Introducing Eco Friendly Homeware Brand Contrado

After moving to London a year and a half ago, it is safe to say that my journey into the big city has been filled with ups and downs. But thankfully, after my third time of moving house in the space of three months, I had found a room that was made just for me. And while it has had its trials and tribulations, for the most part I am content with staying at the house I am in and am not currently planning on leaving anytime soon. Which means that after 8 moves in the last 4 years, I finally have a semi-permanent space to call my own and I am so grateful that I get to live in such an amazing area, even if I quite literally have to sell a kidney to pay my rent, but that is another story entirely. Which is why in the past few months, I have been looking at ways in which I could ‘personalize’ my room in East London and turn it into a beautiful paradise that reflects who I am as a person. The only issue I kept coming across however was the fact that A. most of the furniture brands were not cruelty free using fabrics like leather and suede, B. were out of my price point and C. were not eco friendly and sustainable, something which I have been looking into more in order to be able to reduce my carbon footprint. Which is where eco friendly homeware brand Contrado comes into the picture…

Contrado is a rare breed: not only are all their products made in the UK using eco-friendly inks and created using ‘in house production’, but alongside cruelty free materials like cotton, lycra and canvas, Contrado also allows you to personalize a wide range of products including swimwear, slippers, slippers, cushions, lamps, rugs and more. While Contrado began by personalizing eco friendly clothing, their expansion into homeware, is reflective of their desire to tap into the interior market as well. You could get something as novelty as a picture of your exes face on your carpet, as you quite literally wipe his face with your muddy shoes – that will show him, the sodding git- or alternatively you could be sensible and have a picture of something that actually means something to you. For example as you can see below, the carpet or rug if you prefer, features a stunning swirl of purple, white and grey graffiti which makes for a rather exquisite looking carpet, remaining true to my aesthetic and who I am stylistically as a person. On the other hand if rugs are not your thing and you are looking for personalized lamps, cushions, throws or anything else to freshen up your home, the possibilities really are endless.

Alongside a range of eco-friendly clothing and homeware merchandise that can be tailored to your taste, it is important to note as to how Contrado not only reduces their transport carbon footprint, but also outsources non toxic materials and liquids, which they hand over to their team of skilled technicians. To start with they use non toxic inks , which are water based and disposed of using a local waste management company, to reduce and minimize their impact on the environment, by keeping everything as local as possible. But what happens to the leftover post- manufacture fabrics, I hear you ask? Well put simply Contrado ensures that anything that is leftover does not go to waste by either up-cycling  or recycling fabrics or donating to their local clothes bank to ensure that provisions are given to those who need the fabrics most. After all we should be thankful that we have access to clothing, and should do our best to ensure that nothing goes to waste. And it is the same with the fabrics used for their personalized homeware as well; their eco friendly print process, means that no contaminants of any kind will enter the water used to create your personalized prints.

While the majority of production and fabric sourcing is established in the UK, some fabrics are sourced from inside the EU, although thankfully Contrado is on first name basis with their suppliers. With their desire to be as sustainably conscious, Contrado is aware of how their suppliers operate, ensuring that all workers are given fair wages alongside safe working practices, a value that all operators should uphold to the highest standard. Furthermore alongside the establishment of safe working practices, Contrado – due to popular demand- has decided to outsource fabrics from eco approved production chains like OEKO-TEX® and GOTS. As I mentioned earlier, all their fabrics are cruelty free, which is great news for a cruelty free blogger like myself, but they now recently added their first group of organic cottons, sourced from approved mills to ensure that they aim to be as eco friendly as possible. So whether you are looking for a new duvet cover or hot water bottle for your bedroom, or would rather spruce up your kitchen with some beautiful custom made personalized chopping boards and aprons, who said that furniture had to be boring? Question is what will you choose?

Have You Ever Shopped From Contrado Before?

*PR Samples