I've had my eye on Quail (or QuailbyMail) for a while. Based in Brixham, Devon, they bring you a brand of totally ethical, organic, fairtrade fashions, made in Britain. I spoke to Shauna, and she can introduce herself and Quail...
Hi Everyone! My name is Shauna Chapman and I founded Quail in 2007. I produce ethical, organic and fairtrade clothing for women of all ages who appreciate artisan quality and unique styling. My husband, Jason Clark is a partner in the business and being a graphic designer he produces all of the graphics. We moved the company from London to south Devon in Summer 2007 and renovated a 200year old ship’s chandlery together which is now our live/work unit. We’re devoted to green living!
The brands been online, since December 2007 with a lot of design and manufacturing taking place in the months leading up to this time! I started the whole process by sourcing organic and fairtrade cotton fabric and genuine Indonesian batiks and South African shweshwe before I even commissioned the designs. So I sort of became a fabric specialist and importer before the Quail brand was truly born. But my methods have paid off as I have an excellent supply chain and access to the best unique ethical fabrics.
I find the fabrics I source inspiring. Real people and real places are involved with producing quality organic and fairtrade, exotic and handcrafted cotton fabrics. The eco and ethical provenance of the fabrics is incredibly important to me. I also adore colour, texture and print and pattern. In fashion, there are an infinite amount of ideas to explore. I love funky use of colour and print by Spain’s Custo Barcelona and India’s Alpana Bawa. I also borrow cuts, detailing and pleat ideas from vintage clothing from the 1940s.
I started my own ethical/green label because I am a long term fan of organic and fairtrade food and I moved onto cosmetics and cleaning products so it was only natural that I started thinking about where my clothing came from. Two factors of modern fashion which need to be told are the environmental and human impacts. Cotton is one of the world’s largest crops and the use of pesticides and herbicides make it the most polluting of commodities. Unregulated labour practices in developing countries makes for unfair treatment of workers, child labour and living in a vicious circle of poverty. Hunting for bargains on the highstreet in England is a million miles away from the reality of fashion—and it needs to change!
Tell us about “Product Provenance”?
‘Product Provenance’ is a term I invented as an ethical label operator to show customers the exact details of the supply chain of any Quail By Mail clothing item. I publish this information on my website. Customers can read about the Indian cotton I use and how it turned into a shirt. A non-GM cotton seeds, fairtrade and organic agriculture, traditional skills, fairtrade labour in the weaving community, British design and ingenuity and eco friendly haberdashery such as shell buttons are used.
What advice would you have for anyone setting up their own clothing brand?
As with all products, ‘the market’ needs to know you exist before they can buy from you. Advertising and PR are massive factors so a lot of time, money and consideration needs to be put into how you are going to get your lovely things to people who might want to buy them.
What’s next for the brand? What are your plans for the future?
I will introduce new styles and colours for the Autumn of course, but I think Christmas 2008 will be the best yet for ethical/green fashion - the message is gradually reaching consumers and changing their habits. I want to spend time developing styles of clothing which look really cool, are funky and unique but also styles to fit the variety of budgets out there.
Well, looks like Quails got it all, style, a sound eco-concience, and a big future. Oh and whats this? A summer sale, with up to 70% off?
Hi Everyone! My name is Shauna Chapman and I founded Quail in 2007. I produce ethical, organic and fairtrade clothing for women of all ages who appreciate artisan quality and unique styling. My husband, Jason Clark is a partner in the business and being a graphic designer he produces all of the graphics. We moved the company from London to south Devon in Summer 2007 and renovated a 200year old ship’s chandlery together which is now our live/work unit. We’re devoted to green living!
The brands been online, since December 2007 with a lot of design and manufacturing taking place in the months leading up to this time! I started the whole process by sourcing organic and fairtrade cotton fabric and genuine Indonesian batiks and South African shweshwe before I even commissioned the designs. So I sort of became a fabric specialist and importer before the Quail brand was truly born. But my methods have paid off as I have an excellent supply chain and access to the best unique ethical fabrics.
I find the fabrics I source inspiring. Real people and real places are involved with producing quality organic and fairtrade, exotic and handcrafted cotton fabrics. The eco and ethical provenance of the fabrics is incredibly important to me. I also adore colour, texture and print and pattern. In fashion, there are an infinite amount of ideas to explore. I love funky use of colour and print by Spain’s Custo Barcelona and India’s Alpana Bawa. I also borrow cuts, detailing and pleat ideas from vintage clothing from the 1940s.
I started my own ethical/green label because I am a long term fan of organic and fairtrade food and I moved onto cosmetics and cleaning products so it was only natural that I started thinking about where my clothing came from. Two factors of modern fashion which need to be told are the environmental and human impacts. Cotton is one of the world’s largest crops and the use of pesticides and herbicides make it the most polluting of commodities. Unregulated labour practices in developing countries makes for unfair treatment of workers, child labour and living in a vicious circle of poverty. Hunting for bargains on the highstreet in England is a million miles away from the reality of fashion—and it needs to change!
Tell us about “Product Provenance”?
‘Product Provenance’ is a term I invented as an ethical label operator to show customers the exact details of the supply chain of any Quail By Mail clothing item. I publish this information on my website. Customers can read about the Indian cotton I use and how it turned into a shirt. A non-GM cotton seeds, fairtrade and organic agriculture, traditional skills, fairtrade labour in the weaving community, British design and ingenuity and eco friendly haberdashery such as shell buttons are used.
What advice would you have for anyone setting up their own clothing brand?
As with all products, ‘the market’ needs to know you exist before they can buy from you. Advertising and PR are massive factors so a lot of time, money and consideration needs to be put into how you are going to get your lovely things to people who might want to buy them.
What’s next for the brand? What are your plans for the future?
I will introduce new styles and colours for the Autumn of course, but I think Christmas 2008 will be the best yet for ethical/green fashion - the message is gradually reaching consumers and changing their habits. I want to spend time developing styles of clothing which look really cool, are funky and unique but also styles to fit the variety of budgets out there.
Well, looks like Quails got it all, style, a sound eco-concience, and a big future. Oh and whats this? A summer sale, with up to 70% off?
