What is GOTS?
GOTS stands for the Global Organic Textile Standard. It is the world’s leading processing standard for textiles made from organic fibres. It defines criteria regarding the minimum organic fibre content for fabrics which are titled ‘organic’, requires water waste treatment plans, and regulates farming, production and manufacturing of fabrics. It sets standards to protect the environment and ensure employees are treated and paid fairly, and have safe and healthy working conditions.
Find out more here.
What are offcuts?
Offcuts are those pieces of fabric that are left over once your pattern in cut. We have designed our patterns to minimise fabric wastage, and after cutting we are left only with small rectangles of fabric that we then re-use. Any scraps that are too small to be used in sewing are saved and will become stuffing for stuffed animals, doorstops and cushions. But there are so few of those we don’t have enough for a whole cushion yet!
What do you mean by ‘reused packaging’?
We try to run a completely plastic free house and business, but that is not always possible. Although our fabric orders do not arrive in plastic, other necessary items often do. We save any packaging that we can and use it to ship your orders. Sometimes this is simply a cardboard box, but sometimes it is a plastic bag. We think this is better than throwing the bag in the bin, and hopefully you can re-use it too. As our business grows, we will invest in plastic-free packaging, but for now this seems like the best solution. Find out more about our plastic free journey on Instagram.
Are all parts of your backpacks sustainable?
Unfortunately, no. There are certain parts that we are not yet able to source sustainably. Although the fashion industry is changing, it is still very difficult for a business as tiny as ours to find sustainable options in the market, but we are doing our best.
Our main issue at the moment is our strap webbing, which is 100% cotton, but not certified organic. We have just solved our largest issue by sourcing recycled polyester zippers for the inner pockets of our backpacks!
We are trying our hardest to ensure the entire backpack is as eco-friendly as possible, if you have any ideas or suggestions please let us know!
How can I look after my backpack?
For details on how to care for your backpack, clean it and look after it well in order to extend its life, as well as what to do if anything rips or breaks, see our Care page here.
What are your shipping options?
We are based in Warwickshire in the UK, but we are happy to ship to you, wherever you live. Worldwide prices will need to be negotiated on a case-by-case basis. Within the UK, our shipping costs are as follows (prices provided by the Royal Mail, with no markup):
First Class Signed £4.55
Second Class Signed £4
First Class £3.55
Second Class £3
Why are your prices so high?
We set our prices as low as we possibly can. Most brands set their profit margins at 50%, while our profit margins are set at around 16% (depending on the product).
The majority of our costs come from the price of sustainable fabrics, which require fair compensation and working conditions for workers, as well as other expenses during production (read up about the GOTS certification and the associated costs, including natural pest control, limited working hours, high health and safety requirements etc.) The rest of our costs come from paying Sofia to design, sew, and market your backpacks!
We are aware that sustainable fashion is often unaffordable for many, and we are always working to reduce our prices. For example, fabrics that are bought second-hand or repurposed are cheaper for us, so we transfer those savings to you.
However, at the end of the day we believe the high quality and sustainability standards that we hold our products to are worth their price tag – and our customers agree! Read some of their reviews on our Home page.
Sewing with Sofia 