our ethos
Here at Eco Eco, we are not paragons of virtue, but we're working on it.
Our aim is to offer you the finest eco products, green fashion, non-toxic toiletries and cleaners, all fairly traded and produced locally within strict environmental guidelines. We are getting as close as we can to this goal, but we are not quite there, yet. Before you click away in disgust, let us assure you it’s not through lack of trying. Here’s why…
We ensure that as much of our clothing as possible is organic. With some fibres, such as cotton and hemp, that is fairly straightforward, but organic wool is particularly difficult to source (although it's getting easier year on year). Some of our products are imported from continental Europe, South America and Asia. This is often because we are supporting particular groups of individuals by providing employment and helping to maintain traditional skills through ethical trading. We are aware that this may involve shipping long distances but we avoid air freight as far as possible. We only purchase from companies which assure us that they have fair policies on worker welfare. It may also be that these are simply the nearest places that we can source these items. If you have information on where we can buy these items more locally, please contact us. If you wish to know more about the production methods and environmental policies of any of our suppliers just click the supplier information tab where available on the product page. The good news is that there is an increasing number of British companies specialising in organic fibres so expect to see more of these on our website in the future. We are also working on manufacturing our own green clothing range locally, which will allow us to closely monitor the supply chain.
We have commissioned our own exclusive FSC/recycled gift wrap, which has been printed in the UK by a company that uses only renewable energy. We also worked with designer Lu Summers to create a fair trade, organic cotton print that is available by the metre.
We are concerned about sustainability and environmental issues, sourcing our goods from companies with stated environmental policies and which do not use toxic dyes, nickel plated fittings or toxic textile finishes.
The products in our eco home shop are selected using the same criteria. We spend lots of time researching suppliers who can provide special items that may be recycled, organic, non-toxic, sustainable, eco-friendly, local, fairtrade and ethical, and hopefully a mixture of these.
We are very conscious about our environmental impact - we use recycled packaging wherever possible (please ask if you'd like us to wrap your order in new materials), we decorate using environmentally friendly paint, and we make use of reclaimed timber for fittings and furniture. Our business is powered with 100% sustainable energy from Good Energy.
We are currently looking to manufacture our own range of clothing and home accessories from our own organic and fair trade fabrics, and local woollen yarns. We have already commissioned a recycled gift wrap and have sent local fleeces to be processed here in the UK creating a unique British wool yarn (from Derbyshire Gritstone sheep) and elegant wool throws that have been woven on historic Dobcross looms.
Eco Eco Ltd. was formed in 2005 by Alison Jackson-Bass to take eco fashion to venues around the UK where customers could try on the clothes rather than having to purchase all their ethically and environmentally produced organic clothing by mail order. However, we soon realised we needed a permanent base, as well as an online home. The first shop opened at The Courtyard in Hope in August 2006, and moved to even nicer premises in early 2009. It stocks clothes for men, women and children in organic fibres wherever possible alongside fairtrade accessories and jewellery. The second shop opened in August 2008, has a range of products for the house and garden, including natural paints, organic cosmetics and body care, fairtrade gifts, toys and craft kits. The online orders are despatched direct from Hope. We now employ four local people and are hoping to start producing our own clothing range, in a small way initially, that will be made in the UK. We are hoping that we will be able to produce...
