BLAEK Store is leading the way with responsible retailing through both a physical and online store that has a strong focus on making the world a better place. Whether you’re looking for fashion items, household goods, or essentials, you can buy at BLAEK without worrying about the impact it might have on the environment. Why? Because they’ve done all the legwork for you.

What makes a good company? The team behind it, of course. Let’s meet Nikki and Tom, co-founders as well as ex husband and wife team. Nikki has visited factories in Australia and around the world, made garments for herself just like her mum did for her when she was a kid, and has a huge passion not only for the environment but for good style (and yes, the two can co-exist). Tom handles the marketing, social media, and retail operations. He has a very good eye for products and curation, and believes strongly in educating their customers to have less of an impact on the environment.

BLAEK Store has been fully operational for three years, and was started out of pure frustration through Nikki and Tom’s own shopping experiences. They were sick of having to trawl the internet to find each item that they wanted to purchase in order to make sure that the items were ethically made and organic. Most of the time, it was impossible to tell where something came from or how it was made. That’s when they got the idea of creating a shop that was honest about every item they had on offer, and that sold it all under one roof. A one-stop shop for responsible retailing. Instead of shopping from ten different shops, everything can be bought from the same place. BLAEK has made it easy for customers to shop.

There has been a shift in thinking of recent years, thanks to places like BLAEK. “We have customers coming in every day who have travelled just to come to our store because of our ethos,” Nikki says. “We have customers who learn about the store and then come in every week to purchase something to support us and also to change parts of their daily habits. They recognise that small changes can lead to big results. Hearing this feedback makes us realise that we’re doing the right thing and that we’re on the right path.”

The best part about shopping at BLAEK is that they’re affordable considering the quality. Most people equate organic to expensive, but that’s not the case here. Nikki and Tom wanted to create a space that was welcoming to everyone. There didn’t seem a point in serving 100% certified organic cotton tees if hardly anyone could afford them. So they worked hard to make sure that their pricing throughout the store was reasonable. It was important to them from the very beginning to have no barriers for people to enter into the responsible space.

BLAEK Store has a fantastic team of people who are all passionate about the positive change they’re making in the future of retail. The youngest member of the team is Dion, Nikki and Tom’s little son, who spent his first days on the earth inside BLAEK Store on the shop floor. Having a son has made them think outside of the box about what else their shop could be doing to help educate people from all ages. Something as simple as having a recycling program in place can once again show people that small changes bring big results.

At BLAEK Store, there’s a huge variety of things to buy, both in the physical and the online store. But just having a store to sell stuff is only the start of what they do. They’re using their platform and their community to do more for the environment. Sustainable shopping does not exist, but responsible shopping does. And really, that’s what it’s all about at the end of the day. It’s about taking responsibility for everything you do, and making sure that you reduce your carbon footprint. Nikki and Tom have taken a simple thing like retail shopping, and turned it into an experience that creates a positive change. By buying from stores like BLAEK, you’re living your life in a more responsible way. You’re taking, but you’re also giving back.

“We’re paving the way,” Tom says. “We want other businesses to see that we’re flourishing so that they can do the same. We want this business model to be the new norm moving forward.”

Shopping at BLAEK Store means looking good while doing good at the same time.