SQUISHO: creating sustainable, ethical and eco-friendly products
For those of you who are into buying products that are sustainable, eco-friendly and ethical; you’ll want to know about SQUISHO. So here’s an interview with, Bryony and Adam, the couple behind the company.
What does SQUISHO specialise in selling?
SQUISHO is the brand with a heart. We create eco-friendly products and use our profits to support well-deserved charities.
Our high-quality clothing and tote bags are made using certified organic cotton and recycled materials. They meet the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), are vegan approved by PETA and are ethically approved by the Fair Wear Foundation.
Our unique greeting cards are made of recycled fibres and they come with a recycled brown envelope. All our designs are digitally hand-drawn by us, and we also offer custom designs with options to personalise!
We’re also eco-conscious about our packaging and we aim to minimise waste. Therefore, we use recycled materials, avoid plastic, and make choices that are better for the environment.
We’re not perfect and there are still many areas of improvement that we are working on introducing in the future. We believe it’s important that we all do our part to help our planet and we’ve definitely made some steps in the right direction!
Where is SQUISHO based?
Manchester, UK
Do you exclusively serve customers online? If not, what are the other ways that customers can see what SQUISHO offers?
Yes, we are currently online at www.shopsquisho.com. You can also check us out on Instagram and Facebook at @shopsquisho. In the future, if the opportunity arose, we would love to open our own store.
What inspired you to create a business that solely focuses on plant-based products?
We made our products vegan, sustainable and eco-friendly because we recognise the part that we have to play in looking after the planet. It also gives us a chance to educate others about how they can make small changes, which will make a difference that matters. The clothing industry is huge and with fast fashion, we believe it is important for people to start considering where their products are coming from and what they’re made of, not only to reduce their environmental impact but to improve the quality of life of those who produce our clothes.
How easy is it for you to source plant-based and cruelty-free ingredients for your products?
We did a lot of research before deciding on our products and supplier. It was important for us to work with brands that had similar values and ethics. Luckily for us, we found an amazing supplier of vegan, sustainable and ethical approved products which are also of fantastic quality.
Do these ingredients affect the outcome in comparison with non-vegan clothing?
By using organic cotton and recycled materials our products are high quality. We believe our range not only looks great but makes you feel great too.
For someone who can't decide, what are your three most popular items?
Our Albert hoodie has been a fan favourite from “the Albert collection” which is our original range from when we first launched back in December 2020. We have also seen plenty of customers who enjoy our sweatshirts, particularly the “easily distracted by” range which is customisable and our mental health collection. A recent launch of our custom outlines tees have also been popular as they make great personal gifts!
Is SQUISHO owned by, or in partnership with, another company that tests on animals or sells non-vegan products?
No
Tell me a bit about yourself before you launched SQUISHO?
In April 2020, we (Bryony and Adam) were both made redundant from our jobs just as the pandemic and lockdown began in full force. This left us with a lot of spare time. Naturally, we found ourselves on social media and watching video blogs more, seeing people with their own brands and online small businesses inspired us to create our own. Random hand-drawn digital doodles of dogs and cats eventually turned into embroidered designs.
We’re dog enthusiasts and all-around animal lovers, hence why our original products were animal inspired and 5% of the purchases were donated to charity.
Bryony’s family dog, Albert, was a huge inspiration – hence the Albert collection – he was rescued over 10 years ago, which is why supporting charities and rescue centres is so important to us.
What is your vision for the future of SQUISHO?
We have so many ideas and things in the works! We now print our printed designs in house, meaning we can do SO much more including custom designs and personalisation. We will continue to keep reinvesting and expanding on our current adult collections with new designs, ranges, and styles.
Our calendar is full of amazing ideas and launches throughout the year, with some limited time designs, new clothing items and special giveaways too!
If you place an order before Wednesday 28th July 2021 and you enter the code PLANTSHIFT15 when you check out, you’ll get 15% off your order.
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