Burrow and Be

Values

About

Born from a love of design and inspired by the west coast beach of Piha, Burrow and Be is a passion project founded by Catherine Melo in 2013. With a vast background in everything from jewellery and packaging design to graphic design and screen printing, Catherine brings all her skills to the table when creating and designing new collections.

What began as a home garage business has now grown into an established baby and children's brand loved by parents local and abroad. Burrow and Be release new collections twice a year and have an extensive selection of gifts such as comforters, baby towels, swaddles, fabric dolls, cot quilts and more.

Burrow & Be designs are a combination of inhouse hand drawn elements, artist collaborations and purchased licensed artworks. Catherine personally works with artists to recreate their art into surface pattern designs that can be repeated and printed in scale. Supporting local and international designers and artists is important to Burrow and Be particularly in a time where there are so many counterfeit and rip off products available.

They also work closely with their offshore factories to produce high quality products that meet their social and environmental standards. Their two main factories in India are both GOTS-certified and produce Burrow and Be products under the GOTS-certification supply chain procedures. Catherine has visited both these factories and was delighted with the work conditions.

These factories adhere to strict regulations in processing and manufacturing including; requirements for environmentally friendly practices, such as the prohibition of hazardous chemicals and the efficient use of water and energy. It also includes social criteria, such as fair wages, safe working conditions, and no forced or child labour.

Supply chain traceability means that all entities involved in the production process, including farms, spinning mills, dyeing and printing units, and garment factories, need to be identified and certified. Each step of the supply chain must be documented and verified by an independent certifier.

Both their factories in India support women workers by making sure they have their own bank accounts. they will help them set up these accounts so that any money earned is in their control and not handed over to agents, or men that can abuse their rights.

98% of Burrow and Be’s products are made within the GOTS certification guidelines including fair pay and social rights and prohibition of child labour. As for the other 2%, Catherine has conducted a thorough audit and engages with direct communication to ensure they comply with Burrow and Be’s human rights values.

Catherine and her team have personally visited many of the supply chain factories in India and were delighted by their fair working conditions. They were also impressed with the waste management systems set up, particularly in the dying and printing houses. Although Burrow and Be use non toxic inks and dyes, it is important that excess dyes and ink-contaminated water does not pollute local streams and rivers. They were happy to know that water recycling systems integrated into these factories did not dispose of waste harmfully. Any off cut fabrics that are not used in the production of their garments and homewares are deconstructed and repurposed into floor mats.

A few of the charities Burrow and Be have recently supported are Give A Kid A Blanket and Nurturing Families. In the past, they have also supported I’ve Got Your Backpack and various local preschools, kindergartens and school events with spot or raffle prizes.