Bedstraw and Madder

Tagged in:

Clothing

Company: Bedstraw and Madder
Website: www.bedstrawandmadder.com

More about Bedstraw and Madder

Our organic fibres and botanical plant dyes are good for the planet, and for your skin. Harmful chemicals are causing havoc and polluting natural water resources. We create safer, cleaner clothing that is 100% chemical-free.

Through partnerships with Oshadi, Fibershed and RADDIS, we grow cotton with a respectful relationship to the land and the local community. The idea is to switch the paradigm and make cotton a force for good: sequestering carbon, reviving biodiversity and increasing profitability for farmers.

Our founders, Vanessa Barker and Primrose Matheson, have a combined 25 years of experience in sustainable fashion, health and wellbeing.

Contact information

Website: www.bedstrawandmadder.com

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: 07791629357

Veganism

Are all the products your entity (business, brand, organisation) produces and/or retails suitable for vegans? If no, then, unfortunately, you cannot register as we only accept submissions from 100% vegan entities.: Yes
Which of the following best describes you (professionals and sole traders) or your organisation?: Plant based

Ownership

Is your organisation an independent business/brand or a corporate owned business/brand?: Independent
Are you a Grassroots organisation (for projects, charities/NGOs)?: No
Are you a BAME (Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic) owned/run business/organisation?: No
What type of business/organisation are you?: Company
Are you a woman-owned/run business/organisation?: Yes

Social, Economic and Environmental Justice

Which social, economic or environmental justice causes does your entity (business, brand, organisation) support or promote (e.g. through social media posts, donations, attending protests and other direct actions etc.)?

Anti-slavery

Climate justice

Environmentalism

Feminism and gender justice

What do you do to support or promote each of the causes you have identified?

We educate an inspire through our content, manufacturing and workshops

Does your business/organisation have an ethical labour policy or code of practice (either formal or informal) which ensures fair labour practices?

Yes

Does your business/organisation have policies and practices which actively promote diversity and inclusion?

Yes

Is your business a member of the World Fair Trade Organisation?

Do you source products and/or ingredients from companies and suppliers that support fair labour practices?

Always

Environment and Sustainability

If any of the products you produce and/or retail, or ingredients you use, have a sustainable production certification, please indicate which certifications apply?: Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified
Overall, how many of the products that you produce and/or retail, or ingredients you use, are certified by the sustainable production certifications listed in the question above?: All
Are any of the products that you produce and/or retail, or ingredients you use, produced using sustainable production methods albeit uncertified?: No
Are any of the products that you produce and/or retail, or ingredients you use, free of palm oil?: All
Do you reuse, recycle and/or donate any waste products (e.g. food, plastics, packaging etc.)?: Yes
Do you only use recycled or recyclable materials for packaging?: Yes
Is all of your packaging biodegradable?: Yes
Does your business, organisation or project follow a zero waste philosophy?: Yes

Giving Back

Does your business support or give back to the local community in any way?: Yes

Ethical Banking

Does your business/organisation use an ethical bank or building society?: No

What was the motivation behind your project? What did you want to change in the world?

Our motivation was to create clean, chemical-free clothing that didn’t just do less harm but actively revived the planet.
We started with underwear because this is your most intimate item of clothing, the clothing you spend the whole day in with it touching your skin.
The fashion industry currently is a dirty business. It is the second-largest polluting industry after fossil fuels. 20% of water pollution is caused by the chemicals used in processing textiles. Not only are those chemicals bad for the environment they are also detrimental to our health.
Our co-founder Primrose is a naturopath and was well aware of the fact that your skin is one of the largest organs of your body and it absorbs what it touches. We wanted to create clean, healthy clothing with benefits. Applying the same philosophy we have embraced in our move towards organic food, to our clothing.

Who is the team behind your project?

Vanessa Barker

Creative Director and Co-Founder of Papillon Bleu, an ethical fashion consultancy, created to Do Fashion Better. 15 years in the fashion industry with expertise in fabric sourcing, sampling, product development and production processes to bulk delivery on an international scale.

Primrose Matheson

General Manager and Co-Founder Naturopath, homeopath and avid forager with a love and knowledge of plants and herbs that she brings to plant dyeing and community creativity. Experience in building a factory, production and marketing.

Giovanna Melfi

Marketing Director
A results-driven leader specialising in business development, people management and digital transformation. Over 20 years of experience achieving business growth in the luxury fashion industry.

What one thing about your project would most surprise us?

That all our products are dyed with only natural plant dyes which are fully colourfast to meet industry standards.

If your project could be granted one wish, what would you wish for?

To reach a wide global audience of people who we can inspire with the magic of natural plant dyes and convert more land to regenerative farming to increase our impact and sequester more carbon from our atmosphere.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with us about your project?

Our products are 100% compostable.