Made Natural Ltd

Aim

We are an online business that provides a variety of sustainable and eco-friendly crafting supplies to earth conscious makers and crafters.

So how did Made Natural Ltd come about?

As a maker and crafter who is conscious of the environment, I've always struggled to find eco friendly and ethical craft supplies all in one place. Granted there are plenty of art shops about, but when looking for ethical supplies, it can be real hit and miss! You're on 1 page for one brand, another for the tools you require, and so on. One day, while trawling the internet for a specific colour yarn for a crochet project, I came up with the idea of Made Natural Ltd - an online store that would house multiple brands of sustainable and eco friendly craft supplies all in one place to provide variety to conscious crafters!

Another thing I also quickly realised while searching for supplies, is that there are so many fantastic independent "like minded" individuals and businesses out there making supplies on quite a small scale, and wouldn't it be cool if we all started working together to create a "hub" of easily accessible, handcrafted eco friendly supplies for handcrafting makers? I'm talking yarn spinners with 10 pet sheep, recycled notebook creators, hand crafted tools, those that homemake plant dyes and paints...the lot! - hence Made Natural was born, a platform for bringing together a fantastic group of artisan suppliers all located in one place to provide high quality eco friendly and considered products to the crafting community.

So far, I have found a few suppliers who fit the bill and follow a 5 step golden rule that I created:

1. No animals harmed in the process: I would love to stock vegan, plant based and cruelty free supplies, my supplier really has to treat any animals involved with respect!

2. A fair working wage: It is so important to me that all staff employed by any supplier is paid a fair working wage. For example, I have been in touch with Yarn Yarn, a UK based supplier who promotes fair working co-operatives for women in rural India who spin eco friendly, recycled yarns from silk scraps and sari materials.

3. Low carbon emissions: I initially would like to work with companies in the UK and Europe that have low carbon emissions, or if a supplier is further afield, they really need to take care of their carbon footprint. Its all about helping the planet!

4. Recycling: If a supply is made from recycled material or can be recycled, thats perfect! If the supplier is hot on their own recycling, even better!

5. Minimal waste: A company that crates a supply with minimal waste is ideal for me to work with on this project. Similarly, any waste they do have must be disposed of correctly!

For each supplier, I will speak with them regarding these 5 golden rules before agreeing to work together - we all need to be on the same page!

So what will I do with the funds?

• Buy initial stock.
• Buy the eco friendly package required.
• Work with an advertiser to bring awareness to the project and store.
• Branding and logo design.

I'm really excited to be on this journey, and cannot wait to see what the future will bring. I'm very keen to promote sustainable crafting and hope to spread the message as far and wide as possible!

Thank you for taking the time to read about my project,

Abbie Glover

This project successfully funded on 30th March 2020