A lot of people have been asking me lately about our range of Australian Clothing, and what ethical considerations we have made when choosing suppliers. Essentially people want to know if our shirts have been made in sweatshops…

Anyway, in answer to that we’re Proud to say…..! No Way!!!!!! We make our clothing in a pretty simple fashion - we simply buy blank T Shirts, and then screen print them with our designs. Our clothing supplier is a member of the FAIR WEAR FOUNDATION. The FWF exists to promote fair labour conditions in the garment industry world wide; this means that our supplier has undersigned FWF’s Code of Labour practices, and committed itself to monitor the factories of its suppliers. The Fair Wear Foundation verifies that the Code of Labour Practices is actually implemented and respected at the factories. Leading international producers in the field of fashion have also joined FWF.

Therefore, you can rest assured if you are buying one of our Aussie T Shirts, either for yourself, or as an Aussie Gift for a mate, you are buying a product that has been ethically produced & has not been anywhere near a sweatshop

Ok I am a bit late in uploading this to the blog, but we have added 4 new designs to our range of Australian clothing. You can check these out on the site as of now… they are as follows:

- Hawkey Is My Homeboy
This design is a tribute to a man who set a world record for skulling a yard of beer, and also found time to govern australia. Who says men cant multi task?

- “Straight to the Pool Room” and “Tell Him Hes Dreaming”
Well, its probably pretty obvious what my favorite movie is if you take a bit of time to look at this site… But needless to say, “Straight To The Pool Room”, and “Tell Him Hes Dreaming” in my mind are two of the best aussie quotes ever. It never ceases to amaze me how many people come up and talk to me in public when I have been wearing these Australian T Shirts.

Goon - The Drink of Champions
Until I went travelling and did my O.E, I assumed teenagers / uni students in all countries spent their formative years drinking nasty, nasty wine from a plastic bladder , and then not being able to remember it. It appears this is not the case, and Goon, like a Marsupial, is a uniquely Australian product. With this in mind, Goon The Drink Of Champions, is the perfect Aussie T Shirt to remind you of your misspent youth.

As mentioned in my previous post, all these designs were really popular when we released them at Londons toast festival. They have all been popular in the lead up to Christmas also, with lots of loveley people choosing them as the perfect Aussie Gifts for their friends and loved ones!

Following on from a good day at the Anzac Sports day, we decided to rent a display stall at this years London Toast Festival. Toast is a Australian /New Zealand Food, Wine & Music festival held annually in London. The day was a big success, and we sold loads of Aussie T Shirts which was pretty good… It was also the first time anyone in the public had seen some of our new designs (Hawkey, Pool Room, Goon, & Tell Him He’s Dreaming T Shirts) It wasn’t all work though, managed to shut up shop in time to grab a few aussie beers and watch Jimmy Barnes belt out a pretty good live set to end the day.

We even stuck around for the next day of the festival, which was the New Zealand themed day, and we found that our castle themed tshirts were a hit with the Kiwis as well! (who would have thought you could have sold Australian t shirts to the kiwis??).

For more info on Toast Festival - click here

Yesterday was the annual Anzac Day Sports challenge, In Acton - West London…. So what better place for Echidna to turn up and watch the Aussies & Kiwis battle it out in Rugby, League, Touch, Netball & Aussie Rules.

We quickly put our Australian TShirts on display, alongside the other event sponsors, and got down to the important business of having a beer with our mates as they came in tired from beating the kiwis!!

All in all a pretty good day, with lots of sport, sunshine, music and beers. We had some great laughs again with lots of new customer, as once again our Aussie T Shirts were popular with the homesick travellers!!

For more info on next years Anzac Day Sports Challenge, check out
www.anzacsportschallenge.com/home

When launching a new product, most brands will have a swanky product launch with lots of press at a flash hotel, But thats not really what we’re about, so I thought how could I launch Echidna Clothing in true blue style…

Then I came up with a foolproof plan…. Launch On Australia Day, In London, by handing out cold beers to thirsty Aussies roaming the streets in search of a party.

I set up an Aussie T Shirt Stall on Shepherds Bush Green, across the road from Londons famous Walkabout with 2 Industrial Sized Bins filled with Ice & Beers. ( I had just been made redundant from my job working in marketing for a brewery - So this was the last of my “staff allowance”)

Anyway, to cut a long story short - handing out free beers (the ultimate aussie gifts) to backpackers in a London park went down pretty well, and before we knew it had about 60 people partying at the Echidna Stall in the park. Loads of people bought Australian T Shirts off me and things were going well (or so I thought).

Like all product launches this one had to come to an end as well. However unlike most product launches - This one finished in me being apprehend by the local coppers and being done for providing liquor without a license, and for unlawful street vending!!! Not the way I wanted to finish the day - but in terms of a launch, was a great way to get the word out about Echidna and our new range of Australian Clothing.

Anyway, there are 2 morals to this story….
1. Free Beer is the best way of advertising Australia T Shirts - EVER
2. Its only a crime if you get caught… SO DONT GET CAUGHT!

Righto, this is my first blog so here goes. Basically I started Echidna Clothing because I was looking for an australian t shirt to wear on my travels. I couldnt find anything that wasnt touristy though. So the idea for Echidna was born…. Australian T Shirts, designed by Aussies, to be worn by Aussies.

Pretty Simple Concept Really, and it seems as like theres a lot of interest out there for our designs… So thanks for your support so far!

Cheers

Nick