Our Ethical Brands

Apple & Bee

Apple & Bee is an Australian owned company producing fabulous baby, travel and toiletry bags from eco-friendly and sustainable materials. It was founded by Brett Pattinson, creator of the natural skincare company 'bod and bubs', and designer Claire Morris, former Art Director of mariclaire magazine.

Sharing a passion for the best in contemporary design, they were committed to developing a company that has the lowest possible impact on the environment. And that's a philosophy that's aplied to every level of the business, from design and sourcing to manufacturing and warehousing.

Using natural fibres, including certified organic cotton, bamboo silk, hemp, burlap/calico and genuine leather (the perfect combination of both luxury and sustainability) they show you don't need to sacrifice quality to make eco-friendly choices.

Earth Mama Angel Baby

Earth Mama Angel Baby have the most incredible range of pregnancy, labour and post-natal products.  It was the most comprehensive range of products we could find.  

They use the highest-quality, certified-organic or organically grown herbs and oils in teas, bath herbs, gentle handmade soaps, salves, lotions and massage oils.  Their products are 100% toxin-free, cruelty-free, vegan, and free from all artificial preservatives, fragrances and dyes.  They don't, and never have, used SLS, parabens or synthetic preservatives.  They only use eco-friendly recyclable or reused/resuseable packaging and packing materials.

The mamas (and honorary-mama papas) at Earth Mama Angel Baby are a dedicated and diverse group of nurses, herbalists, labor and postpartum doulas, childbirth hypnotherapists, childbirth educators, women, mothers and grandmothers. (And a father or two.)  They are members of numerous organisations supporing the organic movement, the environment, safe cosmetics and childbirth education.  Based in Oregon, USA, their products are made in fairtrade factories in the USA.

Enamore                                                              

Over the last 2 years Enamore has been featured on BBC2’s Working Lunch, ITV’s This Morning and LK Today as well as editorial and product features in The Observer, The Guardian, The Telegraph and Cosmopolitan magazine. Enamore can now be found in cities worldwide including London, Brighton, Bristol, Paris, Sydney, Oslo and  Washington DC.

Enamore's range uses the finest organic and sustainable fabrics including bamboo, hemp, cotton, soya and silk sourced from accredited suppliers.  The label's range of womenswear, lingerie and accessories are all designed and manufactured in the United Kingdom.

Enamore was created by Jennifer Amb rose in the seaside city of Brighton, recently moving to Bath. The label was born out of the designer’s love for vintage patterns and printed fabrics. Her vision was to create young beautiful, playful and quirky designs from organic fabrics and vintage textiles.

 

Montezuma

Montezuma was founded 6 years ago by two ex-city lawyers who, tired of London and the Law, sold up and went to South America.  There they found chocolate (and thank God they did!  Their creations are incredible!).

  

The brand has a wonderful sense of humour, but one thing they are very serious about are their founding principles. and they aren't shy to thrust those principles into the limelight. These principles haven’t been bolted on by a PR company or constructed to join a bandwagon. They are passionate about their impact on the small world they live in and trade with, and that includes the environment, their partners, their customers, and of course the societies they touch. 

Currently all their organic cocoa comes from co-operative plantations in the Dominican Republic or Peru.  Both of these co-ops have a strong social structure that re-invests into the local society and infrastructure in a way that makes their cocoa-based agriculture sustainable, equitable and indeed profitable.

Montezuma are obsessive about quality and use only the best ingredients.  Their cocoa is organic, however some additional ingredients (such as fruit) may not be if no superior organic version was available.  We've tried to make our labelling as clear as possible to this effect.

 

 

Natalia

The Natalia range is created by Vital Touch, a Devon-based company and specialists in pregnancy massage and aromatherapy.  Created by practising therapists, the range is made from 100% natural ingredients.  All are organic or wildcrafted.

Vital Touch uses:

  • Only the highest quality, unadulterated organic and wildcrafted essential oils that have been tested for purity
  • Ingredients that are mild and considered environmentally friendly
  • Ingredients that are wholly naturally derived
  • Packaging from recycled, recyclable or reusable materials

Their products are:

  • Suitable for vegetarians and vegans
  • Not tested on animals
  • Hand blended in small quantities to ensure consistent quality, freshness and maximum shelf life

They don't use:

  • Synthetic colouring or perfumes
  • Mineral oils or lanolin
  • Petrochemicals
  • Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS)
  • Parabens

Organics for Kids

Organics for Kids are a UK company passionate about supporting the local textile sector and its workers.  The majority of their range is manufactured in the UK, at a small factory just outside Nottingham.  They've worked with this factory since they started and have a close working relationship allowing them excellent quality control.  They've watched this factory struggle to survive the rush to off-shore manufacturing, and they are committed to working with them.  This gives them the confidence to know the conditions under which their garments are being manufactured adn they believe that the quality they produce is unbeatable (we'd have to agree).  They are delighted that the factory has been approved to make their clothes by the Soil Association.

A small part of the OFK collection is manufactured by a Fairtrade Foundation approved factory in India. They have a small factory and are confident of their good social and environmental standards.  The factory grows its own cotton, some of which is also certified by the Fairtrade Foundation.  While they support the efforts of the Fairtrade Foundation in developing countries, they are also passionate about supportin gthe UK textile sector and workers and have a commitment to manufacturing the majority of their range in the UK.

