Refined Brands acquires leading ethical childrenswear brand Frugi
Refined Brands, the parent company of Cornwall-based ethical fashion brand Celtic & Co, has acquired the intellectual property and assets of the Frugi brand, following the appointment of PwC as administrators to the Cut4Cloth Limited business.
Frugi was established in 2004, and has since built an exceptional reputation for sustainable childrenswear, using organic cotton throughout their collection as well as designing outerwear made from recycled plastic bottles. Frugi is a fellow Cornwall-based brand, enabling their head office team and operations to shortly relocate to Refined Brands’ local headquarters in Indian Queens. Website orders will also resume shortly once stock has been transferred to its new location in Cornwall.
The Refined Brands team looks forward to investing behind the rebuild and relaunch of the Frugi brand, helping further our ambition to build the leading portfolio of British ethical brands.
James Williams, Group Managing Director of Refined Brands said;
“I’m delighted to be able to secure the future of this pioneering ethical childrenswear brand and save a significant number of local jobs in Cornwall. We are delighted that Frugi are joining our brand family. We have long been fans of the Frugi brand and find their strong ethical and sustainable brand values resonate strongly with our own.”
Jennifer Bolton, Head of Design & Brand for Frugi, added:
“We are energised to be joining a family of pioneering brands with aligned values and a shared vision for a more sustainable approach to product design and manufacture.”
About Refined Brands
Refined Brands is the leading digitally native portfolio of ethically sourced, natural and sustainable British brands. Built on the back of British heritage brands and high-quality local manufacturing, the group was founded in February 2021 by a group of committed retailers including Ben Barnett, former CEO of TFG London (owner of the Phase Eight, Whistles and Hobbs brands) and retail veteran Michael Rahamim. The group is funded by the team, in partnership with HSBC, Kvika Bank and Souter Investments, the family investment office of Stagecoach co-founder, Sir Brian Souter.
About Frugi
Frugi was founded in 2004 by Kurt and Lucy Jewson after they struggled to find sustainable clothes to fit over reusable nappies. Now, Frugi is the UK’s leading ethical and organic children’s clothing brand available to buy online globally in 30 countries, with its range from newborn to ten years.
About Celtic & Co.
Founded by Nick and Kath Whitworth in 1990, and headquartered in Cornwall, Celtic & Co. is a pioneering, digitally native retailer of ethically sourced, natural sustainable knitwear, footwear and outerwear. The brand continues to stay true to its heritage, with in-house manufacturing of its sheepskin boots and slippers continuing to take place in Newquay, Cornwall.
