Our Story

Our story begins in 2014 when I first discovered that recycled wool was a thing! When scouting out new products in Germany I came across the fabric for the first time, and heard the story of how recycled wool thread can be made. It's collected from clothing that has been put into recycling banks. And once I'd found it I had to find a way to bring it to the market.

Over the next few months the idea for a homeware brand focused on recycled materials started to form, and after a lot of brainstorming the name ReSpiin was born. ReSpiin started as a brand of recycled textiles, but when working on the range I decided I wanted to expand into renewable products too. At the time the interest in sustainable sourcing was growing, and so a brand that focusing either on reusing unwanted materials, or using materials that grow sustainably, felt like something the market needed.

Although the materials were key, so was the design. I wanted ReSpiin to be a brand that people were proud to feature in their homes. So I started working with the team on colour palettes and designs, and finding a manufacturer to make baskets from renewable materials such as jute.

Sourcing our products responsibly was hugely important to me, so the next step, was to visit our chosen manufacturers so in May 2015 I headed out for a 10 day trip to India and Bangladesh. What an amazing experience! I was so impressed with both of the manufacturers we had selected, and it was great to meet them personally and be able to discuss and develop the products with them.

After that plans for ReSpiin progressed quickly - we had our logo developed, started receiving and tweaking samples, and started on some photography. And we finally launched the range in November 2015.

Looking at ReSpiin now I'm proud to say we've developed our range of products adding new colours and new materials such as upcycled saris and seagrass. We're still working with our original manufacturers in India and Bangladesh but we're also exploring new opportunities for ReSpiin products here in the UK as well as overseas. 

We have a network of amazing stockists all across Europe who do such a great job of spreading the ReSpiin word, showing their customers that home accessories can be both sustainable and beautiful.

And finally a huge thank you to all of you who buy our products. We love connecting with you so please do continue to tag us in to show us how you use our products.

Charity