TWO friends have embarked on a journey to reduce material from entering landfills by using them to create new, beautiful, functional and sustainable products.
The brand, EcoBabes was started by Sandy Lyons, a serial entrepreneur with a background in garment manufacturing.
Ms Lyons has extensive experience in design — from the beginning to the end product — and also branding, marketing, pattern making, fabric printing and everything in between.
“After years in the industry she started to feel disheartened with the fast and disposable pace of fashion,” EcoBabes said.
“Instead she turned to jewellery design and created Adorn Pacific Jewellery, a local Fiji brand — in the hopes of creating something more lasting — a silver ring can be treasured and passed down to your children.
“However, her love for fabrics and design meant she was thinking about how to start a second brand with meaning, and so EcoBabes was born.”
Ms Lyons said EcoBabes only used excess offcuts from manufacturing factories around Fiji.
“Training local women to make EcoBabes’ designs in their own homes, producing our high quality brand new products,” she said.
“Our products range from hats to homewares.”
She knew she couldn’t venture into creating the brand by herself, so she asked her very creative and fellow fabric expert, Nicci McGrath to join.
“Nicci is a yoga teaching fairy with a huge heart and a love for all things craft.
“Her house, like mine, is generally an explosion of creative projects with children running through. “Nicci previously had a popular reuseable bag and design business and has an entrepreneur background, making her the perfect EcoBabes partner.”
Ms Lyons said EcoBabes was playing a crucial role in filling the recycling void in Fiji.
“They have dedicated warehousing in Pacific Harbour to take excess and offcut supplies from Fiji-wide manufacturers.
“This might be bales of plastic sheeting, offcut rubber pieces, seconds cardboard, garment factory excess — anything and everything that is of a clean and regular supply and would otherwise go to landfill.”
Ms Lyons said they accepted these items and have forged a longstanding relationship with the factory for a continuous supply.
“EcoBabes then designs a new product using these otherwise unrecycled materials. EcoBabes products range from pet collars, cushions, rugs and home furnishings, hammocks, baskets, hats, reuseable cleaning supply products and absolutely everything in between.”
She said they had built relationships with manufacturers in Fiji which deliver regular waste and excess materials.
“EcoBabes then designs and produces new, quality products from these materials.
“Supporting a network of local women and providing work opportunity, on their own time schedules, in their own homes is something EcoBabes feels very strongly about.
“We design products for both the tourist and local market in Fiji — let’s build a beautiful, sustainable future for Fiji together.”
If you are a manufacturer and want to recycle via EcoBabes, they can be contacted on ecobabes@gmail.com
