Kiwi turns AU fashion giant’s deadstock into Christmas crackers
The woman who started selling cotton and cardboard crackers to rid Christmas of rubbish in 2021 has just kicked off a collaboration with Aussie B- Corp boho fashion giant, Spell. The experiment to turn Spell’s sumptuous rolls of deadstock into waste free Christmas crackers saw stock that’s taken months to make, sell out in just two days. Waste Free Celebrations’ Emma Conyngham has also just been named as one of New Zealand’s 2023 Coralus Ventures. She calls on conscious New Zealand designers to follow suit for Christmas 2024. Read the full press release for more information and contact details here.
Conyngham says Spell identified Waste Free Celebrations (WFC) as a sustainability partner in 2022, when they asked her to create a range of Re-Crackers TM out of their surplus-to-requirement fabrics, referred to as deadstock. She says she was “blown away” when Spell contacted her.
“They are a massive Australian label with over 1 million followers on Instagram! I want to expand this area of our business by taking deadstock from fashion designers around the world and creating a Christmas product they can sell under their own brand. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
Spell Sustainability Manager, Angie Menghini, explains the brand’s decision to choose WFC: “When our designs go to production we carefully determine the fabric consumption required but despite our best efforts, sometimes we find ourselves with excess fabric. It is our commitment that our deadstock will never end up in landfill. Our collaboration with Waste Free Celebrations makes perfect sense, as it gives some of our deadstock its second life and helps our customers lower the environmental impact of their holiday celebrations, year after year,” she says.
WFC, a company that started off in a Wanaka garage, has also just been named as one of seven winners in Coralus’Aotearoa New Zealand ‘Venture’ 2023 line-up. Coralus is a socially and environmentally conscious global venture capital organisation that many will know from its previous name, SheEO, then headed up by Theresa Gattung. As a successful ‘Venture’ Conyngham can now take advantage of interest-free five-year loans, business mentoring and a host of other members resources.
Additionally, WFC received Gold and Editor’s Choice medals in the Best Celebrations and Stationary category of Australia’s Clean and Conscious Awards. This accolade will help to put WFC in front of eco-friendly audiences at a pivotal time when the brand needs plenty of international exposure.
“My head is spinning” says Conyngham, whose business outgrew premises twice in two years before setting up a warehouse and workroom in East Tamaki with a distribution partner in Adelaide, Australia.
“Our biggest goal is to exponentially reduce Christmas waste by moving away from e-commerce and into supplying trade – this makes Re-Crackers TM vastly more accessible in more countries. We’ve got some work to do to before we get into the big Christmas trade shows that take place in the UK, Europe and the USA in January each year, but this is what the Coralus funding community can help us achieve. We’re deeply humbled and so incredibly grateful” she says.
ENDS
EDITORS NOTES:
- Conyngham set up Waste Free Celebrations in 2020, selling out Christmas present bags at Wanaka markets and on social media, before the Re-Cracker TM was launched. The brand gave employment to a diverse range of home sewers in Auckland and Wanaka, including Afghan refugees, and those with disabilities. While the new business model will include offshore production in Pakistan, WFC is committed to employing Afghan refugees who are stranded in Peshawar and unable to find settlement in a third country.
- Coralus Ventures achieve this status through popular vote; they’re voted in by members, known as Activators. There are 800 Activators in New Zealand and over 7000 around the globe. Ventures can access resources at their own pace – the model is described as ‘creating a self-regenerating pay-it-forward pool of skills, connections, funds, and support. Coralus founder Vicki Saunderson recently travelled to New Zealand for the October 30 new Ventures announcement, saying: “Coralus Aotearoa NZ has raised $1.6 million since its launch in 2017…We’re thrilled to be announcing seven ventures this year, two more than previous years…”
- The Clean and Conscious Awards was founded by Emily Fletcher in 2018, A practising Optometrist of 14 years with postgraduate qualifications in Pharmacology and Advanced Chemistry. She uses her scientific skillset to provide an independent voice and has become a well-respected authority in the clean and conscious world.
- Spell is a high-quality, B Corp certified Australian fashion brand known for its boho-chic style. The company sells globally and markets itself as an organisation that stands up for people, planet and prosperity. Spell produces an annual impact report and is guided by Sustainable Development Goals.
PLEASE ACCESS THIS DROPBOX FOLDER FOR IMAGES. For media interviews, please contact Sally Webster or Emma Conyngham:
Sally Ph +64 21 599191 | sally@casebasketcomms.com
Emma Ph +64 21 810166 | emma@wastefreecelebrations.co.nz
