Eloise Grey
Eloise Grey produces exquisitely tailored coats, jackets and skirts from organic and ethical tweeds woven by the Isle of Mull Weavers in the Hebrides. All her garments are made in the UK with elegance, wearability and longevity in mind. The beautiful award-winning tweeds (best organic textile 2007) are easy to maintain and withstand the elements effectively. Her garment are classics with a discrete urban edge and appeal to a discerning buyer who likes to find something unique that also embodies our weaving and tailoring heritage.
Eloise Grey seeks a more considered quality that embodies respect for the makers, the land, the art of weaving, tailoring and the process of trying and buying. Her collection is a product whose time is in tune with the cycle of growth in the land and is treasured rather than lusted after guiltily. Wear your garment year after year and hand it on.
Eloise Grey has now opened a luxury fashion boutique in Farnham offering a selection of UK-made sustainable clothing for men and women. We have leading designers who produce high quality artisan work, these include knitwear from the Herefordshire-based Keep and Share, Elena Garcia who works with hand-embellished peace-silks and, Makepiece, who produce sumptuous knitwear from their own flock of Penine-reared sheep. Eloise Grey also has her full collection of organic tweed jackets and coats for women and this year has a capsule collection of menswear. Her menswear collection features gilets, jackets and coats, all intricately made up in the UK from the fine organic Scottish tweeds. Eloise Grey offers a new place to find unique and stylish clothing and accessories with strong sustainable stories.
NEW Shop Now Open - Upstairs at Purity, 20 Downing Street, Farnham, Surrey GU9 7PB
Ethical Policy
I work with ethical and organic tweeds from the Isle of Mull weavers. These tweeds are either Organic certified by the Soil Association (the first organic tweeds in the UK) or 'Ethical'. The organic wool come from organic farms and the finishing process (pioneered by the Isle of Mull weavers) is much reduced in the amount of chemicals used. The 'Ethical' tweeds are mostly organic but some of the wool is bought from smallholders who may not be organic yet or can't afford to be. These farmers used to throw out their fleece & wool because the market price didn't make it worth it. The Isle of Mull Weavers pay over the market price (a fair price) and have now created a market for the wool where it had died out.
My new collection includes some natural dyed wool dyed in organic Woad (blue). This is indigenous to the UK and was the blue used before indigo arrived from the east in the Middle Ages.
The body of my garments are lined with organic fair trade cotton sourced from Bishopston Trading who manufacture in India. Bishopston are also pioneers of Fair Trade & Organic textiles.
I am starting to prototype some clothes with Hemp as this is more sustainable than cotton. However I am interested in working with indigenous-to-the-UK fabrics such as Linen.
My travel policy: I only fly once long haul and once short haul a year. I try and drive as little as I can but it's not easy.
I work with a tailor in Enfield, Neil Aslan. This year I have dedicated a page to him in my website. Neil used to have his own small factory but went out of business due to large companies 'changing their mind' and pushing down prices whilst labour costs rose. I intend to work with him as my business grows. His quality is excellent. I am interested in working on a new model for suppliers that incorporates ethical beliefs but as I am still not in profit I don't want him to share this!
I source ethical suppliers e.g. the Cooperative Bank, The Phone Coop, The Green Stationery Company. I use local printers who are also award winning for their environmental credentials - I have a preference for local rather than large-scale.
I make my coats, jackets and skirts with the view that they are to be kept for a long time and handed on, rather than thrown away. I am strong from a fashion perspective but they are classic cuts that won't date easily. The way they are constructed (with interlinings) is intended to make them last for a long time and withstand wear and tear. I am inspired by the tweed jackets of my grandfathers which lasted decades.
I try to get involved in local projects, though I find my time is very tight. It's an ambition to be closely involved. I plan to give 1% of my turnover to an organisation that is sympathetic to my values of respect for craftsmanship and quality of work which treats such craftsmen and women with dignity and maintains traditions. I also educate my customers about such traditions. I am inspired by Yvon Chouinard's book 'Let My People Go Surfing' in his approach to running a socially responsible company.
