How do we find our Suppliers?

tomorrow, only your Australian based business still exists and all import and export streams are cutoff? Will the product still have value and/or can the product still be made? What if tomorrow borders get closed, overseas resources can no longer be exported, overseas factories are shut, natural disasters are consuming resources or chasing away craftsmanship, or trends change? With the last few years, we know that these 'ifs' are closer to reality than asking a rhetorical question.

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A business that can still operate under these challenges can be found on Locally Crafted, giving you full confidence in buying from these brands.
Know that with your purchase, you are not only supporting the specific business but an entire mindset of sustaining an economy that can sustain itself. Is that not what 'sustainability' means? Locally Crafted stipulates and supports a new way of bringing together those who are working towards a sustainable future. The change is collective. We come together and collaborate to achieve more for this planet and the local economy.

From Locally Crafted’s early beginnings, we love promoting and supporting local businesses with a story. We get to know the businesses, the founders and the ‘why’ of their existence. We engage with our members and collaborate to make their products shine.

With local, we mean ‘local’. We support those who are creating local workplaces, offering jobs and finding local solutions for their product creations (which is less evident and easy than sourcing from overseas). 
With focussing on local, we reduce our carbon footprint.

Overseas manufacturing is for many reasons not sustainable, and doesn’t create a fair competition on the local market.

Sourcing materials has a deep influence on the sustainability level of a product. For all clarity, there is no 100% sustainable practise or production process, but by working together, we increase our sustainable buying and living experiences and decrease our footprint.

With this in mind, local resource alternatives should always be considered. Overseas sourcing triggers additional carbon footprint costs which are rarely calculated in the end-to-consumer price. 

It’s however imperative to stay in the know about changing production processes and recycling programs. A ‘dirty’ material today, might become fully recyclable tomorrow cfr. plastics. Locally Crafted connects with institutions that are working on new developments, keeping us in the loop and allowing us to support those businesses with changing potentials due to innovation.

We especially support those businesses that have circular practises, or have closed loop processes in place.

Businesses that are not indicating where products are made and/or have a section on how their operations are sustainable, are ruled out from our support. We want 100% transparency upon asking the questions. 

Policies around energy use, resources and what happens when a product has reached the end of its lifecycle are crucial to be consulted.

Obviously, we need to stay flexible and support those businesses who are making changes to become more sustainable. Let’s not forget, that any step made by a company toward a more sustainable future is better than no change at all. Locally Crafted is not lifting fingers nor pointing them, but rather finding ways to collaborate and speed up sustainability within the supply chain by support and raising awareness.

Landfill is full of products coming from single-use and/or fast consumerism. It is up to each of us, to ask the question with each purchase; “do I need it”?

Within a sustainable future setting, only wanting something has no place, no meaning and no reason to exist. The product has become obsolete. Businesses still chasing ‘the desire to have’ rather than ‘the need for use’, will not be supported. 

At Locally Crafted, we understand that there can be a fine line between the two, and we are making these decisions based on a full understanding of the product. 

And we do understand that from time to time, you want to spoil yourself, or treat yourself or your loved ones with something new. 

This is human behaviour, but ‘humane’ also encompasses the care for our planet. Hence it is important to pay attention to the afterlife of a product.