Our online beach boutique journey began when I was pregnant with twins and had a young toddler running around. As someone who lives by the beach and enjoys letting the beach parent for me, because our little ones thrive outdoors, I needed a better solution. One day my eldest tripped over his hooded towel he was wearing home from the beach, as it went under his feet and he tripped on it. And as you might know with hooded towels is there hands are usually underneath the towel, and he couldn't get his hands out in time to save his fall. Ending in tears he landed straight on his face and had a bleeding nose. Obviously as a first time mum this was traumatic seeing your little one to hurt & injured from something that could be prevented.
Which is how I came up with the Towel Jumpsuit. I pulled inspiration from the the bonds romper that look so cute on toddlers (the short arm, short leg style) but needed a more oversize fit, but not as large as a hooded towel. As another struggle I found was most hooded towel ranges are one size fits all and expected to fit a just walking toddler to a 5 year old, which is where the danger lies.
After many samples of Jumpsuit style romper towels, and perfecting the fabric. We landed with the one, and found the perfect manufacturer in Bali, Indonesia. Our mission was to not impact the planet throughout the whole process. As I found once becoming a new mum, there are SO many baby brands that just stock clothing, and I just found this such a waste. Babies are only in clothing for so long, so we mainly dressed our little ones in hand me downs to reduce our impact. So as I considered starting another technically "baby brand" I wanted to ensure that this wasn't just another baby brand, adding to landfill eventually.
This resulted in lots of late nights researching what fabric, and printing processes and design aspects are the most ethical and sustainable. So we finalised our process with natural printing, using only natural dyes that are then dried in the hot balinese sun. By also only doing small batch also there is minimal waste, as I didn't want to buy a range and it not do well and then have a bunch of designs sitting there unused and needing to be disposed of. Our fabric choice for the outer fabric of the towel designs is Tencel. Which is essentially wood pulp spun into fibre and creates the most luxurious, soft material. And the inner needed to be an absorbing, fast drying Terry towelling. So we concluded with a GOTS Certified Organic Cotton Terry Towelling for the inner layer. So the double layering of material makes the most divine, easy to wear, soft of buns skin feel that also absorbs the water after a swim, and dries fast.
The finishing touches of the designs needed to also be eco-friendly so we chose stainless steel snap buttons for the Baby Romper so they won't rust with sea salt and wear, and stainless steel zippers for the Kids Jumpsuit. These small things make an overall luxurious towel design that will last forever and not impact the planet. Our garment bags each design comes in are also a bit more expensive but worth it, as they are also completely compostable. The mailer bags we chose from Hero packaging, also completely compostable. We used recycled paper for our thank you and care cards, as well as swing tags. We didn't feel comfortable using the swing tags with the little plastic clasp, so opted for just recycled jute rope that ties the swing tag to the garment. These small changes can make a a world of difference when it comes to how dangerous micro-plastics are becoming.
Finally, I needed a design for myself to wear! I didn't love the boxy and masculine shape of normal hooded towels. Whilst they're a great idea, they were also too long and there just wasn't a Women's alternative to hooded towels on the market that I had found that was within my price range. So I designed the Women's Towel Robe. She features a hood for drying your hand, pockets for your belongings or your little ones seaside treasures, a waist belt to suit your style and two beautiful naturally dyed colour ways. This design is still by far my favourite and I keep one in the bathroom for after showers and one the beach bag.
So that's how I'm still able to take all 4 kids to the beach on my own, thanks to Towel-Wear! My kids will wear their towel there over their swim, go for a swim & throw it on after a swim & we head straight home! They're dry, dressed and warm and it all makes sense! So we hope we can give you the confidence to take your kids to the beach and pool again and again. Because getting out of the house is so good for everyones mental health, especially post-partum! And it doesn't have to be as stressful as packing changes of clothes, bulky towels & everything else!
Enjoy taking your little ones to the seaside again, and have a simple summer with By The Dunes Towel-Wear.