October saw the launch of the eco-conscious e-commerce start-up Wearth London, which champions UK brands with sustainable values and offers a range of departments including natural beauty, homewares, furniture, jewellery, lifestyle and gifts.
Co-founder Edward Davies explains how the company came about: “Feeling uninspired by the near impossible task of getting a good grad job, myself and my business partner, Imogen, decided to start our own business. I studied Geography at university so learnt the considerable impact we’re having on the environment as well as the exploitation of workers in less developed countries. Imogen was equally passionate about these issues so we set out to try and promote sustainable and ethical living in the UK.
“We knew from our own experiences that it is very difficult to find products which meet these values but are also are modern and stylish. However, from carrying out a lot of research we found that there are some amazing brands out there, which deserve more exposure. This has been the real inspiration behind Wearth, creating a new platform for sustainable and ethical UK brands to make it easier for people to find them whilst cultivating a community for them to grow.”
This has been the real inspiration behind Wearth, creating a new platform for sustainable and ethical UK brands to make it easier for people to find them whilst cultivating a community for them to grow
The company’s focus is mainly on UK brands and the majority of these products are made in the UK. “We decided to do this firstly as in a world of global mass production we want to promote local consumerism as we feel this is very important to our store being sustainable. We also feel proud that we can say we are focusing on supporting British business and I hope we act as inspiration for new entrepreneurs to feel like they can set up a sustainable and ethical brand and know there is a market for them to sell to.
“Our main priorities are to champion brands which create in-demand products without exploiting anyone or the planet. This is exemplified by looking at our natural beauty department where all our products are handmade in small batches in the UK using completely natural and organic ingredients. Like all of our products in our store everything we sell is also cruelty-free and vegan friendly. Alongside this one of our main priorities is to reduce the use of plastic as plastic is devastating our oceans and all our beauty products are housed in glass packaging and in our store you can also filter by plastic-free.”
An important aspect of Wearth London is its blog, says Davies, which aims to create relevant content promoting sustainable living. There are a number of guest bloggers lined up too, who will cover subjects including zero waste, beauty routines and plant-based recipes.
The response has been amazing,” Davies adds, “especially on social media, and we feel generally that people in the UK are at a real turning point in terms of becoming increasingly aware of how and what they buy. We really value our brands and people get what we’re trying to do and see that we are passionate and genuine in our mission.”
