Hello there!

We have been working our hearts out behind the scenes on a new and exciting direction for this brand and community that we love so much, and now it’s finally time to invite you along on our journey and share our big plans with you!

What?

2019 was a big year for The Tartan Blanket Co. family. We grew our team, created our first collaboration design, launched into Liberty of London and had an all around pinch-me year. Amidst all of the little victories, what we are most proud of is our decision to prioritise The Tartan Blanket Co’s positive impact on the people and the world around us. As well as a number of eco-friendly changes in our operations, we have built the foundations for launching TBCo’s biggest and most exciting project to date: 1% for the People + 1% for the Planet. 

As The Tartan Blanket Co. has grown, so has our team, our customer base and our impact. This late night dream has grown into a real brand, with real soul and a real future. Seeing TBCo. flourish has filled us with awe and gratitude, but in order to take it to the next level, we knew we needed to take some time and space to really think about what kind of business we want to be for the next five, ten or fifty years. 

Why?

Having a family has broadened our perspective on the reality of how holistic running a business really is. Not only do we want to bring warmth and happiness to our immediate family and community, but also to the planet and those in need around the world. And we want it to be built into our supply chain, so that every single purchase supports this goal. 

How?

So what does it all mean? Well, in terms of practicalities it means that we have been on a journey exploring our supply chain through many trips to our partner mills in India and Inner Mongolia, reimagining our packaging (hello, biodegradable tape and bubble wrap!), investigating our environmental impact and asking what more we can do to be a truly positive impact company.

We have refined our supply chain down to two main partners with whom we have fostered genuinely caring relationships and who are equally committed to supporting our positive impact vision. We have spent time at their mills and with their families in India and Inner Mongolia, and they have brought their families to spend time with us here in Scotland. When we say we’re a family business, we really mean it! Together with our Indian mills, we have traced where our recycled wool comes from and ensured that our recycled blankets are made from 100% recycled articles of clothing, such as jumpers and socks, and that each article contains a minimum of 70% wool content.  Our lambswool and cashmere is gathered from family farms using the traditional farming methods of Inner Mongolia. 

On this note, we are often asked why, as a Scottish company, we do not partner solely with Scottish mills. In all honesty, as much as we love working with Scottish and UK mills, we have found the traceability of the wool to be challenging. Though many mills use the phrase “made in Scotland,” the wool often does not come from Scotland, as Scottish wool is generally not soft enough to be used in clothing due to its adaptation to a windy and rainy climate. Because of this, we have focused on producing our textiles where we feel is the best source of high quality, truly sustainable and non-harmful wool production, with people we know, trust and most importantly, care about. Keeping our production at the wool source not only helps with traceability, but also helps reduce our carbon footprint as the goods do not have far to travel from farm to mill. These mills are now a key part of our supply chain as we work together to ensure our products’ journey is treated with the same care and respect we have for each other.

We are still conscious that our goods do have quite far to travel to reach us, so we have made significant efforts to not use planes for air freight, and use slower, but significantly lower impact, sea freight travel. With new legislation coming in, sea shipping costs are going to increase, but be far more environmentally friendly. Quality solutions are often more costly, but this is something we are very happy to support. Another place we have chosen the more quality route is through taking time to update and re-design our customer facing packaging with the aim to be completely plastic free by the end of the year. We have been making roads in reducing our shipping packaging and only using recycled and recyclable plastic where there is not yet an alternative, while continuing to research alternative plastic free packaging with our suppliers.

The biggest company change we are making, which ties together all of these efforts, is our commitment to go above and beyond in our positive impact. To not just focus on doing no harm, but to do some real good instead. Starting this year, we are committed to donating 1% of all our revenue to the planet and 1% to the people. How does this work? Well, 1% of every purchase you make with TBCo. will go to helping protect the environment and offsetting more carbon than we are producing, and 1% will go to charities and community projects around the world to help those in need. This means that each time you choose to buy from TBCo, you are also choosing to give to others. We are excited to see and share with you the positive impacts your investments are having each year!  

Through this project, we set in stone a longer term positive impact plan for the planet and those in need. It means that with every order, every new product, every hour spent growing the business we will be having a bigger, more positive impact on the world and using our business to be a force for good. As small-business owners, it’s important to us that wherever this business takes us, it will always have real meaning because it will always be bettering people’s lives and our planet. We look forward to sharing this journey with you, knowing you are not only getting beautiful products made and sent with warmth, but that you are sharing that warmth a little bit further!

All our love and warmth,

Emma & Fergus x

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1% for People + 1% for the Planet 

Charities We Have Partnered With 

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