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22 Currells Lane
Felton
Bristol
North Somerset
BS40 9XG
Human Milk makes breastfeeding clothes that aren't really breastfeeding clothes. Our high quality, ethically, sustainably produced garments are simply stylish clothes designed to drape and stretch easily for breastfeeding, while remaining key pieces for years beyond.
Our mission is to reduce the number of lives lost globally to low breastfeeding rates, upscale perceptions of women's bodies from commodities to respected and autonomous marvels, and reduce the cost of maternity clothing to both parents and the planet. Our Artwork is inspired by the molecules in human milk, explained on our site so that women can see for themselves just how remarkable their own bodies are.
We also work with healthcare professionals in 35 countries to upscale their knowledge of the science of human milk and breastfeeding, so they can better support the lives and well-being of women and infants.
Higher breastfeeding rates could save the lives of over 823,000 infants globally each year, as well as 20,000 women lost to breast cancer. A key to better support for women who breastfeed is education, for parents but also for the healthcare professionals and the family and friends they turn to for support.
We communicate the little know, remarkable science of human milk with the intention of changing cultural perceptions of breastfeeding as a life-stye choice, to the truth of if being a life-saving one. Our multi-media resources are used in 35 countries, including by the NHS, US, Canadian, Norwegian and Australian Governmental departments, hospitals and universities.
Mothers who choose to breastfeed often come across problems, mainly due to erroneous information about what to expect. 85% of new mothers start out breastfeeding in the UK, but 50% of them stop in the first 6 weeks, with up to 9 out of 10 saying they did not want to, but could not find the help they needed.
We provide knowledge to parents and healthcare professionals that can save breastfeeding journeys. The onus must not be on individual mothers to succeed when the environment in which they breastfeed is often clueless and sometimes even hostile. We also signpost organisations that help on the ground with practical one to one help.
Note: we do not judge any mothers' choices. We exist to assist women who do want to breastfeed to succeed at their own goals. We do not exist to interfere with any women's choice not to breastfeed and we respect every woman's right to autonomy.
Our clothing has 3 main sustainable threads:
1) Our clothes are not the traditional breastfeeding clothes with holes, zips and flaps that single out short term, single use garments. We design all our clothes to be easy to breastfeed in, but they are simply great quality, comfortable clothes that can be comfortably worn at any stage of life. This reduces the cost of maternity clothing to both parents and the planet.
2) All our textiles and materials are ethically sourced, certified, organic where possible. We only work with printers who use water based ink and have a responsible method of disposing of their waste.
3) We assist mothers to successfully breastfeed. In then UK alone, mothers successfully reaching 6 months of breastfeeding would be the ecological equivalent of taking up to 75,000 cars of the road per year.
Beyond that, we refuse all plastic in our part of the supply chain. Our suppliers ship garments to us in strong cardboard boxes without polybagging them. We ship our products in recycled paper bags, use recycled paper for our printed material (except our posters, which we cannot source on recycled paper yet!)
In terms of our work ethics, all of us work in our own time, to suit our own lives. Most of us have young families and this is very much taken into account when timing meetings and deadlines. We would love to find a way to continue this as we grow, and it's something that will have to be co-created with the people who join us in the team!
