The Vision Ahead: Our 2026 Goals

2025 changed us in ways we could not have predicted.

Joining Inside Out brought us into a larger circle of people who care deeply about how things are made. It reminded us that standards can rise, purpose can deepen, and there is always more to learn about what it means to dress families with responsibility and care.

This past year, our own families found their way into the work, not through strategy, but through the ordinary rhythm of our days. Our children pulled on early samples and told us plainly what felt gentle and what felt wrong. They ran off before we could finish our questions. They slid in mud, reached into paint, climbed trees, spilled juice, and came back marked by life in all the right ways.

We tried removing stains late at night, with the stubborn hope only parents understand.

That is where we learned the truth about durability.
Not in a meeting room.
In a kitchen, with a sponge in hand.

It made the work feel more human. It made the stakes feel real.

Those moments shaped our commitment to the Human Pillar of IO's sustainability framework, which centres health, care, and real life use. In the year ahead, we will continue phasing out fibres and finishes that compromise health, durability, or circularity. You may have noticed a few pieces quietly stepping out of our collection (an early sign of our move toward materials that better honour both the skin that wears them and the hands that make them).

We do not take trust lightly. When you bring our pieces into your home, you place a part of everyday life in our care. We feel that. Our partnership with Inside Out, and the work we do alongside the WRÅD design studio, has expanded our sense of what responsible fashion can be. It has given us a deeper respect for the brands doing this work with patience and integrity. And it has strengthened our gratitude for you, our community, who continue to show up with discernment, curiosity, and heart.

We will measure our progress and share it openly. We will adjust where we need to. Transparency is not a performance for us. It is a practice we return to every day, like tending a garden that grows only through intentional care.

And in the small details, the ones most people never see, we will stay present. We will keep showing our process slowly and honestly, so that when you choose to dress with The Simple Folk, you can feel the responsibility behind every stitch and fibre.

2026 will be a year of refinement, honesty, and deeper purpose.
We are grateful to be walking into it with you.