Founder of Frugi Awarded an MBE for Services to Ethical Clothing Design

Lucy Jewson, founder of the leading ethical and organic children’s clothing and accessory company Frugi, has been honoured for an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday 2020 Honours List for her remarkable services to ethical clothing design.

Lucy and her husband Kurt started Frugi sixteen years ago in their Cornish home when they struggled to find bulkier clothing for their cloth nappied toddler son. We thought “Aha! A real gap in the market, let’s see if we can solve this problem!” says Lucy.

Lucy set out to prove that you could run a profitable, successful business in a green and ethical way. By giving 1% of turnover to charity and using only GOTS certified organic cotton, Frugi’s children’s clothes have steadily become known for their colourful, fun prints and clever designs.  In sixteen years, Frugi has donated over £720,000 to various children’s and environmental charities and this year has partnered with Eco-Schools to fund 150 UK schools to earn their Green Flag certification. This ties in with Frugi’s overarching mission to help raise the next generation of eco-warriors.  Frugi is growing fast with over 80 people now working at their headquarters in Cornwall, and across the UK and Europe. 

“It’s a bit of a shocker,” Lucy said about the award.  “I suppose it means that we have in our own small way managed to prove what we set out to prove; that you can be successful and ethical at the same time.   This MBE is for Frugi, not for me, and I hope that the team at Frugi feel proud that the brand has got such a meaningful badge of approval for all their hard work,” says Lucy.