We were delighted to host the BBC Working Lunch team to Cotton Roots and Impact Trading.  It was exciting to be filmed at work and a great boost to us all here.  The reason they wanted to film us was to shouw our ethically sourced aprons, t shirts, polo shirts and hoodies.  They are all either Fairtrade certified or organic garments.

I have been watching various clips on You Tube today showing cotton farmers around the world who are changing to organic and Fairtrade certified cotton.  It was good to take the time to do this. Sometimes when business is tough I have doubt about how much we can invest into making this side of our business work.  However watching these short films make me quietly more determined and somehow believing that it is not only the right decision for our suppliers in India but one that will be be a good one for us.  It will need us to continue to go on ordering stock and believing.  Call it a hunch or instinct I am still going along the path we have chosen.  Just writing this in the blog, remembering the BBC here and all the telephone calls we have had from customers pleased to have found us makes it “stick” more in my mind.

You can view the feature from the BBC Working Lunch here – BBC and Cotton Roots

Energy Grant 500

FREE!
Energy Grant £500 for businesses Good news!  Did you know that there is a simple no strings attached grant for £500 available to businesses? We have applied for it and I have been pleasantly surprised as it has been a very simple process.

Basically if you can improve efficiency by reducing your energy consumption you can get the grant. We have applied for a grant so that we can install a fan in the ceiling of our premises to push down the heat, and a plastic curtain to cut out the loss of heat through our warehouse doors.

It is great to find something that supports our business to continue our work towards a sustainable approach.

Click here for a link and application form. If I can offer any assistance please give me a call. 01908 290482

We are really pleased – but also a little nervous.  Two MBA students are coming along to Cotton Roots to scope a study report identifying environment, society and governance issues to our company.  This is a part of their “Managing Sustainable Business” MBA assignment.  I hope that the study will be useful to them, a hands on opportunity and also hopefully it will be very useful to us!  I find it motivating when we have input from someone outside the business.  Their views are different to ours and sometimes takes us in other new directions.  So watch this space.

As a alumni of Cranfield I can highly recommend them.  I always come away full of ideas for our company.

We have just supplied organic natural aprons to “Fallen Angel Bakery”.  It is one of those lovely embroidered designs that we notice when they are being embroidered.  Even though we have been in the business fro years some designs just make us look and take notice.

What a fabulous name!

We wish them good luck in their venture and if you take at look at their website they are definitely worth a visit! Yum.

Leap Media are a new customer.  They obviously are keen to work ethically and have links with the National Trust.

A few weeks ago they needed some apronsmade with fairtrade certified cotton.  Urgently.  We were able to supply them with our unbleached, natural aprons.  Their customer the National Trust were pleased – and so were we.  Here they are!

Now Leap Media are back wanted fairtrade certified cotton t shirts. Urgently.  Well the more people make this choice the better so I am delighted, plus they are a pleasure to work with.

It’s the week end aftfer a good week.

 Happy days.

Every now and again I get a bit wobbly.  As I did last night.  I have purchased morestock of Fairtrade and organic garments to extend our range – and then I think……..have I done the right thing?  Arethere enough people out there who will be committed enough to purchase it?  Are there schools who will want school uniform made with Fairtrade certified cotton.  Slight panic on my part.  When ever I read about other people in business they always seems so certain.  I wish I was more like that.  So I have to spend some time in thought and think again of the things I am certain of.  Well……..

• I am certain that trying to trade more fairly is the way I want to work
• I love the idea of trying to think of the human race rather that just humans in the UK
• I am in certain that there are lots of other people who have similar thoughts
• I do think that we need to care for our planet and realise that we need to give as well as take

Once I have written this it helps me to clarify thing again.  I may “wobble” and worry but if I believe in what I have written then that must be the way for me to proceed.  So I await my next delivery of goods and they include our school uniform options.  This is exciting I want to find the name of the ship they are on and make it seem more real.  They will be here in around three weeks.

NOW.  I need to let let schools and companies of the options we can offer them.  They do have quality Fairtrade and organic choices.  I am certain of this as well – this will be the challenge – to ensure they know they have a choice and that we exist.

Challenges.  I like them.