SEKEM Acquires Under the Nile, Announces New Website and Product Expansion
Under the Nile’s acquisition by supplier SEKEM increases supply chain transparency and offers more sizes, new product categories, and better prices
Dover, DE, January X, 2024— Under the Nile, long-time industry leader and provider of high-quality 100% GOTS certified organic cotton baby products, has been acquired by its sole supplier SEKEM. SEKEM is a sustainable development-focused social enterprise with biodynamic farms, headquartered in Egypt.
“After 25 years of partnership with Under the Nile’s founders Janice and Mohamed, we are looking forward to building upon the beautiful brand that they’ve established in the U.S.,” said Konstanze Abouleish, Managing Director of SEKEM’S textile factory. “We are confident that Under the Nile is only going to continue to get better while maintaining the customer trust that has been built all of these years.”
Customers can expect many benefits from the transition. While the quality they know and love will stay the same, lower costs are translating to lower, more competitive prices. Customers can also look forward to an expanded product offering including bigger sizes for kids and a larger variety of prints and styles.
“This is particularly exciting for us because many customers have expressed that they would love to continue to dress their babies in Under the Nile as they grow,” said Christine McCarthy, Director of Sales and Operations at Under the Nile. “Soon our customers will be able to use Under the Nile products throughout their lifetime, continuing their sustainability journey.”
Under the Nile’s newly launched website features beautifully designed new collections that venture out of neutral colors into playful patterns. They include a “Woodland Babies” print where baby foxes, field mice, hedgehogs and bunnies prance in pastels, an endearing storks and hearts print, and florals and dinos in a variety of palettes. Expanded sizing includes t-shirts and underwear through sizes 4/5Y for all genders.
New products designed especially for mom include a take-me-home set with a nursing nightgown and robe to coordinate with baby, reusable nursing pads, makeup remover rounds, and grocery bags with a child’s size to match. Neutral upcycled rugs are also back by popular demand at affordable prices.
The change in ownership will bring even greater transparency to Under the Nile products. SEKEM will provide customers with information on each product’s journey via impacTrace. This includes details about the creation of the product, from the farmers that grew the cotton and the wages they earned, to how the cotton was processed and sewn, to the product’s total environmental impact.
Such transparency is uncommon in the textile industry. Apparel production often relies on multiple sources and suppliers for a single garment, which makes tracking complicated. Because they are managing the entire supply chain from cotton to closet, SEKEM can give customers complete trust in where their purchase is coming from.
The transition also means that SEKEM is ensuring that Under the Nile is 100% carbon neutral. Through the Economy of Love carbon credits system co-created in partnership with Fair Trade International and the Egyptian Biodynamic Association, each product’s carbon footprint is sequestered through environmental projects such as afforestation and desert land reclamation.
“Under the Nile products have always been produced in an Economy of Love, where ethical and sustainable business practices protect both nature and people from exploitation,” said Khaled El-Meghawry, General Manager at SEKEM’s textile factory. “It’s just that now we are able to tell the story even more clearly under the SEKEM umbrella.”
About Under the Nile
Since 1998 Under the Nile has been a leader in the organic industry, producing soft and durable cotton apparel, toys and accessories for babies and children. All of Under the Nile’s products are made from Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified 100% organic Egyptian cotton, without the use of pesticides or chemicals throughout the entire production process. The cotton is certified by the National Organic Program standard, regulated by the USDA. Under the Nile is also the only baby clothing company in the world to carry the Gold Seal of Egyptian Cotton. For more information, please visit www.underthenile.com.
About SEKEM
SEKEM Initiative was founded in 1977 by Ibrahim Abouleish to strengthen sustainable development in Egypt by producing, processing, and marketing organic and biodynamic food, textiles, and phyto-pharmaceuticals. It aims to develop the individual, society, and the environment through a holistic approach integrating ecology, economy, societal, and cultural life.
SEKEM has been widely praised as an “Egyptian organic pioneer” and has received the 2003 Right Livelihood Award (“Alternative Nobel Prize”) as a “Business Model for the 21th Century” and an “economy of love.” With part of their profits the SEKEM companies co-finance the social and cultural activities of the SEKEM Development Foundation, which runs schools and a medical center. In 2012 the Heliopolis University for Sustainable Development opened under the umbrella of SEKEM Initiative. For more information, please visit www.sekem.com.
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