Organics for Kids currently source their certified organic cotton from two organic cotton suppliers, with whom they work closely.  When it's available, they use certified Fairtrade cotton, and when it's not available they're confident that their cotton is fairly traded (meaning that farmers are paid a reasonable - and normally premium - price for their cotton, and are not expoited in the process). All of the cotton from both suppliers is certified organic by one or more of the following:

  • SKAL - SKAL is the internationally recognised body which ensures that the cotton is grown organically and that the processing (spinning, weaving, washing, dyeing, etc) is undertaken in an environmentally responsible manner.
  • IMO: Both OFK stockists are certified by the Swiss organic certification body, IMO
  • GOTS: Their cotton also adheres to the new Global Organic Textile Standards
  • Soil Association: OFK has recently become certified by the SA.  This covers many of their products, and hopefully very soon the entire range.

Dyes: The dyes are not organic, but meet the Oeko-tex 100 standard, which protects against harmful substances.

Piccalilly

Piccalilly is a Yorkshire Dales run business.  It's an ethically conscious brand and they've been leading the way producing stylish, socially and environmentally responsible products that are colourful and modern. They're committed to trading fairly with suppliers throughout the supply chain whilst working towards environmental best practice.

  • Their organic baby clothes and organic cotton clothes range is made from Fairtrade certified cotton.
  • Their organic cotton is GM free
  • All Piccalilly's organic ranges are coloured and printed using low impact environmentally responsible dyes and at no stages of processing have formaldehyde, solvents, silicone based softeners, toxic chemicals or azo-dyes been used. Their organic cotton ranges were recently investigated by Ethical Consumer Magazine who gave them the second highest ethicscore and voted their baby range BEST BUY
  • Piccalilly are very proud of their supply chains, and the organic cotton comes from a supply chain that has been audited by the Fairtrade Foundation. They pay a guaranteed price for their cotton and an additional social premium which is invested by the cotton producers in community development projects such as clean water, schools, roads and medical centres.
  • Their Fairtrade cotton is sourced through the CHETNA project which supports up to 1500 very small independent cotton farmers. The cotton is organically grown without the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers and certified organic through SKAL. 

  • They always trade constructively and fairly with their manufacturing partners by paying advances - typically of 50%, placing regular and repeat orders throughout the year and where possible contributing towards local causes.

    		•

    Timothy Han

    Timothy Han is a London-based company creating luxury natural products for body and home. 

    Timothy initially worked for John Galliano where scented candles were often lit while working in the atelier.  It became a habit for Timothy to burn a candle at his desk while working.  After learning about the dangers associated with scented candle ingredients (the black soot seen wafting from burning candles was a petroleum-based combustion product known to be carcinogenic), he began creating his first all-natural candle. 

    The brand has rapidly developed a cult following.  BAFTA, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, recently gifted all nominees of the prestigious Orange British Academy Film Awards with Timothy Han products.

    Wherever possible Tmothy Han use only certified organic, ethically sourced and wild harvested ingredients. They have direct links to farmers and harvesters to ensure that their ingredients are ethically and sensitively sourced, and used recycled and biodegradable packaging wherever possible.

    Timothy Han products don’t contain any parabens, animal by-products, petrochemicals, sodium lauryl sulphate, sodium laureth sulphate, or synthetic or artificial fragrances and colours. The candles are 100% natural; handcrafted from pure essential oils, an unbleached cotton wick and soy wax free from genetically modified ingredients, herbicides and pesticides.

    Most candles advertised as natural or soy usually contain a blend of vegetable wax and as much as 70% paraffin wax and/or artificial scents. Timothy Han candles are guaranteed 100% plant-based. The scents are derived from precious botanical essential oils that are carefully blended throughout the wax to ensure a long-lasting, natural and delicate scent. They do not contain any synthetic fragrances, perfumes, dyes, chemical enhancers or boosters and have a metal-free wick.

    For more information on the issues concerning scented candles, check out our further reading section here: http://www.milkhoney.co.uk/page.html?chapter=0&id=27

     

     

     
     

    Toft Alpaca

    Alpaca has been known for over six thousand years as the 'Fibre of the Gods'.  This incredibly luxurious fibre is warm, soft, light-weight and lustrous, and celebrated for its hypoallergenic qualities and myriad of natural colours.  It's:
    • Available in 22 natural colours, from cream through to black, so chemical dyes aren’t needed to create incredible, contemporary designs.
    • Soft and silky to the touch, with no 'itch factor'
    • Lightweight, due to its hollow core
    • A fantastic insulator, again due to the hollow core
    • Less inclined to 'pill' due to long staple length

    Toft Alpacas was established in 1997 by the Bettinson family and has a pedigree herd of prize-winning alpaca. 

    On a stunningly beautiful site near the hamlet of Toft near Dunchurch in North East Warwickshire over 200 alpacas are loving cared for on pastures that roll down towards the shores of Draycote reservoir.  Toft is an active Alpaca Stud specialising in Accoyo blood lines and breeding Best Browns.

    The standards they follow are of the level demanded of organically farmed sheep or cattle, however an organic standard hasn't yet been introduced for alpaca so they can't legally be termed organic. 

    As the Bettinsons say "At Toft we've striven since our inception for the highest standards in husbandry, welfare, management and education.

    We acknowledge that we're the keepers of a very special animal producing a very exclusive luxurious product and manage our farm for the sole benefit of our alpacas.  We devote a lot of resource into improving our farm to create an efficient, economic and beautiful showcase for our wonderful herd which we can enjoy along with our clients and the public at large". 

    Following shearing of the two hundred prize-winning alpacas the Toft alpaca wool is spun in Banbury into alpaca yarn. By the time the yarn arrives back at Toft, it's normally travelled no further than 50 miles. 

    Toft has a team of over thirty handknitters working within Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire, who all love working with these wonderful natural yarns. And we think its wonderful that such amazing skills are still flourishing!  We hope you enjoy the products, they're simply gorgeous.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     
    Copyright © Milk & Honey