I was a big leap of faith. One of those ‘if we don’t do it now will we always regret it’ moments that come along every once in a while. Well we did it and our first range of organic cotton baby clothes that would fit over a cloth nappy was launched in the summer of 2004.

We had one computer, in our spare room,  a dial-up internet connection and a dream.

Now we have twenty one computers, in a purpose built unit, 2 broadband lines…and a dream.

Our dream is for Frugi to be the most desirable and trusted organic cotton clothing brand on the planet.

Frugi clothes are always design lead. It is all very well to have the softest and strongest organic cotton in the world, but if the design is wrong then all ethics and environmentally friendliness in the world will not help. The clothes have to look great too.

We now do clothes for newborn, baby, kids and mother. Our ‘mother’ range is designed to help breastfeeding mums feed their babies discreetly, but in style. Our Baby range is sill cut that bit bigger for cloth nappies and our kids range now goes up yo 8 years old.

We now have a consumer website and a wholesale website and a great facebook page.

The dream is alive…

Kurt (Living the dream)

 My first impression was that this was another good quality, soft and hard wearing Frugi Skirt

 It fitted my daughter well and it looks adorable when teamed with leggings and the knitted swing cardigan.  However, on days when it has been too warm for a cardigan, I have really struggled to find any tops that don’t clash with the skirts many patterns.  This may just be that we tend to have plain skirts and trousers and patterned tops in our house and I can easily remedy this by purchasing the Frugi long sleeve T-shirt pack, but just thought it was worth noting.

The skirt  itself has not been as popular in our house as the other Frugi skirts have been, but never the less my daughter is happy to wear it and the soft unrestricting nature of this skirt means she is free to climb or jump  or do whatever she is doing without any restrictions.

One of the best things is how easy this skirt is for a child to put on themselves, perfect for encouraging independence in this age group.

Reviewed by D. Malcolm Frugi customer and crusader

Frugi Flutterby cord pinafore dress

My youngest doesn’t get many new clothes,  she is mostly in hand-me-downs (mostly  Frugi/cut4cloth hand downs which do seem to wash and wear very well), so this dress was a real treat for her.

It is a perfect little dress and my 18 month old looks very cute in it.  It’s easy to dress her in, looks super comfy and as you say in the description, it’s girly but without being pink.

It’s washing well and after a  few washes there are no problmes to report.   The buttons at the front would have been a big plus with my eldest who disliked  having anything over her head,It’s got loads of room for cloth nappies and general wriggling.   It’s the kind of dress that doesn’t look out of place  for day to day wear, but at the same time looks great for more special occasions.   I love this dress so much that dd will be wearing it when the photograper visits her big sisters nursery next moth.

In summary – I love this dress.

Reviewd by D.Malcolm Frugi customer and crusader

Frugi organic swing cardi

We received our parcel a few weeks ago and  the moment I opened it the swing cardigan was a big hit with my three and a half year old.   She just loves the bright colour (Fuchsia) and the large buttons make it perfect for the “I can do it myself” moments  – off which we have many.

My daughter has hardly taken this cardigan off since it arrived.  She is the only child in her Nursery class who chooses not to wear school uniform and I love the fact that this cardigan really means that she looks smart yet still stands out from the crowds.   It’s also lovely and warm (it’s suddenly become quite cold up here in the lakes) and it’s fantastic to have a warm item of clothing that she is so keen to put on.

The bright colour also comes in really useful when I need to spot her in a crowd such as at a playground etc or when she runs to the other side of a field and the speed of light.   I found it really easy to keep track of the bight pink girl at the park today.

The Cardigan feels really well made, the wool is soft and I have no fears about it losing its shape or becoming bobbly.  It’s been washed a few times now and still looks as good as new. 

All in all – Fantastic.  My daughter firm favourite of the year and as its so cute  and practical  that I’m  delighted too.

 Thank You.

Reviewed by D. Malcolm Frugi customer and crusader

See the frugi warehouse boys - they're so handsome!

Mark and Derek have been busy little Frugi bunnies this week, unpacking our Autum / Winter collection and getting it ready for the new season. They’ve been quite chirpy about it, popping in and out and wheeling boxes about Frugi towers quite merrily. Mark especially seems to have a bounce in his step. We’ve been calling him ‘Black beauty’ this week, because he’s a dark horse

You see, when it comes to buying clothes we are torn by the compulsion of desire. Good design and quality manufacturing, coupled with good branding = a great product. It is very difficult to look beyond this even if you err on the, as Jeremy Clarkson would say, Ecomentalist side!

