Organic baby grows up fast

Jacob Faull and Georgia Smith of Nature Baby in Richmond Rd, Auckland. Picture / Richard Robinson

Natural baby product specialist Nature Baby has been growing quietly in the heart of Auckland's organics enclave Grey Lynn for close to six years.

Now it's poised to become a niche international brand.

Its chemical-free clothing, bedding, furniture and toys are being sought by parents here and around the world as the trend towards natural and organic alternatives grows.

It was the birth of their first child, Eliza, now 6, that inspired Auckland couple Jacob Faull and Georgia Smith to start the business.

"We asked, how could you have a baby and have it totally chemical free?" said Faull.

Having just returned to New Zealand from six months in the UK, they were disappointed to find they couldn't buy any of the organic baby products emerging overseas.

After importing the washable cloth nappies of Canadian brand Kushies, initially for themselves, they gained the New Zealand distribution and started selling them via mail order from their home.

Keen to keep Eliza's skin free from contact with any chemical residues, they also sought out 100 per cent organic cotton clothing and bedding from overseas.

Realising other parents were in the market for these too, they took steps to make these items themselves and, a year later, opened the Nature Baby store as a complete organic alternative for baby products.

Organic materials are grown and processed without the use of chemicals.

Smith says wearing garments made of organic materials means babies are less likely to get skin irritations, and the soft, fine materials last longer than synthetics.

Natural fibres are also more breathable and, when used for bedding, they help to maintain a more even body temperature for the baby.

Nature Baby takes a slightly "old school" approach with some of its classic clothing styles which Smith described as basic and practical.

Made from 100 per cent organic cotton and organic merino wool, the range includes bodysuits, singlets, rompers, kimono jackets, nightgowns, booties, socks, hats and bibs and jackets.

Nature Baby makes its organic wool mattresses and blankets, and organic cotton sheets and sway hammocks in a warehouse close to the shop.

The toys, cots, bassinets, high chairs in stock are all made from natural materials and non-toxic dyes and paints.

They also stock laundry products and natural remedies for teething and colic, and their own range of soaps, balms and pre-natal care products for mothers.

The couple have worked hard to educate the market about the products. Smith said: "We've had to convince people we weren't greeny weirdos."

Faull said: "We have always been into leading a lifestyle that doesn't leave an impact and creating better systems that are still effective.

"New Zealanders tend to be good at taking on positive ideas or products. It has got easier, but we're still in the process of educating people about why they should buy them and why they cost a bit more [than their mainstream counterparts]."

They estimate cost savings of using washable organic nappies over a 2 1/2-year period instead of disposables to be $1750.

The typical customer is an educated, younger shopper and their customer base has grown as the trend towards organic food has become more popular.

Faull, who has a fine arts degree, and Smith, with a bachelor of arts, were initially heading for careers in the arts and are, to some extent, surprised to have "ended up selling nappies".

The business has seen the pair travel to Egypt and India to source organic cotton, and to the US and London to keep up with the latest trends in organics.

They work alongside 12 retail and warehouse staff, and employ a network of "grannies" to do a lot of the knitting.

As organic wool cannot yet be sourced as a finished product, producing it has been their own initiative and one of the more difficult aspects of production.

Faull still oversees the whole process from shearing through to washing, scouring, spinning and then takes it to the knitters.

He says the nature of the business has seen them be the first to do a lot of things and come up with many time-intensive processes, which can distract them from expanding the business.

The business's timing has been favourable, as Nature Baby entered the market when awareness of organics was just starting to take off.

Sales have grown 35 per cent to 50 per cent each year since it started and the business turned over $1 million for 2003-2004 year.

Mail and internet orders make up 25 per cent of the business and Nature Baby products are also stocked in a baby store in Wellington and a design store in Napier.

Export orders to their stockists in Australia, the US and the UK comprise 10 per cent of the business and the first Nature Baby franchise has just opened in South Korea.

Natural nature

* Jacob Faull and Georgia Smith run their retail and mail-order business Nature Baby from Grey Lynn.
* It specialises in organic and natural products such as clothes and bedding for babies.
* The concept was inspired by the birth of their daughter, Eliza, who they wanted to keep as toxin-free as possible.
* Their customer base is growing locally and overseas. They opened a store in South Korea this year.