A selection of our favourite finds, from clothing, swimwear and footwear through to toys and accessories. Meet the newest kids on the block.
Pop My Way
Before launching innovative babywear brand Pop My Way in November 2019, Sashe Christopher worked in fashion buying and merchandising, bringing Burberry and other luxury brands to life. Pop My Way is the culmination of her knowledge and experience in the fashion industry together with the ambition to create a transparent childrenswear brand that parents can trust.
The collection for 0 to 18 months is both practical and fun. Plus, each item features resilient poppers that enable accessories to be quickly and securely layered onto the garments. In the event of a baby spill, therefore, you can simply take off the collar and replace it with another. Lost socks will also become a thing of the past thanks to Pop My Way’s ankle poppers on trousers.
Garments include two-way zippered sleepsuits with fold-over scratch mitts, cardigans, long-sleeved bodysuits, trousers and short-sleeved bodysuits. In terms of accessories there are socks, hats, teether/dummy straps, bibs and peter pan or bow tie collars.
The Pop My Way collection comes in seven mix and match pastel colours. The brand uses organic Pima cotton that is soft, durable, highly resistant to pilling and hypoallergenic. Additionally, Pop My Way produces all of its textiles in fully registered GOTS certified factories.
Moonie
Part of a family company that produces toys in Poland, Moonie is a new plush bunny that helps lull babies to sleep with a gentle nightlight and sounds recorded from nature.
The bunnies, which are USB rechargeable, are available in five colour variations. They also feature five natural sounds – womb, rain, wind, deep ocean and sea waves – which have been selected based on paediatric research. The LED nightlight, meanwhile, offers seven colours of light and five different settings.
As well as being suitable for newborns, the product also makes a great companion for older children.
Turtl
Inspired by a love of ocean wildlife and the desperate need to clean up our oceans, Turtl endeavours to create innovative and useful products that align with its ethics and goals. The brand’s debut product ‘socks in a shell’ offers footwear for children that is easy to put on, stays on, and has enough grip to aid early walking. The product also addresses the need to reduce waste, being both recyclable and created from recycled materials.
The socks themselves are made from Repreve; a yarn woven from recycled plastic bottles. The breathable insoles are constructed from BLOOM, a company that makes footwear products from algae by harvesting algae biomass from water sources to create the foam and then recirculating clean water back into the environment.
The non-slip outsoles are made from a non-toxic, recyclable, Phthalate-free TPR material, which is both lightweight and flexible. As well as using fully eco-friendly materials, Turtl will donate a percentage of its profits to help organisations clear oceans of post-consumer waste. This is in addition to arranging its own cleanup days on the shores of the UK.
Socks in a shell come in four sizes per colour and in two ranges to suit different age groups. Tots covers 12 months up to 36 months and Kids starts from a UK 7-8 through to UK 11-12. All colour choices are unisex. The next product in the works is a turtle shell children’s backpack made from eco-friendly materials.
To help grow the brand’s wholesale customer base, Turtl’s website now has the capability to offer trade accounts.
STYCH
New accessories brand STYCH (Smile ‘Til Your Cheeks Hurt) was set up by a small team of experienced fashion designers from Brighton who collectively have over 70 years’ experience working in the fashion industry.
The STYCH team, which designs accessories for girls, women and pets, seeks to provide an ultra-easy solution to gift purchasing by allowing customers to choose a curated and themed gift box, which is also sent in a keepsake box.
The kids’ collection features hair accessories such as scrunchies and clips. There is also jewellery, bags, purse belts, dress-up and jewellery boxes. All of the items fall into four main themes – Once upon a time, Glow girl, Party animal and She-rex.
The brand, which launched online in November and currently stocks John Lewis online with its kids’ accessories, is now seeking wholesale accounts with independent boutiques. As well as growing in the UK, it is also looking to expand into Europe and the USA.
Slipfree®
Many of you will already be familiar with Slipfree®, the brand of children’s non-slip shoes; it was founded in 2014 in Turkey by a husband and wife team with the slogan, “An end to hot sand and slippery surfaces”. Since then, it has become a successful global safety brand sold in over 30 countries. However, Slipfree® now also offers kids’ swimwear.
Officially launched at the start of March, the new UPF50+ protective swimwear coordinates with the brand’s non-slip shoes. The collection features swimsuits in various styles such as racerback, top frills and leg frills, alongside shorts and rash vests available from 2-3 years up to 8-9 years.
For girls, designs are Stripe, Magical, Juliet and Unicorn in swimsuits and rash vests. There is also a Watermelon and Pinky design available in swimsuits. For boys, Dino, Jack, Gator and Shiver prints are available on shorts and rash vests. The Ray print is available in shorts. As with the brand’s shoes, all of the swimwear offers sun safe UPF50+ protection.
Plans for the brand include expanding its network of stockists across the UK and Ireland. More new products in development will also see the range expand each year.
Reins Clothing
The brains behind new childrenswear brand Reins Clothing is Rhiain Jones, whose past career includes fashion retail and buying as well as events and marketing. The dream of always having her own children’s brand coupled with a passion for nature resulted in the launch of Reins Clothing, which offers sustainable, conscious childrenswear.
The seasonless collection includes coats and leggings made from GRS certified recycled plastic bottles available for 2-3 years up to 8-9 years. The showerproof coats, which are digitally printed with hand-drawn illustrations, include oversized hoods, a reflective stripe for safety, high necks with a wind guard flap and a breathable lining. Crew neck jumpers and long-sleeve T-shirts for 3-4 years up to 9-11 years are also available.
For its prints, the brand will be working with different female illustrators and designers each collection. This not only ensures the creation of unique items, but also provides a platform for artists to showcase their work. For the current collection Reins Clothing worked with local illustrator, Amber Badger.
In addition to the collection’s recycled and sustainable materials, the brand uses sustainable or recycled printed merchandise. It also reuses offcuts within the business and hosts sustainability talks in schools.
Upcoming plans for the brand include creating a re-sale platform on its website. Also, to donate a proportion of made stock to disadvantaged children close to home along with a percentage of profit to companies helping to eradicate the ocean waste epidemic.
Martha Loves
Based in North Wales on the Llyn Peninsula, Martha Loves was founded by Alex Holland and Rachael Jones in February 2019. A current finalist for the FSB Start-Up Business of the Year award, the handmade brand offers high-quality, hard-wearing and secure fitting underwear for children in soft, comfortable and ethical fabrics.
Over the last year, the collection has expanded from five designs of pants and boxers for 2 to 6 years, to 18 designs for 2 to 12 years. This includes prints exclusive to Martha Loves. The brand has also launched multi-packs, mini-me sets and adult designs. This is alongside adding harems and headbands to the range.
Prints are fun and aim to appeal to a wide range of children and parents, with unisex designs being key; whether it’s pink bunnies or blue dinosaurs, all prints are available in both pants and boxers. Plus, all products use Oeko-Tex and/or GOTS certified jersey fabric.
The brand is now working to increase its stockists across the country. Furthermore, due to the success of the Martha Loves exclusive fabrics, it is keen to produce more of its own designs. It is also exploring the option of offering exclusive prints to stockists.