Rewilding Pledge

Pledging 1% to rewilding Britain through Slow Fashion

To be inspired by and appreciate the stunning beauty of nature is one of our core values. Mother nature is our true colour inspiration – the changing seasons, the unexpected colour combination – and we wish to thank her by giving something back. To achieve this, Genevieve Sweeney is helping support biodiversity in the UK.

We care deeply about the environment and take responsibility across each stage of our manufacturing process. By encouraging our customers to make more considered choices, our belief in slow fashion is helping support environmental causes.

Why Rewilding Britain?

Of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, eight resonated strongly with the values embraced by the Genevieve Sweeney brand. These are: 

• no poverty
• zero hunger
• good health & well-being 
• quality education
• climate action
• life on land
• decent work & economic growth
• sustainable cities & communities 

In our ongoing commitment to the environment and aligning with causes that echo our own values, we are proud to announce our partnership with Rewilding Britain via Work For Good. As advocates for sustainability and biodiversity – and to further support this vital cause – we pledge to donate 1% of our profits through Work for Good. 

Rewilding Britain aims to reconnect the population with the natural world, restoring and connecting areas of rich natural habitat across at least 30% of Britain’s land and seas by 2030. 

This connection with nature is something we wish to emulate at Genevieve Sweeney through our emphasis on slow fashion. We consciously design and craft with materials that are biodegradable and renewable, ensuring our knitwear fully sustainable and responsibility made so as to reduce the impact on the Earth. In this way, our designs help give back to the environment, such as the nuts that make our buttons, which will biodegrade back into the Earth. This goes beyond helping people make more mindful choices: by purchasing Genevieve Sweeney products, our customers are actively taking part in supporting the environment.

By contributing to Rewilding Britain, we not only invest in the restoration of our planet but also uphold the values that define our brand identity.

What are the benefits of Rewilding Britain?

Climate: Trees, peatlands, saltmarshes, and other ecosystems can absorb and store carbon dioxide, and 12% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions could be captured by restoring and protecting native woodland, peatlands, and heaths, and species-rich grasslands over 30%.

Purifying the Air, Water, & Earth: Healthy soils bring us nourishing food, trees help to filter the air we breathe, and unpolluted rivers give us clean water. In Britain, only 14% of rivers are in good ecological condition, but reintroducing beavers to the right places can help improve water quality. Studies have shown that beaver dams and ponds can reduce nitrogen pollution in watercourses.

Biodiversity: By allowing diverse habitats to re-establish themselves, we can give wildlife a chance to bounce back. 56% of Britain’s species are in decline and 15% are threatened with extinction. Yet in places where nature has been allowed to return, species are burgeoning. At Dundreggan, over 4,000 species are now found, including golden eagles.

Local economies: Rewilding land and seas creates a thriving ecosystem of employment. Over just 10 years, rewilding at sites across England and Wales led to a 65% increase in jobs and an increase in volunteering positions.

Strengthening Communities: Rewilding has the great potential to unite communities in a bold vision for their neighbourhood. In Scotland’s Langholm, the community crowdfunded to buy 2,100ha of grouse moor to transform it into a nature reserve. Together they’re protecting and restoring peatlands and ancient woodlands to provide a haven for wildlife and a place where people can connect with nature.

Health and Wellbeing: Restored natural landscapes offer us a peaceful place to escape, an open-air gym to exercise, an outdoor classroom for children to learn, and a way to connect with others. Health care professionals now ‘prescribe’ nature; the growing practice of ‘social prescribing’ refers patients to local, non-clinical services to improve physical and mental health.

What else is Genevieve Sweeney Doing?

As well as donating 1% of profits to Rewilding Britain, we are making our own conscious efforts to support the cause.

We are turning the land outside our studio into a lavender garden, which will help improve air quality – not to mention that lavender requires less water to survive, compared to other plants, making it an environmentally conscious choice. Additionally, both at home and at work, we pledge to use peat-free compost, as we are rewilding our own gardens to help introduce more native species and wildlife – Genevieve has loved seeing such a variety of birds in the hedgerows and muntjac in her little meadow front garden! 

We are also growing our own herbs and vegetables, encouraging our children to grow their own fruit, and shopping locally whenever possible. And we are keeping our eyes peeled for local projects that we can help support.

Epitomised through our dedication to slow fashion, we are helping create a brighter and more sustainable future, together.