Our Story


 

Sustainable, Ethical, Empowering - and super good looking.....

Tonic & Cloth is a start up clothing brand with a heart for empowering women - and that heart informs every decision we make. I want women to feel beautiful and strong in the clothes they wear, no-matter what they face each day. And I want those that make the clothes to be empowered and honored through the process. So, Tonic & Cloth makes Monday Clothes that Feel Like Sunday - and we do it  in a way that changes the lives of our sisters on the other side of the world.

As well as manufacturing in New Zealand Tonic & Cloth has partnered with an inspiring production house, Holi Boli  (in rural India) founded and led by pioneering kiwi girl Ana. Armed with a few industrial sewing machines and some serious skills Holi Boli bravely fights poverty and brings ongoing opportunity for female identity and empowerment within an often aggressively paternal society. The ladies find at Holi Boli a safe, family environment where they are 'seen' and valued every day, paid properly for what they do, and given opportunities for further upskilling and promotion. 
Together we have created clothes that are gentle on the body, trousers are cut slightly larger at the waist and brought in with hidden elastic, the summer collection jumpsuit is given shape with an elasticated belt. Shirts are sassy and edgy while letting the tummy ‘be’, while dresses bring the ‘wow’ in a ‘wear all day kinda way’. Beautiful natural fibers have been chosen to bring the collection to life, from silk and linen, to GOTS certified organic cotton sourced from India.
I'm also Incredibly excited to be partnering with 'The Loyal Workshop', their satchels, bags, belts and wallets are incredibly durable and beyond stunning, but that's only half the story. They provide opportunities for women in Kolkata to find freedom from the sex trade. They journey with them, teaching skills that provide a new identity, employment and a sense of community. And if that doesn't float your boat enough, The Loyal Workshop uses eco-tanned leather! The heart of this company mirrors that of Tonic & Cloth, they honor planet and people, and I just couldn't imagine a better pairing!

I love collabs and it says something of the creative community that collabs happen with such ease and synergy. A shared love for creating and for helping each other out brings forth bespoke beauty. Light + Vessel created stunning oversized earrings for Tonic & Cloth's Fashion Week catwalk debut - and now because they are such clever and big hearted babes they have created downsized versions so you and I can wear them everyday! They ooze handmade quality. Individual, exquisitely beautiful and loved into life.

The newest collab and very welcome addition to the growing Tonic & Cloth store is Krama & Co. scarves. These are beautiful, versatile, take everywhere scarves that change lives. When you buy them you invest into the futures of the Camodian women who make them - and into their villages.