We really give a damn about what happens to our beautiful planet. We’ve spoken to you lots over the years (thanks for being such good listeners!) about the steps we’ve taken to minimise the harm in everything we do (ethical, social and environmental), but at the start of 2020, after Australia’s Black Summer that left us all shell shocked, we set ourselves an EPIC sustainability goal, to go carbon neutral by the end of the year.

We’ve partnered with a lovely bunch of nerdy experts (coz man, this stuff is COMPLEX!), who’ve painstakingly helped us measure our FY2020 carbon footprint.

We wanted to do more than just offset our emissions from factory gate to your front door, so we’ve taken things to the next level and are raising the bar! Our carbon credits offset the whole shebang of our agricultural activities, manufacturing and processing materials, and freight all the way to your hot little hands.

Our independent carbon neutral consultants then helped us find the most awesome verified carbon credit projects to offset that footprint.

We’ve chosen two amazing projects to partner with this year. First up is a the Kamuthi Solar Power Project in India (where most of our manufacturing happens). This project is critical in the region - it helps to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and thereby reduces pollution. The second project is the Yarra Yarra Biodiversity Corridor - a brilliant native reforestation project in Australia (because we’re from the land down under!), that, as vegetation is replanted, will help to protect endangered native animals in the region.

Thank you all for caring and encouraging us to continue to improve our sustainability as a brand. Please know that your voices are SO important, and we really urge you to ask other brands you love to go carbon neutral too. As consumers, it’s important we all keep making conscious decisions about how we shop.

In 2019, we developed new terms and conditions for our suppliers based on the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) Base Code (the leading global alliance of companies, trade unions and NGOs). Our new T&Cs provide for even higher standards of safe and fair working conditions, integrity and transparency in dealings, improved environmental outcomes.

To ensure compliance, we require all suppliers to be independently audited every two years. In addition, Kip&Co founders, Kate, Hayley and Alex, conduct supply chain inspections in person to ensure we are able to support our suppliers on their own sustainability journey. We value the collaborative spirit of our supply chain.

Collaborations are an important way we can support artists, brands or causes we feel strongly about. In 2020 we collaborated with the Bábbarra Women's Centre from Arnhem Land. The centre was initially created as a safe space for women, and has now grown into a creative hub that enables future enterprises to support healthy and sustainable livelihoods. The Kip&Co X Bábbarra collaboration was best practice, with 50% of profits going back to Bábbarra, to support their initiatives It was important that the licence provided the artists with a true partnership, both in terms of profit and, importantly, in the development of the range itself. The agreement gave the artists key decision making in every step of the process.