About Little Yellow Bird

You can be sure that what you and your team wears is good for both people, and the planet. Our business model is based on fair treatment openness, honesty and transparency. These virtues are incorporated into everything that we do, at all stages of production. That includes fair treatment for our farmers, factory workers, team and of course you, our clients.

OUR VALUES

Fairness, transparency, equality, honesty and openness. These are values are how we do business.

OUR SERVICES

Our team is skilled in supporting you to make the right decision for your next uniform range, inclusive of design concept, fabric, fit and styling.

We hold an ever growing core range of stock which include tees, aprons, business shirts, knitwear, trousers and outerwear, that can all be customised and branded.

For low volume orders and a quick turnaround time, items are branded here in New Zealand with one of our local screen printing or embroidery partners. Generally these products are already in stock so we can turn these around in 2-14 days depending on the volume and complexity of your order.

For larger wholesale & custom orders, most of the time these will be made-to-order. If you are producing a custom item with us your Account Manager will work closely with you and our Production Manager to source, sample, manufacture and deliver your uniforms.

ETHICAL SOURCING

We source the best natural and sustainable fibres we can find. The cotton we source is exclusively organic and rain-fed, traceable right back to the farms that grew the crop.

SUSTAINABLE SMALL SCALE

We proudly support small scale farmers that are promoting sustainable agricultural practices and working to regenerate, not destroy the land that they rely on.

RAIN-FED COTTON

Rain-fed cotton is better for people and the planet. Instead of using toxic pesticides and fertilisers, our farmers rely on crop rotation, natural fertilisers and cow pee to keep the soil fertile and the pests away.

ORGANIC COTTON NOT CREATED EQUAL

Not all organic cotton is created equal. Instead of growing in dry arid areas that require a lot of water, our cotton is grown during the rainy season which means we don’t need thousands of liters of water to produce a single tee.

ETHICAL PRODUCTION

Every uniform company will tell you that they’re an ethical supplier, but this usually just means that they meet the legal minimum requirements. We don’t just meet the minimum legal requirements, we exceed them, lifting the bar for the entire industry.

FAIRTRADE CERTIFIED

We work with only the best ethical factories we can find. They are all GOTS or Fairtrade certified and we are working towards long term partnerships with the most progressive. Unlike many of our competitors which set the minimum working age at 14, ours is 18.

HIGHEST STANDARD

We regularly audit each factory (our NZ team visits at least once a year, although this is usually more!) against a high bar of social and sustainability criteria, and ensure the highest standard of safety is adhered too.

COMPLEX PROCESS

The process of turning cotton fibre into fabric is complex but we trace this from farm to factory. The cotton is ginned, spun and woven or knitted to create high quality premium fabrics that are bespoke to Little Yellow Bird.

ETHICAL SHIPPING

We ship as many of our products by sea freight as possible.

It takes around 6 weeks on the water for our products to arrive, however, we almost always have items in stock for our core range. Our online store allows you to order your apparel or staff uniforms 24/7. It also allows for easy re-ordering whilst our onsite warehouse ensures fast dispatch.

PACKAGING & REMANUFACTURING

By 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish and currently 99% of textile products end up in landfill.

We don’t want to see this happen so all our orders are shipped in paper mail bags or cardboard boxes. We also want to make products that last, that can also be sent back to us for remanufacture. We seek to make new products from old, so there is no waste at all. This is something we are working on so stay tuned.

ETHICAL WATER

Over 1 billion people still don't have access to clean water, so polluting water to make clothes just doesn't make sense.

We only use non-toxic, AZO free, GOTS certified dyes, and we also ensure the wastewater is filtered and cleaned, which enables it to be used again. 95% of the water used in our drying process is returned back to drinking quality, with the remaining 5% being used in bricks and road materials - a completely closed loop process.