G Tumbarello
International Sales Manager Lilly and Sid Fashion Group
95% of our clothing is manufactured using GOTS
Lilly + Sid is an award-winning organic children's clothing company from ages 0 months - 8 years. In an interview with ShilpiPanjabi, G Tumbarello, International Sales Manager, Lilly & Sid Fashion Group, discusses key points about the kidswear market, gives info about the brand’s sister company Turtledove London and other happenings at Lilly + Sid.
What was the vision that led to the creation of Lilly + Sid? Who are the founders of the brand?
Founded in 2009 by Imran and Emma Hassan in the UK, Lilly + Sid was started with a mission to create clothes for children, combining quality with organic fabrics in a planet friendly manner. The brand has now evolved into one of Britain’s top sustainable kidswear labels with ‘unique designs for little people and their planet’ and has won multiple accolades over the last ten years including the ‘Top 10 Ethical Brands Worldwide’ by Guardian, UK and the ‘Loved By Parents’ Award in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, 2017 Platinum winner Children’s Fashion category, Slick Mummy awards 2016, and Nursery baby awards 2015 to name a few.
As a result of this, Turtledove London was launched in 2016 initially for the consumers’ market. Following many requests from potential stockists we launched our first wholesale collection in 2017. Our style is unique: unisex and trendy without forgetting the sustainable values which are close to us.
How do you sell your garments? Do you have your own boutique or retail out? Or is it done through online placement of orders?
We sell directly to retailers all over the world as well as have a network of loyal sales agent based in strategic locations including US and Canada where we have a solid base of accounts including the giant retailer Indigo in Canada.
Which regions of the world do you cater to?
We cater worldwide and we recently launched in India, a dream come true! Thanks to Norlanka brands which has adopted the e-commerce first approach to launch Lilly + Sid in India by forging an exclusive tie up with Reliance Retail’s fashion marketplace Ajio, supplemented by their own website.
What is the market size of kidswear in UK? At what rate is it growing?
Clothing is one of the most important items parents buy their children. It is not a surprise to know that the kids’ clothing market is huge in the UK. From newborn to toddler clothing, all the way to boys’ and girls’ garments.
Children grow fast, newborns only stay as such for 3 months. Then the growth spurt continues steadily. Toddler boys and toddler girls have a whole segment of the clothing industry. As the children grow older, the gender-based designs become more obvious, and so the branches of apparel are bigger.
What is unique to your kids' garments compared to other well-known brands in UK and around the world?
We offer the best of both under two different brands:
Lilly + Sid offers timeless design with exclusive fabrics, colours, shapes and prints can be passed down to smaller friends and family.
our collections They are also multi-use: we don’t believe in special occasion dressing. Our hardworking styles will take you from party to park date and all are machine washable, as well as protect our wildlife through ethical manufacturing. We are constantly inspired by animals too! You can find them in pockets, prints and embroidery designs throughout.
Turtledove London:
Turtledovelondon is a trendy, stylish and gender-neutral kids brand.It was launched in 2016 as a mindful antidote to fast fashion. We wanted to show the world a successful business model creating design led, planet friendly clothing at price points accessible to many. Four years later, our award-winning brand is stocked in over 300 stores worldwide and has a loyal following of like-minded customers. We have just won Best Organic Cotton Children's Fashio Brand 2021 in England.
Unlike others, we have never invested heavily in marketing or publicity-stunts, our ethos is to utilise any such budgets to develop the garments, increasing value to the customer via unbeatable product design. It is therefore our customers who market our brands by spreading the word worldwide.
What kind of improvisions do you plan to bring into your kids’ garments in future?
We see ourselves as an innovative forward-thinking brand, we have big plans of expanding internationally in new emerging markets.
What has been your growth story in the last three years? As a brand, how did you get affected by the pandemic in terms of orders received, supply chain disruptions, staff layoff etc?
Despite the pandemic, Lilly + Sid and Turtledove London have seen a steady increase. We have done our best to help our retailers by offering customised solutions. We have also recently opened a warehouse in Spain as a result of Brexit to retain our loyal European retailers.
Where do you source the super soft cotton and accessories for your garments from?
India, Sri Lanka and Portugal, our eco rainwear is made in China.
With so many brands turning towards sustainability, what is your take on this topic?
If there is one thing we learnt from the pandemic, more and more customers will look for sustainable products.
95 per cent of our clothing is manufactured using Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified organic cotton. GOTS is a worldwide leading textile processing standard for organic fibres, including ecological and social criteria. Organic cotton is softer than conventional cotton because all fibres are left intact. It is much kinder to delicate skins as no harmful chemicals are used. Organic cotton is more durable, so garments have a longer lifecycle and stay out of landfill. Organic farming methods are planet friendly, better for farmworkers and the environment. Our non-cotton fabrics are eco-friendly too. New swimwear is made from recycled fishing nets and at UPV50+ protects little ones and the planet.
We have just launched our stylish eco-rainwear which is made from recycled plastic bottles and the positive responses from the consumers have been huge.
Published on: 28/10/2021
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
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