After recently making the finals for the Muddy Stilettos, Best Sustainable Business award in Bucks and Oxon (huge thanks to all of you that gave us your vote, we are forever grateful), we thought it would be a good time to highlight our sustainable credentials and share our vision for Nephele’s even greener future. As we all try to become more conscious consumers and reduce our carbon footprint, we believe at Nephele that it is important to constantly reassess our practices, putting the planet and people foremost in our business plan.
Being sustainable in fashion means not just addressing what the product is made from, it also encompasses the entire process from who and how it is manufactured, to how long it lasts. Our bags are all handmade by a fair-trade company in India. This means all of their workers are entitled to workers’ rights, safe working conditions and a fair salary. This is so important to us at Nephele and we are proud to support our manufacturers in any way we can.
As most of you will already know, our gorgeous bags are hand-crafted using eye-catching leather offcuts that were destined for landfill. Not only does this mean that each one of our bags is completely unique and you can guarantee that no-one else will ever have the same bag as you, it also helps to reduce waste, from the leather itself to the processes used to make and dye it. We try to be as mindful as possible when organising our deliveries of stock from India, bulk ordering where we can, which helps to reduce air-miles.
Our packaging is plastic free and we try to use eco-friendly or recycled packaging where possible. You can also do your bit at home by recycling your packaging once you have opened your beautiful new Nephele bag. Leather often gets better with age and we hope, with the right care your bag will last you a very long time. One exciting new avenue we are currently looking at, is the possibility to send us your bag once it can no longer be used so we can re-purpose it in to something else. Watch this space as we hope to have more news on this very soon.
So in summary, what is there not to love? When you purchase a Nephele bag, not only do you get a wonderful new addition to your wardrobe, but you also help the planet too!