The idea for Little Kind was born in 2020 whilst founder Jasmine was still working within the luxury fashion industry. After 10 years employed in such a fast paced environment she wanted to move onto something that moved a little slower and focused on using resources closer to home. As time went on she found an increase in friends, family and colleagues asking for children’s wear recommendations for their own little ones or friends who were expecting. She noted they were on the hunt for something organic but without the usual carbon footprint where samples are shipped to numerous locations just to be produced. This is when the seed for Little Kind was planted.
Jasmine the founder of Little Kind London discusses with us why she started the business and what the future holds for the brand.
Tell us a little about yourself, and what inspired you to create Little Kind?
I spent 10 years working in the fashion industry but was in a very different side of it from children’s wear. I worked with luxury brands, working on their events, social media and VIP contracts. The moment when everything changed was during lockdown 2020…like for so many people it was a time of self reflection and it gave me a chance to really look at the industry I had become a part of. I wanted to create a brand from scratch that would shine a light on the environmental impact of the textile industry and encourage a slower pace of production and consumption. The reason for children’s wear was literally down to the fact that I was at a time in my life where I was buying for baby showers, Birthdays and Godchildren more than ever and I couldn’t find anything that was eco-friendly and I felt reflected my style. I was on the hunt for much more simple pieces but could only find what I liked in Scandinavia or even Australia and that meant shipping overseas. I couldn’t find what I wanted to gift…so I created it.
What makes Little Kind completely different to all the other children’s clothing brands out there?
All our designing and manufacturing takes place in London which is a major factor on improving our carbon footprint and helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A lot of high street brands, whether for children or adults, will have all their production done overseas and shipped over. It’s important for us to keep transportation to a minimum. Having a local manufactures can also benefit in the way of ensuring wages are fair and all material waste is put to good use.
How do you maintain the sustainable/eco-friendly nature of your production?
The Little Kind ethos is ‘Kind to the little, kind to the planet’ . It’s very important for me to keep coming back to the core of what the company is about and maintain it.
All the pieces are consciously crafted in sustainable GOTS or OEKO Tex approved fabrics so you can ensure that the materials used don’t put your little ones or the environment at risk. We make sure that the eco-conscious thread runs through all the way to packaging too. We don’t want our customers unboxing experience to be tarnished by excessive amount of non-recyclables and plastic. Each component has been carefully selected, even down to our brand stickers which are made with acid-free paper and soy based inks.
As a company, where do you see yourself in the next 5 years? Can we expect new products/designs/ranges/materials?
I can’t wait to increase Little Kind’s size range. People are always asking for the Pip Kimonos for their older children.The same with the Smocks, when doing fairs or pop-up shops the older girls are always drawn to the dresses. I would love to start doing matching pieces for parents too…Mother’s are asking if the Kimonos come in their size as well!
By the end of the next 5 years I would love to have an increased product range as well as the sizing. The number of pieces I have in the pipeline just keep growing and I can’t wait to create them!
Run us through your recipe for great sleep, and some do’s and don’ts that we ought to follow in our pre-sleep schedules
There’s been many times in life where I’ve tried to go about my day or week with very little sleep due to work stress or packing out my social calendar. I’ve learnt the hard way, like most people, that you just cannot be your best when you’re burnt out and exhausted. People would get half of me and that’s just not how I wanted to go on. Getting the right amount of rest has become extremely important to me to the point where I’ve created a bit of a bedtime ritual; I’ll start with a pillow spray. The one I have at the minute has eucalyptus in it and any time I smell it it’s like a signal to my brain that it’s time to sleep. I used to put on a bedtime meditation but recently I’ve been listening to sound baths from the ‘Insight Timer’ app. The one I have lasts about 25 minutes and I can’t remember the last time I got to the end of it and still be awake. Finally I’ll wear a sleep mask…I used to love being woken by the natural light but was told a mask can help reduce migraines and since then it’s been a must!
Obviously in certain circumstances it’s not always easy to carry out…if you’re travelling away from home or you have little ones that are waking every hour or so. However, I do little parts of it where I can and have found they always help to at the least help switch my mind off and create some calm.
