Company Name: Hug UK

Brand: HUG & Little Green Radicals

Established: 2002

Country of Origin: UK

Area: All UK and Ireland Regional agents wanted

Product Description: Our baby and children’s collections are creative and create media and consumer interest. With the Little Green Radicals range the emphasis is on humour, with slogans like `I recycle my tantrums’ and `wind farm.’ With the HUG baby and children’s range the emphasis is on warmth and giving. We believe the HUG concept - high quality organic and Fair Trade fashion with original design - is an idea whose time has come.

Sizes: Baby and kids – from 0-6 years

Average Prices: £8.

Commission: 10%

Collection Size: 30 for the baby and children’s range (effectively we have two children’s brands – HUG and Little Green Radicals, both sharing the same values).

Competitive to: No Added Sugar for kids

Sits alongside: Any casual collection

Main Export market: USA & Japan

Website: www.hug.co.uk

Company Philosophy: Design and quality are at the centre of what we do, but we also care passionately about the environment and the conditions of the people who make our fashion. We want to become the UK’s premier Fair Trade fashion brand.

My Comments: This is the first company in the UK to be granted a Fairtrade label for its cotton T shirts and Jeans, they do extensive PR, using one of the top London fashion PR agencies and find it easy to get coverage, because we are organic/fair trade, high quality and interesting!
They also have gift packaging.
There are only a handful of Fair Trade certified fashion companies and none of them positioned at the top end of the middle market with their quality and design. They therefore have a strong niche and the ability to get in to many stores who want something slightly different.
They have around 60 stockists in the UK and they are doubling their turnover every season and with much more of us concerned about our environment and the world we live in, this kind of company and product is the future.