Cocoonu » mongolian cashmere

CocoonU, our company, our luxury ethical products, our promise to you

jessica — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:29:31 +0000

CocoonU, the finest embrace, strives to combine the most beautiful, tactile luxury products sourced from around the world. The collection offers a unique portfolio of timeless, irresistible pieces of unrivalled quality for the individual and the home. Our products are sourced using ethical, eco and organic principles bringing a touch of sublime indulgence into your life and home with a clear conscience.

CocoonU cashmere was originally inspired by the combination of lifestyle and beliefs of the nomadic herders in Outer Mongolia. Sourcing from this environment using sustainable and ethical practices has enabled CocoonU to produce a 100% cashmere andÂ aÂ lighterÂ silk and cotton mixÂ range; all with unrivalled softness,Â timeless designs and for all seasons.

The new 100% organic bath and body products use the finest natural ingredients with the purest of essential oils, locally sourced goatâ€™s milk and honey all lovingly handmade in the UK

Our eco-friendly jewellery is all sourced from ethical, fair-trade and eco designers from around the world.Â Whether you are seeking something unique and original, sleek and contemporary, classic and sophisticated, or traditional with a modern twist, we have an exciting range of stylish and affordable pieces to see you through not only this season, but the next and beyond. It’s jewellery that’s pleasurable to wear, beautiful to look at and designed to be as individual as you.

Blue Sky cashmere from Outer Mongolia – there is no compromise!

jessica — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:43:02 +0000

bayambijav family

CocoonU has beliefâ€™s that are unheard of in today manufacturing world! Itâ€™s like going back in time â€“ believing in people and their skills. Itâ€™s rare combination in todayâ€™s fierce market. CocoonU firmly believe these values are returning why? Because customers want good value for money â€“ but at whoâ€™s cost? Not the country or the person who makes each garment or product? CocoonU only work with ethical beliefs and each collection has a fascinating journey.

Within just two years CocoonU has established a strong partnership with a factory in Outer Mongolia â€“ Blue Sky Cashmere that are state of the arch in manufacturing cashmere and can deliver the highest quality products – including mixes of silk and organic cotton.

The relationship enables CocoonU to have a bespoke range and offer bespoke collections – designs to the clear conscious luxury market.

When i first met Vanessa nearly three years ago at the beginning of her adventure i felt that this would develop into a very special relationship. I was getting personally concerned that cashmere was becoming just a commodity and losing its identity as a luxury fibre.

It was being brought down by Chinese manufacturers using dubious working practices who were supplying the western brands with poor quality and often adulterated garments at low prices.

The cashmere industry needed a champion and a feel good story. Nothing was really happening in the industry as everyone’s concerns were related to price at what ever cost.

What i admired about Vanessa when i met her was her determination not to compromise her overriding principles to bring integrity and morality into the manufacture of the products. We had built our factory in Mongolia to aspire to the same set of guiding principles and are happy that we have now reached the point where we are combining our philosophies and offering the consumer top quality cashmere products made in a land where the goats feed off uncontaminated natural pasture land and the herdsmen dedicate themselves to the care of their animals.

CEO of Blue Sky Cashmere

kids with kids

nomad combing Cashmere goat in Western Mongolia

‘We Make a Living From Luxury’, CocoonU features in Woman and Home

jessica — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:12:34 +0000

Woman and Home New Directions feature CocoonU

Vanessa Streeton, founder of CocoonU features in the October Issue of Woman and Home. Here’s the article for our online followers

“I WANTED BEAUTIFUL CASHMERE PRODUCTS

THAT WERE TOTALLY ETHICAL”

Vanessa Streeton. Founder of CocoonU.com

Old Job : Business Development Consultant

New Job : Founder of CocoonU (cocoonu.com), which sells ethical and eco cashmere and skin-care products

“I first heard about Mongolian cashmere from a boyfriend, who has seen it on his travels and suggested i do something with it

I did some research and discovered that 70% of the world’s cashmere comes from China, where goats are artifically fed, living on top of each other and turning the land into dust bowls. In Mongolia, however, herders move the goats to different pastures every few weeks, while the extreme winters create the fine cashmere on the goat’s belly.

I emailed the director of the factory in Mongolia and, when he came to meet me, i felt the cashmere and was smitten. It was infinitely softer than the mass-produced stuff. And, as the factory workers work eight hours a day and have equal pay, i saw a niche market for brining in an ethical, sustainable yet beautiful product that people would feel good about buying.

So i designed some jumpers, a polo and a v-neck – based on a classic jumper i had in my wardrobe, with a few added touches – and sent them to the factory. I then paid a web company to set up an ecommerce website on which to sell them. They sold really well, but i realised you need a massive outlay to sell sized products, so i focused on accessories, such as shawls, scarves, hats and socks instead. Then i designed a home collection of cushion covers and throws.

I thought that my throws and shawls would make the perfect corporate gifts, so i made a list of yachting, motor and private aviation companies, along with top hotels and high end shops, to target. Six months after i started, i won a contract to be a gift supplier for a private jet-hire company. We supply everything from golf sweaters to shawls, and they buy scarves and hats for private skiing and shooting events they run.

CocoonU feature in the Quintessentially Living coffee table book

I also work with Quintessentially, a high-end concierge service. If one of their clients needs a gift for someone, we’re one of the companies they call. We are also in their Living coffee table book, which goes out to spas, hotels and homes across the world. I met their sales and marketing director at a party – so these things do happen!

We’ve just won a contract with George Smith, the high-end furniture company, and have just launched CocoonU for George Smith – a range of cushion covers and sofa throws that will be sold in their stores worldwide. The New York launch is next month, which is very exciting.

I was on the cusp of a Â£1.8 million deal with a luxury car company. But, a weekbefore Christmas, they cancelled due to the recession. Still, i have to pat myself on the back for getting that far.

In the next month few months we are launching organic skin-care products, plus a range of floppy beanie hats, hug scarves and ski gloves aimed at a younger market. We’ll also be opening our first shop in Harrogate, as i want people to come in and feel and smell how wonderful our products are.

I haven’t taken out loans, as i plough my earning back into the company, and have only just started to pay myself. Our turnover is increasing, though, so i’ll soon earn what i used to. I have two part time staff: one deals with finance, the other with marketing and trade shows, plus two consultants, who deal with my website and online marketing.

Staying with the luxury industry saved my company. If i’d gone mainstream, i would have gone bust because of high-street retailers selling cashmere jumpers for Â£20. But i love my job and i love that i’m selling something that’s unique and ethical too”

Thanks to Woman and Home for our feature.

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CocoonU are creating a brand in the current recession. CocoonU are unique, high quality and our products have a fanstasic story. We are sending a true mesaage to the consumer about ingredients and products. These products can only be bought via CocoonU, making it an individual product as well as a feel good product.

Ask yourself, how many people know where their products come from? answers on a blog