Ethics

Fair and equitable supply

The majority of work we stock is made by individual craftspeople or artisan workshops and the selling of these products at Mr Kitly enables us to help support them in their trade, as their existence and skills support us in ours. In the small proportion of products we stock where the making of the products is made my larger production lines, or is outsourced, we ask the designer or distributor to confirm they approach their supply chain using the ethics of fair trade.

Cruelty-free

“The question is not, "Can they reason?" nor, "Can they talk?" but "Can they suffer?”
― Jeremy Bentham, The Principles of Morals and Legislation

Animal welfare is a very big issue for me and it is my aim to make all products at Mr Kitly cruelty-free and (in the case of apothecary products) never tested on animals (or owned by a company that has). I do this in support of animal welfare principles. I have made monthly donation to the World Society of the Protection of Animals (WSPA) since the store opened in 2010.

I am in the process of phasing out the small amount of products in store that use leather. We do still stock some woollen items, and are in the process of transitioning to woollen items where the wool used is either recylced or traceable to specific farms that prioritise animal welfare.

Look for 'vegan' tag on our products to see products we have specifically included in our store due to their animal friendliness

“The assumption that animals are without rights and the illusion that our treatment of them has no moral significance is a positively outrageous example of Western crudity and barbarity. Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality.”

― Arthur Schopenhauer, The Basis of Morality

Sustainability and business ethics

Shops use a lot of resources. Airfreight, packaging, electricity, banking terminals to name a few. All of these things usually require the services of some big big companies. Mr Kitly is in the process of researching ways to remove any reliance on large multinationals that do not meet our standards of ethical business. From the start we have always prioritised recycled content and sustainable packaging. Ongoing and recent changes include:

Only using recycled content packaging supplies for our paper bags
Using biodegradable bubblewrap, and a type of void fill which breaks down immediately when exposed to water. This product is made from corn.
Re-using packaging boxes, tissue and packaging wherever and whenever possible.
For domestic deliveries we use a franchisee courier company - each franchise is locally owned meaning that as a small business we are also supporting other small businesses.
Recently we switched from Origin Energy for shop electricity to Powershop.
Ordering our loo paper from Who Gives A Crap.
Current project: researching banking alternatives to remove reliance on any of the Big 4 which are all have funding fossil fuel production and also mining in the Great Barrier Reef.