ABOUT
Step of Grace is a lifestyle brand that is specially curated for those who know better and want to do better for themselves and for the earth. A planet and budget-friendly option for those who want to purchase more responsibly, but don’t always have the access to do so yet.
IMPACT
People
All of Step of Grace’s products are made in small to medium production houses in Indonesia. The team does various rounds of checking before they decide to work with any partners and assess them the best they can according to the SA8000 guidelines, especially with regards to ethical treatment, child labour, fair wages and safe workspace. Fortunately, they have found production partners they are happy with and can see themselves working with for a long time. The brand continues to maintain a direct relationship with them, and visit the facilities regularly and spend time talking with the workers.
Product
Step of Grace gets all their products handmade in Indonesia. They believe there is no “‘magic material” that has zero ecological impact, and so they try to reduce their impact as much as possible by using only natural materials that fulfil the criteria needed to build beautiful pieces that will last. To the founders of Step of Grace, sustainability stems from making things that last using materials that have a minimum impact before, during, and after their lifetime. The brand prefers to use pure linen, organic cotton, bamboo fibres and natural blends. All fabrics and leathers are sourced locally, with the exception of their 100% linen which is sourced from Belgium and China. They collect all their fabric offcuts to upcycle them and also use repurposed seashells for all buttons. Step of Grace is proudly plastic-free in all their products.
Packaging
Step of Grace only uses either reusable or compostable packaging and accompanying materials. The brand uses fully biodegradable and home-compostable waterproof wrappings made from cassava for clothing. The brand also ships in compostable cardboard boxes and seals them using water-activated paper tapes and paper masking tapes. Instead of boxes for footwear, they chose reusable calico dust bags instead. Step of Grace prefers to use sustainable, renewable and compostable 0% tree Bagasse paper made from sugarcane waste to print all their business cards and marketing materials too.
Planet
At Step of Grace, they have decided to only use natural fabrics. There are many different ways to be sustainable, and all of them have their benefits. So this decision to stick to natural fibres is what they prioritize most. For them, it is water usage before the product’s life. They want to eliminate the release of microplastics during a product’s life and focus on biodegradability at the end of that product’s life. The team takes extra care to not typecast a material; for example, while linen is generally regarded as a sustainable material, not all linen is created equal. That is why they use only pure linen and natural linen blend, but never polyester linen. The same goes for cotton, they only use certified organic cotton. The brand believes in reducing their carbon footprint by planting trees and continue to learn about what else they can engage in.
Principles
Step of Grace believes that they are always learning, and in taking a step at a time, always. That is why they continuously update their website’s ‘sustainability page’ as the brand slowly progresses and improves its product offerings. This is also the reason why they plant a tree for every product sold. As a business, they believe small actions will eventually create a big impact, and businesses should take that first step. Step of Grace hopes to grow with their community to become better for those around us and for the environment.
