5 Ways We Make Our Business More Sustainable

At Muddy Puddles we are highly aware that the clothing industry is the second most polluting industry on the planet. We tussle with the tension between making clothing that inevitably has an impact on the planet while at the same time aiming to place sustainability at the heart of our business.

We are highly committed to having an environmental approach to our business and establishing this as part of every decision we make and how we plan our strategy. Every year we explore new ways to make our products more eco-friendly. Discover 5 things we do to make our business more sustainable.

1) Products that are made to last

All our products are made to last, and we encourage our customers to hand down our waterproofs to younger siblings. We design all our children’s waterproofs with this in mind. For those products that don’t make it into customers’ hands, we work with a variety of charities to find new homes for our unused products. Other things we do: we use unisex colours and prints so that every item we make can be passed from boys to girls and vice versa, we use highly durable and resilient fabrics that can take the battering of every day use, we have a four stage QC process to every single item we make to keep faulty products to an absolute minimum which also reduces waste, and we design our products to be room-y with space to grow so that they can last for an extra long time. 

2) Recycled fabrics

At Muddy Puddles we have been making waterproofs out of recycled fabrics for nine years and we are expanding our eco products more and more. There are a number of elements to an eco product: 1) sourcing material that is made from recycled fabrics and ensuring that this has still got high quality performance properties while removing plastic from landfill and into a lovely jacket. 2) ensuring all eco products are made to the Oekotex Level II standard which includes a number of standards and conditions including reduced water use, and control of any chemicals used in waterproofing processes. Every year we explore new ways to make our products more eco-friendly. We are also very excited that our products arrive in biodegradable polybags, and we continue to ship our orders in durable paper packaging. 

3) Reducing waste

We have written about this before but we try to make sure we find a valuable home for every item we make. Like all companies we have a certain number of returns (items with a missing popper lid or a slight scuff for example). We make sure we take all of these as well as our samples and the jackets that are left behind from a previous season in just one size and find a great new home for them. We donate to asylum seeker drop ins, outdoor charities like ‘Learning through Landscapes’ and other amazing partners who we know will put our products to great use.

4) An ethos driven business

As an ethos driven business, we are passionate about getting children outdoors whatever the weather. We strongly believe in the value this brings for healthy bodies and minds. It also helps develop a next generation who are engaging with nature and care about the preservation of the planet. We do a lot to support the families and schools who have chosen to shop with us. Look out for our handy guides for families on places to go and activities to do across Britain in the great outdoors, and our curriculum linked lesson plans for teachers to use to take learning outside the classroom.

5) Working with charities

We also support charity partners with whom are values are closely aligned. We support Farms for City Children which gives inner city primary age children the opportunity to become farmers for a week. We support all their farms to have the outerwear they need to enjoy all the activities they are taking part in. We have seen with our own eyes the value this charity creates in the way it opens children’s eye’s to the importance of nature, weather, the food chain and the planet while also benefiting their overall confidence and well being for when they return to school. We are aware that there is more we can do to be even more sustainable and that this is a journey without an end destination, just continual learning and improvements we can make. We are proud to be pursuing sustainability as part of our core focus and would love to hear from any of our customers about other ways you think we could improve our practices.