We like to call FAIRLING an online dating site for brands: The goal is to get a perfect and long-lasting match between brands and stores. And we can tell you this much: There is already quite an amount of great FAIRLING-Love Stories to tell. One of them is the story of Eco Inner Living.

Eco Inner Living is part of the FAIRLING community since June 2020. The founder Kirsty is born in South Africa, but currently lives in Germany. The brand recycles plastic bottles to strong yarns and weaves them into beautiful home accessories like cushions, blankets or rugs.

With FAIRLING Kirsty has managed to find three new resellers within the first three months on the platform. You want to know what’s her story? We interviewed Kirsty about her success:

How did it all start? What’s the idea behind Eco Inner Living?

My inspiration for the business idea was the waste in our environment.

I grew up in Durban, South Africa, and have lived in Germany since 2011. During my time off in parental leave, I noticed the amount of rubbish lying around, especially in South Africa. This sparked interest and I started thinking about how we could find alternative ways to clean up.

I soon discovered the many ways in which plastic bottle waste could be recycled and reused.

I decided to combine this with my passion for interior design and explored how these bottles could be recycled into strong yarns that would then be woven and create beautiful home accessories. 

What was your favorite highlight or happy moment in the last months?

A big highlight for us in recent months has been the positive press we have received. A blanket of ours was featured in ‘Schöner Wohnen’ and an article was written about our company and products in ‘Living & More’.

In marketing and sales, you rely on strong, long-term relationships with your retailers. Why do they choose you? (And why do you choose them?)

I think retailers have been interested in our products because we offer a really unique product. Our products are also sustainable and environmentally friendly, which is becoming an important factor for consumers. It is essential for us that our retailers have similar values as we do. 

You have received nine requests and three orders from new traders at FAIRLING so far. Can you give us a little background information on one of these love stories? 🙂

We have had great success on the FAIRLING platform. Within three months we have been able to get three retailers to sell our products in their shops. And the FAIRLING support team has been great. They are always available and offer valuable feedback. 

Where should the journey go? What is the vision of Eco Inner Living?

We want to be known as the brand that offers eco-friendly interior design.
My personal goal with the business is to educate everyone that interior design and home decor can be done in a beautiful and eco-friendly way. I am very proud that our products remove thousands of plastic bottles from our oceans. Every year we aim to expand our collection and launch new products. We currently offer cushions and seat cushions, blankets, rugs and tote bags and are expanding the collection to include tablecloths and runners by early 2021.

Is there anything you would definitely advise other young, emerging brands to do?

Points that I remember that would also be useful for other emerging brands are: 1. don’t hurry – take your time to build your brand 2. be persistent 3. value all the feedback you get.

Thank you, Kirsty for the great interview and all the best for you and your brand! Hopefully there will be many more Love Stories for you to experience!

Company:                                                      Eco Inner Living

Founder:                                                         Kirsty Kaspers

Country:                                                         Germany

FAIRLING member since:                    Jun 08, 2020

First request:                                               Jul 17, 2020

New resellers in first 3 months:       3 

You want to be part of FAIRLING, too?

Great, there’s a whole world of local stores waiting for your products! Just book a free demo call with one of our brandscouts – they will be very happy to talk about your possibilities on FAIRLING and answer all your questions.