Ethical & Environmental Policy
A family company, started in 1975 by our parents, John and Margery Chapman is now directed and managed by myself, Kathy Brookes, and my brother Lawrence Chapman. Initially the company was started with a view to hoping to provide employment to people with disabilities whenever possible. A family member, son and brother, Patrick has severe learning difficulties and as a family we were very aware of the difficulties faced by people with disabilities trying to compete for employment in
the job market.
Over the years we have employed people with a wide range of disabilities and won BT’s Deaf Employer of the Year in 1994. (Marcus Bates, who is profoundly deaf and the proud recipient of the award is still working with us). The workshops where the company started were initially built in the grounds of my parent’s grade 2 listed house (formerly a Rectory). Our work has, therefore, always had an immediate impact on our actual surroundings. This has meant we have always had a profound interest in the effects of any chemicals and processes used in the printing processes. This coupled with the fact that we
as a family have all worked long term with the various chemicals, has made us want to use processes that are
as low impact and safe as possible. For this reason we have always specialised in water-based inks, which, although more difficult to use, have virtually no impact on the environment. We also insist that all other chemicals used in cleaning processes etc are environmentally safe.
About two and a half years ago we moved to a purpose-built factory on a local industrial estate as we had very much outgrown the original premises. This building has been built to the highest standards with regards to insulation etc thereby helping to minimise our carbon footprint. We also make sure any waste fabrics, cardboard, chemicals etc are recycled wherever possible or disposed of responsibly according to current legislation.
With regard to our ethical policy over buying our fabrics and imported products; we ensure that no child labour is used in the mills that supply us and that employment standards are good. We are very unusual as we design, print and sew the majority of our items all under the one roof, offering quality employment in a rural area where jobs are in short supply.
By making as many items as possible in the one factory we again cut down on the environmental damage caused by shipping goods unnecessarily from one place to another.
We also think many of our customers prefer our UK-made products because we believe in making a quality product that will last. We cannot see the point in making a cheap product that either breaks or is not fit for the purpose. That seems to be a great waste of our planet’s resources. I still see bags we made when the company first started, over thirty years ago, being carried around our local market town. In this day and age I would have thought this must be some sort of record for sustainability.
I hope the above helps illustrate our attitude to business and our business dealings.
Kind regards
Kathy Brookes
Sales Director
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