The founder of online ethical superstore, Green Tulip.
There are a number of online ethical shopping sites out there but it’s hard to find the best ones and the ones that stay true to their mission. I sat down with Charity Nichols, founder of Green Tulip to discuss ethical shopping, making sure it’s as sustainable as it says and UK retailers.
Why did you decide to start Green Tulip?
I have been in retail all my life so always knew if I started my own business it would be something to do with retail. Having spent 14 years working for John Lewis it was a difficult decision to leave but I had just had my second child and the commuting to London was getting a bit much. We therefore decided it was a good time to leave the South East and move to the country and this was the opportunity I needed to branch out on my own.
Green Tulip came out of my enjoyment of finding the perfect gift for friends and family together with my personal beliefs of operating ethically and sustainably. My husband lived in Japan in the early 90s and they were recycling even then (when in the UK we were still throwing wine bottles in the bin – what a horrifying thought now!). As a result as a family we were much more aware of minimising our impact on the planet but as a born and bred shopper I still wanted nice, stylish products. Hopefully I have shown through Green Tulip that you can buy ethically and stylishly.
Over the last few years of running Green Tulip which brand/company have you been the most impressed with?
It’s difficult to choose because there are so many good things happening in product development but I’m going to stay close to what I know and say ‘bambu’. Bambu is an American brand and was set up in 2003 and I have been stocking bambu products on Green Tulip since 2006. My husband and I also became the UK distributor in 2008 so are now supplying retailers around the UK and Europe with their beautiful products through our distribution company Green Pioneer.
Bambu was set up to show consumers that sustainable products can be beautiful and innovative and in the 8 years since they have been going they have certainly proved that. They started with bamboo and in the last couple of years they have added cork and coconut to their assortment.
Having spent a lot of time talking with the founders Jeff and Rachel over the last few years we know how hard they work to make sure their products are as ethical as they can possibly be. They live in China so work closely with their producer groups and are able to fly out to deal with any issues immediately. They are always looking for more sustainable ways of doing things, finding new materials (like the ‘cork fabric’ that launched this year) and reducing packaging where they can. It is this constant striving to make the way they operate better that I most admire and I think that is the key driver that all eco entrepreneurs must have.
There are so many different boxes that a ‘green’ product can tick, they can be fairtrade, organic, sustainable, recycled, what guidelines do you go by to make sure a product is suitable for Green Tulip?
As you mention there are a lot of boxes that an ethical product can fall into and of course at the end of the day it is a matter of my judgement as to whether I feel a product is suitable. When forming this judgement I start with the look of a product as after all this is how a customer buys. Then I will basically ask a lot of questions!
I try to meet the people behind the products I buy as you can tell so much by asking them about their products. Those that don’t know the answers to the most basic questions (like where is this made) fall at the first hurdle. Those that talk about how much difference they have made to the lives of the people they work with overseas or talk knowledgeably about what is in their product and in the packaging are worth considering.
Of course I also need to take price into account – ethical products still need to be priced competitively particularly at times like these.
What labels/association stamps do you think customers should look out for when shopping?
Obviously all labels/association stamps are a good thing and are a clear way of customers knowing that a product has met a certain standard but I also think there are a lot of great products without certification that should also be considered.
Many small and start up business can’t afford to go through certification in the early days so it is important not to dismiss these just because they don’t have certification. And the Fairtrade label can only be applied to certain product categories like wine, chocolate and cotton where guidelines exist. So you won’t find a Fairtrade labelled toy even though many toys would probably meet the guidelines should they exist!
A couple of things that I would love to see in the future (and are hopefully in development):
Currently the only certification for skincare and body products is organic (eg. Soil Association and EcoCert). I would like to see a certification for natural body products to help customers who want something natural but are less concerned about whether the product is organic as there are so many products out there passing themselves off as natural that really aren’t! I understand this is being developed at the moment.
