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 products, 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 try to 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 suppliers of organic clothing may also produce non-organic clothing, because it is difficult for them to source sufficient organic textiles and convert production to reach recognised industry standards. By purchasing non-organic items from these companies you are helping to provide them with funds to bring about the changes that we all want. All of our cotton baby clothes are organic – much better for sensitive skin.
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
. 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 concerned about environmental issues and aim to source our goods from companies with stated environmental policies and which do not use toxic dyes, nickel plated fittings or toxic textile finishes.
If you wish to know more about the production methods and environmental policies of any of our suppliers just click the ‘Ethics’ tab where available on the product description page.
The products in our 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), our shops are decorated using environmentally friendly paint, and many of our shop fittings are either 'pre-loved' or made using recycled wood. Eco Eco 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 are sending local fleeces to be processed here in the UK. We are also actively engaging with local makers to increase the choice of products made within 50 miles of our shops in the Peak District.
