Covid-19 relief
During the height of the pandemic, we partnered with our manufacturers in Portugal to make face masks for personal use. The masks were made using upcycled, leftover fabrics and cut-offs which have been treated with an anti-bacterial coating for extra protection. We donated nearly 60,000 masks to a variety of hospitals and children’s charities including; GOSH Charity, Shooting Stars and the Purim Trust.
In addition, we offered our North London head office space to the NHS, in an effort to help the local community as a ‘safe space’ in case of emergency. Both Baukjen & Isabella Oliver also announced a 40% discount on the full price collection to all key workers, in a show of support for all the incredible work they do.
NHS Charities Together
We launched the aptly named ‘Unity Pant’, the name was inspired by supporting one another during these unprecedented times and promoting positive change. The ponte jersey trouser has a rainbow side trim to represent a sign of ‘hope’ during the COVID-19 pandemic. All profits made on the sales of the Unity Pant support NHS Charities Together.
GOSH
We successfully collaborated with Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity (GOSH Charity) to launch the ‘Hope’ Organic Sweatshirt and honour their commitment to give back.
50% of net proceeds from the sales are donated to GOSH Charity, which supports seriously ill children from across the UK.
Pre-Loved
As a business we aim to radically reduce the amount of fashion waste going to landfill each year and want to encourage all our customers to shop sustainably and follow our ethos of ‘buy less, buy better’. With this in mind we successfully developed a ‘Pre-Loved’ scheme, encouraging customers to send us their ‘Pre-loved’ maternity and non-maternity clothing, to be reloved, recycled or repurposed.
This September we were proud to partner with Oxfam on their 'Second Hand September' initiative, which encourages a less wasteful approach to fashion by helping to slow down the effects of fast fashion. For this coming year we will be donating 50% of net proceeds from sales on our Pre-Loved collection across Baukjen and Isabella Oliver.
Charity days
As a company we understand the importance of giving back. In 2020 we donated just under 15% of our profits to charity.
We believe in both supporting our staff and looking after our planet and its people, which is why we offer our team two days per year to volunteer at charities of their choice.
Black Friday
For two years running, we have successfully swapped deals for good deeds over Black Friday Weekend, opting instead to donate all profits over the four-day shopping bonanza to a range of deserving charities, honouring our brand commitment to give back.
This Black Friday Weekend we have chosen to split the profits equally between two charities aligned with our purpose of putting people and the planet first. World Land Trust is an international conservation charity that works to protect the world’s most biologically significant and threatened habitats, and is supported by patron Sir David Attenborough. Strut Safe is a UK based charity founded by two Edinburgh university students whose goal is to ensure that women can walk home safely at night.
In 2020, we partnered with a different charity, per day, from Black Friday through to Cyber Monday and donated 100% of profits from both Baukjen & Isabella Oliver to social causes in the UK. The chosen charities included: Centrepoint, supporting youth homelessness, The Trussell Trust, working to end the need for food banks in the UK, national suicide prevention charity; PAPYRUS & the Princes Trust, helping the young build skills and confidence to find employment during this critical time.
International Women’s Day
To celebrate International Women’s Day on 8th March 2021 we collaborated with the Prince’s Trust to announce the launch of our Sonny Organic Tee. £20 from sales of each Sonny Organic Tee were donated to the Princes Trust, #ChangeAGirlsLife Campaign.
This campaign aims to support young women who are struggling to find a job or losing hope for the future. The money raised helped support young women across the UK to receive life-changing support and guidance from The Prince’s Trust, enabling and empowering them to move forward with renewed confidence into a job, training, further education, or to start a business.
Frances Milner, Director of Fundraising at The Prince’s Trust said:
“The #ChangeAGirlsLife campaign aims to harness the power of brands and raise life-changing funds around International Women’s Day. It is more important than ever that we work together to support young women in the UK and drive real change for the next generation.”
Birth Companions
We designed and launched the Thalia Tee, in collaboration with maternal charity Birth Companions. A charity dedicated to offering practical and emotional support to pregnant women and new mothers experiencing disadvantage, Birth Companions works in prisons across England and in the London community, helping women who may be facing the birth of their baby at a time of anxiety, stress and hardship. 50% of net proceeds from sales of the tee are donated to Birth Companions.
To celebrate Earth Day 2021, we planted a tree for every customer order placed on both Baukjen & Isabella Oliver websites in partnership with Eden Reforestation Projects. A charity that helps to restore forests through employing local communities around the world to plant trees.
Stock donations
We regularly donate unused stock to a variety of charities we support: Smart Works, Barnardo’s and Something To Look Forward To. We also offer fabric cuts to local schools and any computers we no longer use.
