Aravore handcrafted baby clothes are ethically produced in Paraguay 
(29/06/2009)
Aravore's aim is to produce beautiful handcrafted baby clothes, made from only the finest organic materials that have been fairly traded. At the Aravore workshop in Paraguay the maker of each item is identified through the signed clothing tag attached to each item, making each piece unique.
Yanina Aubrey, founder of Aravore Babies, ensures that her business model not only helps parents in the UK to provide luxurious, yet ethically produced, clothing for their children but has made a real difference to many women in Paraguay, where the products are made. "We want to make clothes that are treasured and non-disposable, we want customers to know that each garment is unique because they have been made by a real person –not a huge anonymous factory".
Aravore currently employs over thirty knitters and seamstresses in their workshop in Asuncion and five people in London. Many of these women are mothers so Aravore ensures flexible working hours to all of the women currently working for Aravore both in London and Paraguay.
Aravore has also set up a programme which caters for knitters and seamstresses that are unable to work at the central workshop, by having their own small workshops closer to their homes. The programme allows individuals to set up as a mini-business and teaches them basic business and accountancy training. This allows them not only to earn a decent wage but provides them with valuable skills and qualifications and also with the flexibility they need from a childcare and family perspective.
Yanina travels to Paraguay regularly, to ensure first-hand that ethical standards are met and to seek ways to improve the supply chain further. For example, the farming industry in Paraguay has already made significant improvements in its ethical standards, so Aravore is currently looking at ways to bring the growing, spinning and manufacturing process together, as a united force for change.
“We think environmentally sound and ethically produced children’s clothing will continue to thrive and eventually become main stream. Fashion-conscious parents will always be interested in design, but will also become more and more interested in knowing how their children’s clothes are made, in what conditions and what materials they are made with” (Yanina Aubrey, Founder & MD).
Aravore believes that the issue of trust between the consumer and retailer will increase in importance over the next few years, as consumers increasingly look for brands that have a transparent and traceable supply chain - from the raw materials through to the manufacturing process.
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Related categories: Children clothes Newborns and babies Toddlers
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