catch up with Lucy to find out how much Cut4Cloth, now rebranded as Frugi, has grown.
Q&A with... A
Lucy Jewson of Frugi
fter identifying a gap in the market for organic baby clothing cut especially to fit over cloth nappies, Lucy and Kurt Jewson launched Cut4Cloth in the back bedroom of their Cornish cottage in 2004. Six years, and two office moves later, we
How did you end up launching Frugi? Well, I’m a marine biologist by trade, then moved into the pharmaceutical industry before I had the idea to set up our business whilst on maternity leave six years ago. After having our oldest son, I couldn’t find any clothes to fit over his washable nappies and his bulkier bum! Kurt and I launched the company, then called Cut4Cloth, with a handful of organic baby essentials especially designed to fit cloth nappies. The organic, ethical element was really important to us. I guess we wanted to prove that you can run a successful business without compromising on the things that are important, like looking after people and the environment. In 2004, we both gave up our jobs—we reckoned we’d give it one year and kept our fingers crossed.
How has Frugi evolved over the years? It’s changed a lot. In 2006, we outgrew our back bedroom and moved to my oldest friend’s converted grain barn on an organic farm. We took on some more employees and expanded the range to cater for older children as well as some breastfeeding wear, all organic of course! After we’d expanded the range we found that Cut4Cloth as a brand name was just too limiting, so we made the decision to rebrand in 2008 under the name Frugi. It all just took off and very soon we’ll be offering clothes for children up to eight years old. We’ve just moved again, with our 18 staff, to a new purpose-built 6000 square-foot office and warehouse unit in our local town, Helston. We have our first Frugi shop there too so it’s great to have lots of customers, and their Frugi-clad children, popping in.
What is your greatest achievement at Frugi? I guess it would be that we have made a success of it without compromising on our own ethics. Everything we do is as ethical as it can be and we’ve been able to help improve lives across the globe by creating more jobs for organic-cotton farmers and in fair-trade factories, and giving to charity—this year alone we’ve donated more than £17,000 to charity. Most of this is through our “1% for the Planet” membership—it’s a fab scheme through which we donate one percent of our turnover to two environmental charities: Pesticide Action Network UK, which is all about eliminating the dangers of toxic pesticides, and Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s Marine Conservation Programme, which is working towards making the Cornish coast a bit safer for our whales and
dolphins and their friends! We’ve also been supporting an Indian orphanage that is just down the road from our manufacturers.
What would you like to achieve next? We’re extending Frugi to cater for children up to eight years old in our Frugi Kids clothing collection for Spring 2011 and I’d love to develop a range of organic clothes for adults following the award-winning success of our Frugi Mother tops.
Frugi is active on Facebook and Twitter, how important are social media to the business? Having feedback and suggestions from our customers is incredibly important for us as we strive to make the most desirable and trusted clothing on the planet. It also means we keep in touch with what children and mums really want to wear and our happy customers will spread the word.
Whom in the business world do you most admire, and why? My amazing and thoroughly influential person has to be Yvon Chouinard who began outdoor-adventure- clothing company Patagonia in the 1970s. He pioneered environmental activism, involving customers in campaigns through knowledge and engagement. He also made Patagonia an outstanding place to work and started the 1% for the Planet scheme. Amongst all these fresh-thinking business approaches, he also started the organic-cotton movement in California after recognising that conventional cotton farming was so destructive. We discovered his book Let My People go Surfing and felt a real passion for his approach so we modelled Frugi along similar thinking and strive to look after everyone involved in creating Frugi clothes.
What advice would you give newcomers to the sector? Listen to everyone and seek advice from wherever you can. I’ve found this refreshingly essential, especially as running your own business often stretches your knowledge into unknown areas. It also helps you keep a bit of an overview so you don’t disappear into busy days and lose sight of your targets.
What was the last catalogue or online purchase you made? Some lovely bedtime picture books from Amazon for my two gorgeous boys.
Lucy Jewson
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