Overwhelmed by the amount of stuff she thought she would need for her newborn, Jax Power-Champion very soon found herself with piles of unworn and barely used pieces that he had already outgrown. Coming to the realisation that there must be a better way, she is now on a mission to help other parents, encouraging them to consider the environment and avoid wasteful purchases, with the aim to drastically reduce the amount of textile waste that ends up in landfill every year in Australia. At Moosey Moose, they have designed and created a sustainable clothing range that grows with your child and lasts little ones a whopping 3 times longer than traditional clothing. The Moosey Moose Grow Romper is made from luxuriously soft and sustainable bamboo, which is long-lasting, expandable, stylish and comfortable. Here, Jax talks to The Natural Parent Magazine about the inspiration behind her business.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
While pregnant with our first baby, I was overwhelmed with the amount of STUFF the world said we needed for a new baby. Buying little adorable clothes seemed so fun at first, but the daunting worry of wasting items he wouldn’t wear or fit set in every time I shopped. “Will this be too hot, too cold, too large, too small…do I need 100 onesies?”. When he was around 5 months old, I emptied his closet and saw how many items he had already grown out of and how many pieces he hadn’t even worn! This experience served as a signal: childrenswear today fails to recognise the dynamic and rapidly changing size of babies and toddlers.
That is when I thought “there must be a better way!”. After hours of searching for baby clothes that grow, adjust, or expand came up short, I dove into creating a solution.
Inspired by my maternity clothing which “grew with me” I started to conceptualise items that could work for growing babies and toddlers and The Grow Romper was born.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
The process of launching Moosey Moose has taken nearly 2 years of research and development, trialling, testing, failing, trying again and finally perfecting the first style. Due to its innovative nature, there was no ready to go formula and I really became obsessed with quality, fabrics, manufacturing techniques and the longevity of the pieces. When trying to design clothes that fit for 2+ years, I knew they needed to be manufactured in a high quality way with the best fabric choices to ensure they still looked fabulous after 2 years. Moosey Moose clothes are made in Australia by our amazing team in Sydney. Whilst also supporting local industry and local businesses, manufacturing in Australia lowers our contribution to fossil fuels.
Moosey Moose officially launched December 2020, so it all still feels very fresh and new. It is so exciting to finally have my business baby out there for the world to see.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
The biggest breakthrough for Moosey Moose was simply seeing that the innovative concept and designs worked! Working with a local pattern maker for many months, hoping for a comfortable, durable, and adorable final product that grew 5 sizes was quite a challenge. To see the finished sample modelled on my son when he was 18 months and a neighbour’s daughter who was a fresh baby, wearing the same size with different adjustments all working together was such a huge moment. We will be launching exciting new styles that grow in 2022 and cannot wait to share them.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
At the moment, while Moosey Moose is small and growing, it has been a joy to balance having this small business while taking care of my son. I am very lucky to live in a slow paced town like Byron Bay. My husband was born and raised in Byron and it was such a blessing to move here 5 years ago. The pace of the town has fuelled my desire for balance and allowed me to really ease into “entrepreneurial” mum life. My husband and I both work from home, which allows for a great share in responsibilities and as an added bonus, he is a fabulous cook and great hands-on dad. Without him, I am sure the balance would be more of a chaotic mess. There are certainly days where it doesn’t go to plan, but if motherhood has taught me anything, it is to go with the flow in both parenting and business.
