When we’re in our dotage, those baby boomers amongst us will look back at the early years of this century and see them as a turning point. 2006 in particular was the year that the world woke up to climate change and its been headline news around the world, provoking the consensus amongst politicians, scientists and us ordinary folk ever since - that climate change is now impossible to ignore.

The reasons for this change are endless and we don’t believe its down to only the politicians to make the change, we believe its down to the consumer – to us - aswell. Individual actions make a difference, particularly when multiplied by millions. Even more important is the fact that what we do is a very strong indicator of what we believe - and both businesses and governments respond to public opinion – they have to, because otherwise we wouldn’t buy their products or vote for them. So, it follows that if consumers don’t change their behaviour, businesses and governments won’t either.

Changing our ways can be hard, but we think that a good place to begin is from say the standpoint of a parent, and one case, a mother. In the two years leading up to the establishment of our company, the designer was fascinated by consumer trends and as a consumer on a budget felt increasingly insulted by the ‘stack ‘em high and sell them cheap’ philosophy of the big high street and out of town retailer names. We decided to design a product which had not already been done in a textile which had not already been used on a mass scale and therefore was unpatented (is it now!); to manufacture this product with an open door policy - beneficial to workers and to consumers alike - and at a price which was realistic, affordable and unbelievably good value for the quality of the product. So we ultimately wanted to return to the consumer ethic of former years and create something that would last, that was an investment, and that would be ard to throw away. In the three years since first setting up our company, we have been able to get on the inside track of what it takes to manufacture, and have been overwhelmed with the reaction to the ou rproduct. We have also however been underwhelmed by the lack of knowledge the average retailer and consumer have as to what they are buying with their hard earned cash and how it got to them.

It seems that the average person thinks that if they buy a product labelled as say organic cotton, then they are doing their bit for their children and the environment. What they don’t realize is that organic cotton takes the same huge volume of water to grow as does ordinary cotton. To grow organic cotton carries more risk as a crop for farmers as they can’t use chemical pesticides to prevent crop damage. There is less of a turnaround on volume, and therefore financial return for them. The manufacturers of this expensive fibre which is made into textiles and subsequently into ‘organic clothing’ for example need to increase their margins. To do this it is common practice for the textile to be flown by air to a manufacturing community such as say Bangladesh, where it is made in filthy impoverished conditions by the lowest wage workers, and then shipped – again usually by air to another country for purchase and ‘consumption’.

In an attempt to buck this trend, we set up and successfully runs an independent workshop in Vietnam which has European standard working conditions. We also contribute to a working cooperative in Bolivia, employing women from their local community. All our workers are valued and nurtured, reflected by the fair wages and cooked lunch we provide for them every working day. They work eight hours a day with a break for lunch, and are given time off – as we take for granted in the Western world – for compassionate and annual leave. We also source product from China, where contrary to popular belief, there are many companies who do effectively manufacture ethically and have been certified as such under increasing Chinese government legislation.

We source the textiles we use in the manufacture of our product from reliable certified companies around the world, and where possible ship them and our product by sea – which takes longer and is more cost effective. We work to an extended timetable of production up to six months in advance and when the product eventually reaches its destination, it is delivered with the maximum damage limitation possible to the environment.

We are mothers with a conscience, and have tried to do everything we possibly can to ensure a personal contribution to a safe and stable world for the future that our children and their descendents will enjoy.

Innovation

Babies and small children often develop an attachment to something they can snuggle up to for comfort and security - usually subjecting the object of their attention to a very primitive form of loving - a mixture of affectionate caressing and destructive attack. Individual developmental milestones of babies and infants build one on the other, once their own personal security platform has been established.

Noonoo products are child-size, portable and light enough to be manageable without being cumbersome. Each one is handmade, free-hand embroidered with child art imagery, and rigorously quality checked - and all are as individual as each unique baby and infant they find a home with.