I haven't done a giveaway in eons and am way behind! I'll be bringing you them with a little higher frequency in the coming weeks until I get caught up. They all come from wonderful, ethical, small businesses and I'm so happy to share them with you!
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I stumbled upon Sassy Knitwear this summer and was intrigued and impressed. As clothing goes, Sassy Knitwear out of Minneapolis is local (to me). They manufacture gorgeous clothing using reclaimed and organic fabrics and handcraft everything in the US. We emailed and it turns out they were drooling over my soap while I was drooling over their clothes. Destiny.
Sarah sent me a pair of Sassy Pants and a Yoga Tank and I think I've worn them everyday since then. Comfy, soft, and cozy. Clothes made this ethically have me convinced that if done right it is okay to buy new clothes! I interviewed Sarah, one of Sassy's two owners.
Clean: What is your company and how long have you been in business?
SK: Sassy Knitwear is a two women-designer owned and operated Minneapolis business. All clothing is made from hand-dyed organic cotton, recycled and sustainable materials. We make clothing for women, babies and children up to size 7/8. Sassy Knitwear has been in business since 2006.
Clean: What inspired you to go into this line of work?
SK: So many things: it really all started with recycling previously worn clothes that were still in good condition, and giving them a new life. We created unique one-of-a-kind pieces this way, which we still do and is a very fun, imaginative process that gives us great satisfaction creatively. We moved into using organic cotton as our primary material when we started selling wholesale and needed to create multiples of the same item. A big part of the picture was the working-life we wanted to create for ourselves which centered around wanting to spend time at home with our families. Molly was pregnant when Sassy Knitwear was beginning and it was a way for her to stay at home with her son as much as possible and weave sewing into the time when her husband could be with him. Now I have a one-year-old and am enjoying the same flexibility and all the benefits and challenges of working at home. We also had a vision for making creative, comfortable clothes that celebrated the human body rather than creating fleeting trends meant to be worn for a season and discarded.
SK: We are trying to bring good into the world by respecting our environment through our use of recycled and sustainable materials. We dye the organic cotton ourselves using low-impact dyes. We hang dry the fabric when possible. We have started using other sustainable materials besides organic cotton: soy, hemp and bamboo fibers (which will be appearing on our website hopefully soon, but they can be purchased now if you're in the Twin Cities). Small as we are, we have one additional employee sewing for us (along with our very supportive husbands who help in numerous ways) and being able to provide that job for a fair wage gives us great pleasure in our industry where most of it is done in distant places for very little compensation. Doing what we love makes us happy and we hope this happiness spreads through our families and communities, sending the message that it is important to value what you spend your time doing.
Clean: What else should we know?
Also, we have been friends since we were three years old. Since we are practically sisters our business partnership formed easily, and without much thought, but it is a huge piece of how we can maintain a level of sanity during busy times as well as take vacations, etc. having that other person to take the reigns as well as bring different strengths to the business.
