My Organic Clothing Journey
My Organic Clothing Journey
Ellie is a busy farmer and mum of two boys who lives in the beautiful Welsh countryside. As a regular shopper here at BeauBaba, we asked her to tell us a bit about her favourite brands and what she reccomends… this is what she had to say!
My passion for organic clothing starts right back when we started in cloth nappies with my eldest (who is now 10 years old!) and I was always drawn to the bright prints. After a while, we began to buy Frugi which is designed with room for cloth bums, after someone had kindly given us a romper for a baby gift. I loved how the clothes were a wonderful soft fit, and so comfy. I never was a fan of tight jeans and flat caps!
It was amazing how disgustingly dirty one small child can get himself, especially as we spend so much time outdoors on the farm. Yet wash after wash, Frugi clothes would still come up perfectly!
Along came Ted, and I once again got to indulge in some beautiful Frugi for him, and well as passing on some of Johnny’s hand me downs. New or preloved, the fabrics were soft and comfy, fun and sturdy enough for yet another clothes destroying mud swimmer!
Ted was diagnosed with eczema, and we branched into more of the ethical brands such as Kite as I decided to only purchase organic clothing for him which would be kind on his delicate skin. Then something HUGE happened and changed my life… I discovered the beautiful, vibrant world of Scandi clothes!!! Whether that was a good discovery I’m not sure, my bank account might say no! But it’s definitely brought us a lot of joy.
Our favourite brand will always be Maxomorra, for the beautiful & bright prints, contrasting colours and non gendered designs. I remember back to my foolish days when I once called them garish and too bright to a cloth bum mum who I have to thank for my whole Scandi clothes adventure!
Even my eldest was converted after buying his first Maxomorra item and commenting ‘These are the softest PJ’s ever, Mum!’
The non gendered designs is one of the biggest draws for me, as well as the organic and ethical fabrics. No brand does this better than DUNS Sweden, in my opinion. The prints are just incredible, Ted loves flowers, butterflies and all things nature related, definitely a nod to our outdoor farming lifestyle. Generally, high street brands shy away from boys clothing featuring colours and floral/nature prints, but not Scandi designers like DUNS Sweden. They promote letting children enjoy what they enjoy, without stereotype. Our favourite Duns Sweden print is the old strawberries, which some might say is girly because of the flowers, but happily in the Scandi fan world it’s accepted as just a print for anyone to enjoy and wear. That in itself sends our children a powerful message to be whoever they want and enjoy every aspect of life, without being judged on those choices.
We have since discovered many many amazing brands, including the bright and colourful Toby Tiger and the wonderful Alba, which is entirely Steph’s fault for including a gorgeous jumpsuit in a mystery bundle and that was it, I’m now hooked for life! (Shrewd business woman!)
The quality Alba is second to none and the style is great for the older toddler or child. Johnny loves his Alba clothes and lives in them at the moment.
But anyway, back to our story. My passion for organic clothes continued to grow… and one day, at a school sports day, Ted was running around in his Duns Sweden Sealife Shortie and there there was a little boy I didn’t know running around in Frugi and the mum had a little baby wearing a Close Pop In nappy!! I wasn’t brave enough to say hello but discussed with friends who it could be….
Fast forward two months, and time for Playschool, We rock up with Ted in his random assortment of prints and colours, and in the gathering is the little boy in his Frugi. His father turns to me and says ‘Oh wow a Max/Duns Mash up!!!’ And that was how I met Dean!
And so the rest is history, dodgy car park exchanges, swapping lambs for bags of clothes and sipping Gin with Steph from our Klean Kanteens at the next sports day, life was definitely improved! (and if none of this makes any sense – you need to come along to BeauBabas Clubhouse where all the BeauBaba customers hang out and chat. Its lots of fun and it’s a lovely online community to join in with!)
It’s great to have a family that have the same ethical values and ideals in the same classes as mine at school, and great for Ted to have a fellow rainbow wearing friend. I have wholeheartedly supported the wonderful family business that is BeauBaba because I believe they are wanting to show us a better way of life, through increasing awareness and offering far more positive and ethical choices for the purchases we make.
Thank you BeauBaba for being a big part of our lives!