Temptation from our sponsors...
Temptation from our sponsors...
(This post mysteriously disappeared over night so here it is again.)
Why do I feel so drawn to Howies as a brand? Is it because they have an environmentally friendly ethos, and make high quality products out of organic materials? Is it because they are bike crazy, and so am I? Is it because they are so charmingly amateur, yet spot-on about everything? Or is it because their designs are pretty cool? I think it’s all of the above.
Just bought myself this Tee “Home/Work”, its £15 with £4 UK postage. The international postage rates are the highest I’ve seen for any store, anywhere so I won’t bother to convert it.
“We put our thoughts onto T-shirts in the belief that if enough people thought like us, they would sell. And sell they did. The challenge for us was always to make people think as well as to buy (that is the essence of the Howies attitude).”
Although it’s very trendy to be green now, these guys reek of authentic concern. For one thing I’ve been a fan for years, and have seen that they predate this fad (and it is a fad, sadly) for environmental design. They donate money to charity too, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but for a growing company is a big decision: “We pledge to give 1% of our turnover or 10% of pre-tax profits (whichever is greater) to grass-root environmental and social projects.”
“Every product we make has passed the ‘rocking chair test’. This is something we use to guide us along the path we are taking. So when we are old and grey and sitting in our rocking chairs, we can look back on the company we created with a smile. That’s why we go to the trouble of using the best quality materials to make sure our clothing lasts longer. The longer our products last the less impact they will have on the environment, and the bigger our smile will be.”
They truly are one of those companies that you want to get big, but don’t want to tell people about. For example, me and Fletch are from *City name censored*, a great place which is under people’s radar. We joke that we don’t tell people how great it is, because then it would be ruined. That’s Howies too.
