Blog

(Saint) Niko's Tips for Conscientious Christmas Consumption

We are in the middle of the silly season and Christmas Consumerism Craziness has possessed some people. Does it need to be this way? Who said we need to go cray-cray, spend copious amounts of money and buy tonnes of gifts….just to...

- Niko

Value for Money: At What (whose) Expense?

Are you getting ‘value’ for money when shopping? Every day we are surrounded by signs proclaiming: Bargain, SALE, 50% off.  Prices are Down, Down! When someone is gleeful about buying a t-shirt for a few dollars from Company X, [Etiko readers, feel free to insert pretty much any major store...

- Niko

Dump the Wasteful Attitude

Growing up in Melbourne, Australia in the 1960s, families took part in the weekly ritual of placing their rubbish bin on the grassed nature strip, at the edge of the road. Late in the afternoon or early evening, suburban Dads* lugged small-to-medium metal containers - complete with...

- Niko

Virtue Signalling: How much do you really care?

We don't mean for this question to be an insult, but we want people to reflect on their values. With the lack of thought that goes into these events we are starting to believe it’s less about fighting...

- Niko

Fairtrade Should Never Be Free

Each week we at Etiko get an email or phone from some well-meaning people from NGOs, Churches, Eco-Events, Film Festivals, Social Justice, School, Sports club and Vegan groups asking us to donate some of our products or to sponsor their event. In the past, we’ve generally agreed to these request...

- Niko

Etiko Becomes B Corp Certified

  At Etiko, we’re totally committed to ensuring all our products are ethical throughout every step of their lifecycles. Ensuring responsible production of our products is obviously important to us – our business was founded on the principles of aspiring to do good in...

- Niko

When “best” shouldn’t just mean “cheapest”

Forget the cheapest supermarket. Which one is the most ethical?   Every so often, on the nightly current affairs TV shows or in magazines and newspapers, I see stories discussing which Aussie supermarket is the “cheapest” offering the best deals for customers.   They’ll pit the big two players...

- Niko

Etiko: Helping Make Human Rights Fashionable

You might have heard that Etiko was honoured last month by the Australian Human Rights Commission when we won a Human Rights Award for business. It was the first time an Australian fashion brand has ever won! We’re no strangers to winning awards at Etiko in our journey over the...

- Niko

The Politics of Fashion

Punk Or $!@*head? – Or Judging People By What They Wear "Melbourne punks harass on city streets." "Punk thugs cause mayhem." "Serial pests." "Punks looking pretty nasty." "Unsavoury characters." In a recent published article, these phrases and more are just about every other line. One after the other about these...

- Niko

Nothing Is Certain but Death & Taxes ....Unless You're a Multinational & Or Loaded!

To be honest I can’t say that I love paying taxes (actually I'm not sure anyone does) ...but then again I can see the need to do so. After all, how else is the government going to pay for those services we consider essential, like education, health, transportation, roads, pensions,...

- Niko

The Rise of the Conscious Consumer

I have staked my business on the belief that there are rapidly growing numbers of conscious or ethical consumers. They are concerned about the impact of their purchases not only on the environment but also on other human beings. There is even an acronym for people like this – they...

- Niko

Etiko : 10 Years of Stirring for Fairtrade

One of the frustrating things about running a small business is the limited time you have to reflect. Every day is largely taken up dealing with phone calls, endless emails, putting together new orders, chasing up orders that should have arrived weeks before, managing cash flow, trying to decide what...

- Niko

A Question Of Connection

There’s nothing like a strong display of people power to restore your faith in the world. Right here in Australia, dairy farmers have been doing it tough for too long. The public’s response to their recent price struggle and ad campaign reconnected us with the...

- Niko