About Richies Awesome Wood
I'm Richie, I'm a Gen X Millennial hybrid having been born in the late 70's, I'm an ex-alcoholic, I've had 2 mental breakdowns and I'm got various anxiety disorders. I've got 4 kids, a mortgage and I reckon I'm fairly typical of a parent these days. I have to work hard to pay the mortgage and keep the kids happy, and I'm really worried about the state of the world today, let alone the world tomorrow.
​
This isn't a usual 'about us' section, but that's because I don't want RAW to be a usual company. Because profit isn't what I'm chasing, knowledge is what I'm doing this for. For me to learn and share, and for you to tell me, and maybe discover something.
​
Integrity to me is my highest value, this includes absolute transparency. I'll tell you what I think, what I know, what I do that's right and even what I do that's wrong. But above all I won't try to mislead you, or cut corners. I'd rather pack up shop than knowingly tell a customer (or anyone) something which I don't believe is true.
​
So, I've come to a realisation, which many people have. That we as a society have been brainwashed in many ways by the definition of 'cost'. When something is cheap, we tend to buy it, or if the price is high we often scour the internet in search of a 'bargin', spending two hours on Amazon to find a similar product that is £5 cheaper (of course with free next day delivery). But the problem is I reckon that cost isn't that number appearing in your shopping basket. The cost is to consider the cash coming out our wallet, but the cost of every negative impact of the production and disposal of what we buy.
​
Now more than ever before we have to be aware of what the true cost of products are, as the more I dig to uncover what these real costs are, the more nightmarish it becomes. Ignorance about these things is not innocence, turning a blind eye and choosing not to listen when the information is there is plain wrong, and to sell these things to people without doing the research yourself should be a crime.
​
I'm not saying you have to become a hippy, live in a tent, eat nuts and shop at craft fairs, I've not got the cash for that, but to wise up a little and consider the impact of what your buying along side the price is absolutely enough.
​
Back to 'about us'. The products I'm selling are locally made using materials which should have an awesome attribute.
​
The wood for my products is sourced locally, or at the most from Europe, and is only from managed woodland, thus no felling of illegal wood. Most wood is beautiful, and you don't need to decimate rainforests with 'exotic wood' for something to be unique.
​
The textiles I use are organic and there is always a reason why I've chosen them. They're usually organically farmed and I'm selling them to showcase the alternatives to your standard GM cotton (or horrible polyester!).
​
The leather alternatives I use are sourced worldwide, plant based, often from waste materials or sustainable regenerative plants, I'm trying to do the research to find these materials so other people can capitalise on them. Don't get me wrong, leather sourced the right way is fine, it would go to waste if it wasn't used, but is expensive, and finite. Most leather isn't certified (6 billion square feet!). And the alternative 'Vegan leather' or plastic as it's more commonly known, is awful for the environment!
​
I do a lot to ensure as much of my products, packaging and materials are compostable, recyclable, or reusable as I can, and I'll let you know which. But if you know how I can improve on any of this throw me some solutions and I'll do what I can to do it.
​
One more thing I'll say which sets me apart from the 'competition', I'm not the best. My products aren't the best, but I'm not looking to be the best.
???
I'm looking to sell things that are good enough. That doesn't mean my products are useless or badly made, far from it. It's just I'm not seeking perfection, as if my primary drive is the absolute best, my secondary drive would be the 'cost'. For example, the Smellbags I'm making, aren't as well performing as alternatives, or as well made. They do the job well, and their environmental cost is at an absolute minimum. But if my drive was perfection, they would be full of chemicals, they wouldn't be biodegradable and they'd be shipped in from 10,000 miles away to keep costs down. Do you need the best of the best if it cost the earth? Or if they do the job and have a positive impact... is that good enough.
​
Do you need a brand new 6 litre 3 tonne SUV? Couldn't you just use a cheap run around?
Do you need a £5,000 carbon fibre ultra light bike for a 2 mile ride to work? Or would a second hand mountain bike do the job?
I reckon it's all greed and one-upmanship, which cost the earth and only fuels an ego, good enough is enough and any more is greedy. That's the ethos of RAW. Cost is paramount, profit is secondary.
​
Thanks for reading.
Richie
​