Created by husband and wife team Elizabeth and Adam, organic and 100% Aussie owned Shelu was born from a passion to sleep better at night…in every possible sense. As we spend over 1/3 of our lives in bed, it makes sense to us! We chatted with Shelu about their journey to create a product that not only creates a space for comfy and quality sleep – but that is balanced with quality of life for those involved – top to (perfectly fitted sheet) toe. Oh and we road (bed) test their range too!
“Organic and Fairtrade are not just trendy pop words that I like to quote but are a foundation of Shelu and what we represent.” Elizabeth states.
Elizabeth has grown up with the intention to aid those less fortunate in all of her endeavours since school, where she held fundraisers and spent her holidays aiding refugees and migrant families. “I grew up in Australia, in a family that was out to support me in every way. At school I started to learn about children in orphanages all over the world, and about how something as simple as gender or ethnicity could limit a person’s opportunities. These realities blossomed into a deep conviction for me, leading me to want to become a positive contributor to the world. “
Having volunteered in southern and eastern Africa in food distribution programs, community outreach and anti-human trafficking projects Elizabeth was finally able to merge her passion for helping others and ethical business practices together when she began to ponder how she could create an ethical business fused with her love of lux bed sheets.
“Finding out more about ethically made cotton snowballed into thinking about how could we make the biggest difference in creating awareness about the importance of ethically made products. Then the idea of bedding popped into my head!” The ‘eureka’ moment – and Shelu was born.
So why was it so important to the pair that Shelu be eco friendly, trade friendly and sustainable? Their answer is threefold:
1. To protect the hands that made them. Their manufacturer is based out of Kolkata, India and works alongside a farming organisation that operates mainly out of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha. Both are accredited with Fairtrade International and Global Organic Textiles Style (GOTS). They are committed to improving the livelihood options of smallholder farmers by making their farm systems more sustainable, profitable and creating access to ethical and Fair-trade markets in cotton.
2. To protect the hands that purchase. Some of the same negative effects that conventional cotton has the farmers and manufacturers applies to us the consumers. Being constantly exposed to synthetic chemicals is damaging to skin and our overall wellbeing.
3. To protect our planet. They use organic cotton that uses 88% less water (80% of organic cotton is rain fed) and 62% less energy. Conventional cotton uses about 16% of the world’s insecticides and 7% of pesticides. The absence of chemicals also means that water is cleaner and safer for the local communities.
As if this wasn’t a reason to jump on the Shelu bandwagon we were lucky enough to try a set for ourselves. And after just one night in their incredible sheets – We. Were. Sold.
Smooth, luxurious, and soft as anything, I slept so soundly I didn’t want to ever leave my heavenly new Shelu shelter. To top it off, the design is flawless. If you’ve ever struggled with a bottom sheet that doesn’t quite fit, and that annoying feeling when it decides to let go in the middle of the night, Shelu have solved that ‘sheety’ issue too! By making them extra deep (50cm) not only was it easy to make the bed, but it was even easier to slide between the sheets and sleep soundly through the night.
For more on Shelu, check them out here
