Discover the inner workings of Wild & Stone‘s triumph as we bring you an exclusive interview. Gain a unique perspective on the secrets fueling their success and immerse yourself in the ever-changing realm of online entrepreneurship.
1. Can you introduce yourself and Wild & Stone?
I’m Kathryn Jonas and I’m the Co-Founder and Product Director at Wild & Stone. Wild & Stone is a British brand creating easy to adopt, usable and stylish alternatives to single use plastic. We started 2 and a half years ago with a bamboo toothbrush and we now have an array of high-quality, all-natural products across household, personal care, baby weaning and fashion.
2. How was Wild & Stone born? How did you start?
I always dreamed of running my own company. To be able to work when I wanted to, where I wanted to, and to fit my work around my life rather than let work dictate it. With a return to the corporate world looming after the birth of my second child in 2017, I was left wondering how it would be possible to keep up the 9-5 whilst raising two small children. It was at this point that I knew something had to change.
My journey towards plastic free living started because of a toothbrush I bought for my daughter! I opened a plastic box to get out a plastic toothbrush that would last a month before being thrown away and the cycle repeating. That night I sat and wondered how many times this was happening on a daily basis, and it was then that it really hit home. I was part of the problem.
I knew there had to be other options, and after doing a bit of research I found some, but I couldn’t find designs that I liked and wanted to have around my home. As a devotee to the Marie Kondo theory, I believe that ‘less is more’, and that the items you do own should be things that you truly like and ‘spark joy’.
I had a decision to make, I could either keep using single use materials and continue to play a part in destroying our world… or do something about it myself. The former wasn’t an option, and this is how Wild & Stone was created. Shortly after starting, my friend Sarah (a fellow mother longing for a more flexible working lifestyle) joined me and together we set out to help rid the world of unnecessary plastics, whilst inspiring other mothers to strive for better work-life balances.
Since then the Wild & Stone team has been steadily growing and we’re currently working on some exciting projects and designing lots of new products.
3. What makes Wild & Stone different? Can you explain your products with details?
Firstly, we’re a product brand – meaning we manufacture and sell our own products. There are a lot of plastic free online retailers, and that’s great, but we wanted to create our own product range. We’re also proud to be a British brand! In terms of our products themselves, they’ve been sourced and created in a conscious way, creating minimal social and environmental impact on their journey from raw materials to the consumer. They’re bespoke and have been adapted over time based on testing and customer feedback. I’m a perfectionist and when it comes to creating our products, I not only want them to look good, but they need to be user-friendly for our customers, too.
Our products are easy to adopt, usable and stylish alternatives to single use plastic. We started with a bamboo toothbrush and we now have a growing range of over 60+ products. We recently launched some exciting new products to our range, including:
– Plastic free hair ties (made from 100% organic cotton and plant-based biodegradable rubber)
– 100% organic cotton knitted handcloths and dish towels
– Beeswax food wraps in various fun prints
– 100% natural & plastic-free nail brush with vegan bristles
We are extremely committed to making our products from materials that will damage our world in the least way possible – with the ultimate goal and dream of zero waste to landfill. The majority of Wild and Stone products are made from bamboo. You could say that we have a bit of a love affair with this mighty plant. Not only is it hardy and naturally anti-bacterial, but as a fast-growing grass, it requires no fertiliser and self-regenerates from its own roots. This means it doesn’t need to be replanted making it naturally sustainable.
All our fabric products use organic cotton and are OEKO-TEX® certified ensuring we are not participating in the use of harmful chemicals that enter our waterways and seas and hurt our environment and planet. The shipping of our products is an ongoing challenge that we continually try to evolve and improve on. As many of our products are sourced from around the world we are acutely aware of our carbon footprint. We ship by sea rather than by air. We fill all containers to maximise each shipment.
We are happy to say we have made great improvements as our company has grown but we are committed to constantly reviewing our shipping and making improvements. Although it does not solve the problem, we have decided to work with a carbon offsetting programme. We are currently reviewing options and will have an update on this soon.
Both the items our products come in and the packaging they are posted to our customers in are plastic free and fully recyclable. We understand that sustainability and environmental factors are constantly changing, what is good today, may not be good tomorrow and so we are committed to continuously work to improve our position, researching and taking up new solutions as they become available.
4. What reactions do you get from your clients? Do they love your products?
Yes! We’ve had a lot of positive feedback from our customers who are very happy with our products. We love it when they send photos of themselves or their family using our products and telling us how much they like it. Here are some example reviews for our Baby Bamboo Toothbrush and Reusable Coffee Cup:
“Highly recommend these bamboo toothbrushes. Great quality and great for the planet! A reasonable price too. My daughter loves her new brush and won’t let it go. I’m really happy with these and will be buying again ”
“I absolutely love this coffee cup. It’s a lovely neutral grey colour and the design would appeal to both men and women. It’s comfortable to hold and great to be able to see the coffee through the glass. It doesn’t leak either. I highly recommend this product.”
5. What are the advantages of Wild & Stone?
Our brand promise is to do our best to provide customers with products they’ll love. We take care to ensure that:
– All our products are sourced and created consciously, creating minimal social and environmental impact on their journey from raw materials to consumer.
– Our products have prices that reflect responsible sourcing and the use of high quality materials. We strive to give you the best product possible.
– We put time and care into creating beautiful products that will compliment your lifestyle and your home. Our products are bespoke and have been adapted over time based on testing and customer feedback.
– We have over 65,000 happy customers and offer a 30 day happiness promise. We’ll rectify any problems as soon as possible.
– We proudly support the Marine Conservation Society. We donate a percentage of every sale to help ensure our seas are healthy, pollution free and protected.
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