The concept of Pure Table Top was one that occurred to Tanith Sellicks at her own kitchen table back in 2014. Already working within the homewares industry – having helped set up and successfully launch another business – the entrepreneur found herself struck by a particular muse. To create a company that was as much about its people as it was about its product.
It was from this moment of conception then that Pure Table Top was launched, led by its purpose, to deliver a new experience to the homewares market and a business that, while emphasising design and quality excellence, nurtured a culture in which Tanith’s team around her would love turning up to work as much as she does. Every day.
In 2022, Pure Table Top secured its B Corp accreditation and today continues to take pioneering steps to drive sustainable development across the homewares market by reducing its environmental impact at every turn and working to positively impact it local community and society.
All this, of course, keeps Tanith a busy woman. We manage to sit down with Pure Table Top’s founder and director to chat about International Women’s Day and what it means to her.
Tanith, it’s so good to chat with you. We’re ten years on from that moment of inspiration at your kitchen table and in that time you’ve nurtured not only this wonderfully creative business, but an ethos or DNA rooted in and driven by purpose. What’s been the secret to cultivating such a business and why has that remained vital to the business over those years?
I have always worked with the underlying commitment to treat others as you would like to be treated yourself. We respect everyone in the supply chain – our wonderful friends in our factories, our customers, our logistics partners, and each other. I feel my happiest when someone tells me that I have a great team. With a great team we can deliver excellence in all parts of the business.
Becoming a B Corp was a significant step for Pure Table Top, providing the structure, guidance, and purpose for what we do. If I’m honest, it’s like an affirmation that businesses can be successfully run where we look after people and the environment as well as the profit side.
We understand that choosing the right thing to do is by no means the easiest thing to do. What inspires you to take the decisions you do? How do you balance developing an impactful business with reducing environmental impact?
Regenerative or sustainably focused companies do face big challenges. The first is in navigating what we can do to reduce our environmental impact. There’s so much “stuff” out there to learn about and try to understand… And then, to do so without feeling too overwhelmed by the enormity of what needs to be done. In my view, it’s essential that we invest in people and resources to do this.
It’s hard to be a minnow, but I truly believe that taking even small steps will contribute to the change of mindset we need to make a difference.
I think our biggest impact to date has been the ability to make connections between other companies with purpose. For example, we met an amazing company called Dayrize who have an ambitious plan to make impact assessments accessible and affordable for all businesses. The biggest impact of companies in the consumer goods industry comes from the products they make and sell. And that needs to be measured. We started by using their impact measurement technology on some of our own homewares products and then sharing the results with one of our biggest customers.
As a result of this, the two businesses are working together – at a scale that surpasses what we can deliver ourselves at Pure – but where we have contributed to making it happen.
At Pure Table Top, how is gender equality and equity driven forwards? What does that look like across Pure and the supply chains you work with? Does Pure have a role to play in empowering women in the housewares sector?
We are a female driven business. In fact, 90% of our team are women; but in all honesty this is more a reflection of the retail industry rather than a specific mission on our part. We do everything we can to remove bias in the recruitment process where we can – blind CVs, DEI statement and so on. We are big advocates of training – we currently have two females on apprenticeship schemes, we do skills training, funded training courses in sustainability as well as sales and marketing, and have inspirational speakers in for team days.
In our senior leadership team we have a mix of people and skills, some graduates, some not. Maybe it’s more about me being a woman founder which hopefully inspires our female employees, and gives a good reference point for our male employees and their families. We also have inspiring role models in our Director of People and Culture – Wendy – who started the business with me doing everything from office management to product testing; and Hannah who joined as our sample co-ordinator and is now our head of product.
What do you think the future of purpose-led business looks like, particularly those driven by women leaders and founders? And are we looking at a big recalibration of what ‘business’ is?
In the short term it could be tough, with unfavourable market conditions having a big impact on decisions being made in businesses large and small. I would urge people to take a longer term view and understand the benefits of working with purpose. I believe that a nurturing environment will win out and be good for business, it will set us apart from our competitors.
As a woman leader and founder, I think collaboration will be key, and we are quite good at that! I think that purpose led business has been fuelled by younger generations, it’s not a gender thing in my view. They want to work in more rewarding environments where they feel their voices are heard and they can make a difference.
Tanith, this has been wonderfully insightful and interesting. And we know the world of sustainability and homewares – and sustainability in homewares – are ones that don’t stop. So we will let you go… but before you do, what are you setting your sights on next at Pure Table Top?
On a day to day level, we are getting back to basics. Focusing on key relationships, great product development, and simplifying ways of working. We are analysing every corner of our business and working to continually improve, together as a team. We have some exciting new brand launches later in the year including a collaboration with the Eden Project.
As we continue to focus on sustainability, we have a couple of really big, exciting projects underway. It’s early days but we are working with some amazing companies (including Dayrize) to effectively map out the life cycle of our product, the possibility of digital passports, and exploring also the potential for end of life recycling or re-purposing of our products.
Tanith, thank you so much. We’re excited to see what comes next.
And thank you, Products of Change! You have been, and continue to be, an unending source of inspiration as well as contacts and networks, all of which have been instrumental in building our sustainable mindset.