Naomi on the difficulties on being an ethical business...
“I started in the UK furiously internet researching, looking at any ethical products I could find and trying to see if they made any reference as to who they produced their goods with. It was quite a long and thankless task.
“I finally found the people I produce with today and sent off the designs. They said they could do it, but there is an element of a leap of faith.
“It’s all very well them saying they can do it and it’s another thing whether they can actually make a high quality bag. In the end I went out there to meet them.”
On the importance of getting close to the manufacturers...
“You watch the production team in real time it’s just incredible to see them work and their skills. You can change things around if they’re doing anything slightly wrong or you change your mind, you can change it there and then.
“I always go out to the factories myself whenever I’m making new products, because it’s much easier to work with them at the same time, in the same place. Then you understand in a very real way what is and isn’t possible.
“You understand things like what time the team has their lunch and how long it takes to get leather to them, so you don’t make demands on them that they can’t fulfil. It’s very important to be out there I think.”
On her relationship with the Calcutta workers making the bags...
“Relationships go a long way and I know they’ll go the extra mile for me. I feel like I try and do everything I can, because I know that the money goes back to them and benefits the people so much.
Relationships go a long way and I know they’ll go the extra mile for me and I feel like I try and do everything I can, because I know that the money goes back to them and benefits the people so much
“The QC [quality control] team are all ladies and they're all the sole breadwinner in the family with 75% of them widowed. So they’re facing enormous hardships but I know they’re getting a constant supply of good money.”
On things you need to bear in mind when starting a green business...
“You can’t say ‘I need this in three weeks’, it’s just not going to happen, you have to have a bit of understanding about who is making it. They might be able to make a fantastic product at the end, but there’s so much work that goes into it.
“Maybe there are certain design features you can’t have simply because they don’t have the equipment to do it. But I don’t think the products suffer for it.
“You can always find a perfectly good, sometimes better solution, just by working with the factory and seeing what they can do.”