The challenge for clothing companies is, therefore, to make their clothes both desirable and as environmentally friendly as possible. Since we started Cut4Cloth (Now Frugi) 5 years ago, the number of retailers selling, and the quality of  organic cotton clothes they sell has increased dramatically.

Gone are the itchy-scratch hippy dippy garments of the past, replaced by beautifully designed quality clothes.

This is a good thing. It means that more people will buy organic, because the clothes are desirable.  For many, the ethical aspect is an added bonus. 

What needs to happen is for all manufacturing and retailing to operate in as an environmentally friendly fashion as possible. Then, by default, consumers will be buying ‘green’ without knowing it.

Then we can all look ‘cool’ in our amazing ‘threads’…man, without having to do any tie-dying whatsoever. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that you understand….phew )

By

That dude, Kurt Jewson

by Alex C – Frugi Customer & Crusader

Let’s start with a confession.  I’m pseudo-green.  I may have a green veneer, and my friends think I’m British Racing, but underneath it all, I’m what Dulux might call ‘Hint of Apple’. 

Oh, I use cloth nappies.  I grow a lot of my own veg.  My organic veggie box comes from a farmer just up the road, and I buy my organic meat from my local butcher.  My little boy is still breastfed, despite being 15 months old, and (oh yes) I spend quite a bit of money on expensive organic clothing from Frugi, rather than the perfectly serviceable stuff from Primark. 

But (and don’t tell anyone) it’s all a sham.  I don’t do these things out of concern for the planet.  It’s a combination of laziness and guilt with a little dollop of mother’s pride (no, not the bread) that drives me on. 

Let’s take cloth nappies.  If I was truly green, I would use nappies made from a sustainable natural fibre which doesn’t need pesticides to grow well.  Bamboo and hemp both fit the bill.  I’d select those made in the UK, or at least in Europe, to reduce the air miles and my carbon footprint.  I’d wash them at 40 degrees, perhaps with a tiny amount of eco-friendly non-bio and some vinegar.  They’d be dried on the line, of course. 

Do I do this?  Um…..well no.  Poor old Oliver has finest quality oil-dependent polyester on his bum, dyed lurid colours, probably using carcinogenic azo dyes, by Mexicans who are probably on the minimum wage.  The nappies are then sent to the US, then to the UK, then to me.  They’ve seen more of the world than their owner ever has. 

But  - and here’s the thing – I USE them.  They are easy.  They fit well. They wash well (though I insist on another eco-crime of a 60 degree cycle and some Persil).  They dry in a matter of minutes, either outside, on the radiator or (tut tut) in the tumble dryer.  They don’t give Oli a rump the size of a small planet, so he doesn’t need special trousers. 

And on the subject of clothing, Oli is usually clad in second-hand clothes from an NCT nearly new sale (if you’re a parent who’s never been to one of these – GO!).  I tell myself this is eco-friendly – after all, these clothes might have ended up in landfill – but I do wonder if this is outweighed by the fact that some of these second hand bargains are undoubtedly made by children in sweatshops in the Far East from fibres which have been drenched in chemicals.  Frugi gear is a bit different, of course – organic cotton and fairly paid workers, though they’re still in India.  Nice though that is, it’s the fact the stuff needs little or no ironing that makes it attractive – my laziness again. 

Life is a balancing act.  Being green in one way often means sacrificing green-ness in another.  I went on holiday recently – a flight (boo!) albeit a short one.  Did I take cloth nappies along?  No – I wasn’t going to spend my time handwashing them in gallons of water.  Did I take the more environmentally friendly disposables along?  Well no; I reasoned it would have increased the emissions from the aircraft too much, not to mention maxed out our baggage allowance.  I bought Pampers once we arrived, and mentally flogged myself all week. 

I could go on.  I breastfeed because it’s cheap and convenient, not because it’s eco-sound.   My organic veggie box is delivered because I can’t be bothered to lug potatoes around the shops.  In short, I am a fraud. 

But underneath my pseudo-green veneer, there may, just possibly, be a redeeming feature.  It’s not a big one, but it’s this:  I try to think.  I don’t always do what I should, but when I commit one of my frequent eco-sins, I stand in a corner and think about what I’ve done!  It doesn’t always stop me doing the same thing again, of course, but one day, when the angel on my shoulder has pricked my conscience yet again, it just might.

So who knows, there may just be a deep green core in this hint of apple!

Alex C – Frugi Customer & Crusader