the world.
But we try to make a difference with the resources we have available. We love designing and creating beautiful clothes. But we’re also excited by what we might call ‘social and environmental value added’ – the things that we can do over and above the designing and selling of lovely clothes.

ORGANIC

We only use organic cotton. We’re not hard line about this, organic farming is not the answer for all farmers – it depends on many factors - but when it works it can have huge benefits for the environment, the farmers (particularly small farmers in developing countries) and their families (and of course it is very gentle on sensitive babies’ skin).

GOOD FACTORIES

We only work with a handful of factories that we know and trust with whom we feel we can build up positive long-term relationships. And as they are
all certified in accordance with GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standards),
they are all audited annually for good and fair working conditions as well as responsible environmental practices (see certification details on our website for more information).

A HELPING HAND

According to WOMENSAID.ORG.UK, “...an estimated 1.2 million women experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March..... On average two women are killed by their partner or ex-partner every week in England and Wales.”

We were so pleased to have recently sent our first small selection of lovely samples and spare stock to a women’s refuge – something we’d love to grow in future.

SUPPORTING ARTS AND CRAFTS EDUCATION

When we have leftover fabric, we try to put it to good use – most recently we donated several rolls to schools and craft groups around the country to help kids have fun and be creative.

And through the sale of our elephant print rompers, we want to support the wonderful Wildlife SOS elephant sanctuary near Agra,which we recently visited. This sanctuary rescues elephants from brutal and abusive treatment.

We’ll report back next season to let you know how we’re doing.

CHARITABLE  DONATIONS

For each of our greeting cards sold, we make a donation to the fantastic charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) – who work in the most dangerous and challenging of environments to bring medial help to those who need it.

GREEN ENERGY

All of the electricity in our warehouse comes from renewable sources (via Good Energy).

We know there is a huge amount more to do, and we have some targets for the coming year. As well as continuing the above activities, most urgently we want to eliminate plastic from our packaging. We also want to support the Sheroes group in India (a charity that supports acid attack survivors).

I am proud to be the owner of Elves in the Wardrobe, a business that is committed to making eco and socially conscious choices whilst delivering quality organic clothing for babies, boys and girls.