In August of 2016 we were approached by Conscious Consumers, a New Zealand organisation aiming to create a global marketplace for sustainable products and services as they looked to expand from hospitality into the retail sector.

Conscious Consumers aims to empower consumers to choose the world that they want by enabling them to easily align their spending with their social and environmental concerns through their ‘Good Spend Counter’ app and support businesses that are proactive in moving towards a more sustainable and ethical future. It also rewards you as a consumer for spending with accredited businesses by offering vouchers and special discounts through the app.

We were approached to be the flagship retailer, a natural fit for us as an independent, local store of 20 years.

How we got our accreditation:

Conscious Consumers has operational and product badges, and the process to get these was thorough and extensive but ultimately very rewarding. Each badge that we applied for had high crediting standards and we had to meet strict guidelines for approval.

A lot of our existing practices and products we sell at Mandatory ticked a lot of the boxes already, but it was a matter of gaining proof and documenting a lot of what we already do, such as gathering confirmation from our suppliers their product was either 100% recyclable or NZ Made, and making sure that our practices were documented for both staff and customers to reference. Through the extensive process in gaining these badges, it helped our suppliers acknowledge the good environmental work they were doing too.

We are thrilled to be accredited with the following badges, and aim to add to our existing badges over the coming years.

Badges we received:

• Composting: Diverting organic waste (generated as part of business operations) from landfill. We recycle our coffee grinds to staff gardens and have compost bins at both locations.
• Eco-packaging: Packaging is used by a retailer which is made from reusable, compostable or recyclable materials. Note: re-usable packaging is preferable to disposable packaging. At Mandatory we use recycled paper bags and always love it when customers bring their own bag
• Recycling: Diverting recyclables, including plastics, glass, paper, cardboard, tin, aluminium and e-waste from landfill. We recycle everything we possibly can and have systems in place for these procedures. Fabric waste is also recycled as best as possible.
• Supporting Communities: Giving goods, money and/or services to those in need in our communities. Mandatory is a proud supporter of the charity ‘One Percent Collective’. Bigger ends and sample lengths of cloth we decide not to use are donated to sewing classes for young mums in the Hutt Valley through friends of Mandatory. Smaller pieces where we have too many cuff / collar bits of a fabric are bagged and sent on to kids art projects in holiday programmes run by renowned sculptor Gabby O’Connor. Unusable offcuts from cut runs are sent for rag up-cycle at the tip.

• Buying NZ Made: Products are made in New Zealand. The Mandatory label is 100% designed and made in New Zealand. We also stock NZ Made ties and kerchiefs, leather belts, skincare and select knitwear.
• Vegetarian/Vegan: Vegetarian Products: do not contain any meat (red meat, poultry, fish,shellfish or crustacea) or by-products of slaughter. Vegan Products: are not derived from animals. We are proud stockists of Matt & Nat vegan leather goods. Select bags and wallets are vegan.

Mandatory is proud to be the first fashion brand to be accredited by Conscious Consumers. You can support us and the other bloody good businesses by signing up and joining the movement here: https://goo.gl/ZgvhP3 (it’s free!) Register what you care about and add an eftpos or credit card. Every time you spend money with us we get to see what matters to you.