Mayo based business Pure Clothing has made it to the final of Brown Thomas Arnotts exciting initiative Pitch’21.
The Mayo business, which focuses on sustainable clothing will now compete with four other businesses for the ultimate prize. Since last April hundreds ofentrepreneurs from across Ireland have applied for the competition which called on budding Irish start-up companies and promising new brands to pitch for an opportunity to retail their product in Ireland’s iconic department store and online, with the chance of winning a €10,000 business development fund to grow their business.
The aim of the initiative is to support Irish designers, creators and entrepreneurs across a host of sectors - fashion, beauty, lifestyle, home and technology - who already have a product or range developed, to grow their brand further and to offer mentoring and expertise in the world of retail.
Pure Clothing is founded by two friends, Peter Timlin and Richard Grimes, who began working together as students in 2016. Their combined passion for the environment has led them to create Pure Clothing - a sustainable clothing range consisting of t-shirts, hoodies and joggers made from 100% organic cotton. Having planted over 1000 saplings here in Ireland, carried out beach clean-ups and much more their efforts in sustainability saw them awarded Best Project in Natural Environment at the Business Spirit Awards and they were also recognised in The Sunday Independent’s Top 30 Under 30 list in 2020.
The Mayo based business will now face four Dublin businesses in the final stages of the initiative, including Orca Board, Thomas’s Trendy Socks, JimJams and Nancy D’s. Each business will now be taken through a series of mentoring and development workshops by the judging panel and will have the invaluable opportunity to retail both in store and online from October to December, Arnotts busiest time of year.
Speaking on reaching the final of Pitch 21, Richard and Peter said: "We are delighted to be included in the final five businesses for Pitch 21 at Arnotts. It’s taken a lot of hard work to grow Pure Clothing and it’s great to be included in initiatives such as this that showcase strong support for small businesses across Ireland."
Hundreds of applications were reviewed and shortlisted to five finalists by an expert judging panel including Brown Thomas Arnotts Director of Innovation and Enterprise Audrey Owens, Brown Thomas Arnotts Buying Director for Home & Living Rachel Morgans and Brown Thomas Arnotts Creative Director John Redmond. They were joined by co-founder of the much-loved Irish jewellery brand JUVI Designs Vincent Tynan and creators of the new hugely successful wellness brand ‘The Head Plan’, Denise Kenny Byrne and Ciaran Byrne.
Speaking about the announcement of the Pitch’21 finalists, Audrey Owens commented, "We have had brilliant entries from all over Ireland over the past few months for Pitch 21 which clearly showcased the wealth and breadth of Irish entrepreneurial talent and spirit. Irish businesses have shown such strong resilience during the pandemic and this initiative is a great opportunity for these five finalists to showcase their work."