Although the Fairtrade mark is positive as it means that a fair price has been paid for the raw materials of a product eg. cocoa, cotton, I think that is only part of the story. I would also like to see an emphasis being placed on developing as much of the finished product in the country of origin, allowing these countries to get as much value as they can from their raw materials and ensuring that we are not just stripping them of these assets.
You were a buyer at John Lewis for many years, what do you feel was the greatest lesson you learnt while working for one of the country’s biggest retailers?
I think the biggest lesson was probably the importance of stock turn – a retail term really but basically meaning the importance of keeping stock moving through. If you want your customers to keep coming back you need to keep introducing new products and need to keep your ranges interesting and fresh. In Green Tulip we have a physical shop as well as our online shop and have many local customers who pop in every week so this is particularly important for us.
Do you think that retailers are slowly becoming more aware of fairtrade and the environment? Or do you feel that many of them are just jumping on the ‘green’ bandwagon for good PR?
I’m afraid I believe many of them are just jumping on the bandwagon – we tend to call it ‘green washing’! In my view to be an ethical business you need to operate in an ethical way as well as sell ethical products. This includes all elements of the running of a business from treating staff well, paying suppliers on time, communicating honestly with customers and even trying to minimise use of resources (like making sure printing is double sided).
Whilst the bigger retailers may now stock a range of organic toiletries or fairtrade chocolate I very much doubt they have changed the way they operate as a business and I think the pressure on suppliers to supply products at the lowest price possible is as strong as it ever was. It’s a shame really as it is these big retailers that have the opportunity to make real changes.
Which retailer do you admire for their environmental and ethical policies?
I think M&S have shown a strong commitment to making long term changes with their Plan A. These commitments are spread across a wide range of ethical and environmental areas including those that might not immediately spring to mind such as supporting community initiatives and encouraging healthy eating – all of which will lead to more sustainable communities going forward.
A business the size of M&S has such power and their initial findings have been that their customers are prepared to take action if they make the solutions affordable and easy. I hope they continue to lead the way in educating people to make small changes which when done en mass make a big difference.
Your favourite gift to give?
I’m a little bit obsessed with our bambu lacquer bowls and with the new colours for 2011 arriving this week I think they are again going to be my favourite gift for this year. They’re food safe and perfect for all sorts of bits and pieces in the kitchen and around the house so can’t fail to be well received. The new Avocado colour is very cool (and I also love the Pinkalicious!).
Must-have product this summer?
I’ve been a fan of our Zulugrass jewellery from The Leakey Collection for many years now and its perfect light summer jewellery. It’s made from grass and glass beads by the women of the Maasai tribe in Kenya so has a great story too. We stock a wide range of colours and at £5 per strand you can start with one strand and build up your collection over time.
Exciting new brands on Green Tulip?
We’ve got some great new products in the shop that will be coming onto the website in the next few weeks. These include delicious new Austrian Organic & Fairtrade chocolate bars from Zotter; Spa inspired natural Thai body products from Sranrom and some fun little recycled card models for kids from Mibo Studio.
We also sell a wide range of cards in our shop which do really well for her so I want to get a card shop onto the website this year. All our cards are printed on sustainable or recycled card so fit fully with our ethical principles.
Which retailer would you like to see lead the way in the UK and become greener?
Well – this might be an unpopular choice but I would say Primark. Much has been written about the questionable standards in their factories so I won’t comment more about that. Almost more importantly to me is the lessons they are teaching the teenagers of today – that things are ‘disposable’. I hate the thought that they go shopping on a Saturday, pick up 3 pieces of clothing for £10, wear them that night, wash them and never wear them again as they have shrunk or gone out of shape (or even gone out of fashion by then!). Each of these products is using valuable raw materials. We should be teaching the new generation that buying something well made that will last is much better – for them, their finances and the environment.
GREEN TULIP – www.greentulip.co.uk
- Shirley Leigh-Wood Oakes
