Values

Atelier Elpidia aims to be a company that is as ethical and sustainable as possible. This includes ensuring we are paid more than the Living Wage, sourcing our materials from local businesses that also pay their workers fairly and believe in a sustainable future for our communities and planet. We also work to ensure all of our products are made with naturally occurring materials. If we're not able to use natural materials and need to use man made materials, we will use sustainably and ethically sourced materials that can biodegrade and/or be recycled.

Currently, Atelier Elpidia only uses British Wool, which ensures all wool is non-mulesed and contributes to the local economy. By sourcing yarn from yarn mills within the UK, there is a lower carbon footprint too.

Our founder is currently working on improving their knowledge about wool and yarn generated in the UK, so they can ensure the whole supply chain is as ethical and sustainable as possible, and to provide transparency to their customers. In the meanwhile, they avidly follow climate conscious experts in the field of fashion and consumption such as Aja Barber (particularly Aja's Pateron)- the author of Consumed, Ventia La Manna, and others to improve their overall knowledge and habits surrounding fashion and consumption. These values are not only carried through the business but into their personal life as well.

Product Pricing

Each bonnet takes a minimum of 8 hours to make through manual hand knitting techniques with knitting needles (approximately 12-16 hours for a band bonnets and a minimum of 16 hours for a square bonnet, with an average of around 24 hours). As we are based in Oxford (UK), the Oxford living wage is currently at £13.16/hour for the UK tax year 2025-2026. In order to ensure we are paid a fair wage, we can pay taxes, as well as source the materials to make the products, our products are priced to take all of these costs and studio overheads into consideration. If our founder is able to earn £16.00/hour cuddling and feeding a cat, all garment workers 100% deserve a living wage as the starting wage.

We do not believe high quality items should come at the cost of the makers, nor at the cost of the planet. The items we make for you are to be bought once, and to be treasured for as long as possible.

Circularity

If you believe you no longer need an item from us in your wardrobe but it's still in good or repairable condition, please return the item to us. Once the item has been checked for quality, we will be in touch regarding compensation for postage and packaging.

For more information or queries about returning worn items to us, please check out our Deliver & Returns page, or email us at info@atelierelpidia.co.uk

If you are interested in our repair service, please read our Garment Care guidelines for repair information. You can also email us if this is easier.

Activism & Action

If you're against fast fashion but you're not able to afford one of our items and believe in ensuring garment workers around the world are paid fairly for their work, please consider donating to or getting involved with one of the organisations below:

Otherwide, please consider supporting small businesses, artists, and creators through their personal platforms, or donating your disposable income to local food banks or your local community. There may also be people within your personal circle who could benefit from a helping hand.

Other Organisations

Other notable organisations we wish to highlight at Atelier Elpidia. This list is not exhaustive, and we hope you have your own good causes you can contribute to already - whether that is locally or internationally.