Wow, where did the last 8 years go! Little Yellow Bird began as a concept to create a world class sustainably designed uniform. Who could have known where this journey would lead us. Since then we have generated more than $3.57 million in revenue and produced 200,000+ items all with a core commitment to transparency and a radically different value set than most of our competitors. 

While every fashion company is busy highlighting their efforts towards sustainability we are unique in that it drives every decision. From where and how our raw materials are grown, the processes we use to transform them into fabric, our commitment to Fair Trade and GOTS certifications and our initiatives in relation to ending textile waste within Aotearoa. We are constantly striving to improve our production methods and provide meaningful work for everyone involved with our business. 

Over the years we expanded into new areas introducing baby, children and maternity lines. In total we have designed and produced over 500 different products. With no real background in fashion or design I’ve often stumbled my way through and learnt most of my lessons on the go. I generally don’t recommend this approach, but it has got us to where we are today. 

Designing, manufacturing and bringing to market this volume of items was never sustainable. So whilst the design principles around the products were world class, the pressure placed on our own team and myself to create, maintain and continuously market them never has been.

Earlier this month we announced our simplification strategy. While we know a lot of people are disappointed we will no longer be offering a broad range, this enables us to focus on what we love doing most. It also means we can exclusively produce a core range of tried and tested products, that we know people love to wear.

I have no regrets around the winding road it took us to get here, you don’t necessarily land on those perfect products without trial and error. Our aim moving forward is to significantly streamline our offering. With that in mind we will have no more than 20 individual products in our collection. I know a lot of people have been asking for clarity on which items we will continue to offer. The products that will remain within our core collection are all items we sell commercially and are able to be branded. 

Most of your favourite 100% organic cotton basics will still be available, think t-shirts, aprons, long-sleeves, hoodies, sweaters, work shirts, pants, caps, totes and polos.

You may see the occasional throwback from the product archive when we produce a creator run with an artist or for a fundraiser. This will allow us to focus our efforts on our end of life textile recycling systems and solutions. We are excited to put this final piece of the puzzle together and are on track to have diverted more products than we have ever created. 

We’ve seen a big uptick in enquiries since our shift back to our pre-covid strategy so we thank every single person for their recommendations, tags and shares. We can’t do this without you so please keep those coming. 

So with that being said here’s to the circular uniform, and a radically transformed fashion industry. We look forward to seeing what we can collectively achieve in the next 8 years. Thanks for still being here too!