It is becoming increasingly important that clothing companies should make an effort to encourage more sustainable consumption patterns, caring and washing practices, and overall attitudes to fashion. (Green Strategy, June 2014)
At The Pyjama House our aim is produce a good quality, 100% cotton product that is made to a high specification such that it can be used and re-used for a very long time. We know, from customer feedback, that most of our childrenswear goes on to become hand-me-downs over and over again. We also know from our customers that our products go on and on being washed and not losing their quality.. this is because we use good quality 100% cottons. There is no polyester or any other man made fabric in our pyjamas or nightdresses. Our pyjamas are ethically produced and this is reflected in the fact that we make much narrower margins on our products than those pyjamas mass produced for the High Street. Our products are shipped (rather slowly!) instead of being flown to the UK. Production is in India where the cotton is grown and our designs are wovenrather than importing bulk material to the UK.
Further, we extend the “eco” philosophy to our marketing. I have a personal horror of endless paper so at The Pyjama HouseNO BROCHURES are sent out and no leaflets distributed as magazine inserts, etc. All our marketing is email or social media based (increasingly using Instagram and Twitter instead of Facebook). Better than that, we can truthfully claim that our success to date is based almost entirely upon word of mouth which is, at the end of the day, totally cost free both to the environment and to The Pyjama House which means we can keep our costs down and pass on those savings to you in the price we charge.
Packaging is more of an issue.. we don’t want your pyjamas to arrive damp or dirty in the post so we do use plastic (albeit recyclable) wrapping and mail sacs but are looking into how we can improve this. Unfortunately we still have several boxes of blue mail sacs to get through which can’t be returned so may as well be used, but once they have all gone we will be more ecologically conscientious in our purchasing of packaging material.
How can you help? We would urge that you continue to buy with a view to handing pyjamas down to siblings. Many of you already do so. We urge that you wash our garments on a lower heat, use washing lines not tumble dryers whenever possible, pass clothes down to smaller siblings and friends, and recycle our products when they have finally worn out (they make jolly good dusters!) And, although this goes against the profitability of our company, really don’t buy our PJs unless you are going to use them!
Happy Shopping.. if you really need them!