Ethics & Values
Real numbers, real practices, real humans.
We give a damn. Like, actually.
Not in that "green leaf on the packaging" kind of way. We're pulling back the curtain on how we do things because transparency is sexy.
No performative ethics, no virtue signaling. Just the real, sometimes messy truth about how we're trying to build a business that doesn't suck for people or the planet.
People
Our peopleReal humans with names and stories. Everyone who touches your carrier deserves a fair wage, real benefits, and dignity at work. Full stop.
Women-owned and community-powered
Founded, owned, and operated by Skye and Mallory. No hidden investors, no hidden agendas. When it comes to choosing manufacturers, we prefer women-owned too, like our local sewing shop right here in Minnesota.
Meet our founders
Our team: $25/hr minimum, always
Everyone, and we mean everyone, makes at least $25 per hour. Our warehouse team packing your order can afford daycare. The customer service rep answering your email isn’t choosing between groceries and rent.
All employees get PTO and 401K. Our goal: every person here should support a family of four without a second job. We’re not fully there yet. We increase wages every year and won’t stop until we get there.
Meet our team
Our sewers: hourly wages, not piece-rate
Most of our carriers are sewn by our woman-owned Minneapolis sewing shop. All in-house sewers are paid per hour, not per piece. Per-piece payment is how the fashion industry gets sewers to race at breakneck speeds for poverty wages. Hourly means they can take the time to do things right.
Our at-home sewers prefer the flexibility of working from home. We do the math and make sure they’re earning fair hourly wages.
Learn about our production
Supplier wellbeing: audited, visited, verified
We dig into the work experiences of every supplier’s employees, from our box manufacturer to our fabric mills. Annual audits with photographic spot checks on request. We physically visit our local suppliers because exploitation thrives in silence.
In 2026 we’re rolling out our circularity program with 5 pillars addressing material composition, water usage, and social fairness.
Learn about our production
Size-inclusive: XXS to 6X, for real
Co-founded by a plus-size woman who was sick of nothing fitting right. We built the Lark from scratch with buckles that work for low-strength grips. Nothing about us is an afterthought. Every body type, every ability, every parent who’s been told “sorry, we don’t make your size.” Yeah, we do.
Learn more about our plus-size story
Planet
Our planetNot carbon neutral yet. Not perfect. But doing the actual work, not slapping leaves on packaging and calling it a day.
Built to outlive your baby phase
From fixing busted buckles to selling our Almost Perfect seconds, to donations and our resale program, we’re obsessed with keeping carriers out of landfills. Everything is built to survive multiple kids, multiple families, and whatever your baby throws at it.
Your carrier should outlive your need for it. Then carry someone else’s baby.
Learn about carrier sustainability
Zero plastic packaging
Our carriers ship plastic-free in product boxes made in San Diego by people earning real wages. Zero plastic bags. Zero bubble wrap. Zero styrofoam that haunts the ocean forever. Just cardboard that actually biodegrades.
No fabric scrap left behind
Our cutting teams are Tetris masters. Every pattern piece strategically placed to squeeze the maximum from every yard. Offcuts become scrunchies and key fobs. Tiny pieces get sold as craft scrap packs.
Shop accessories
Actually sustainable, not just on Instagram
From packaging and repairs to resale and thoughtful fabric choices, we’re committed to reducing our impact. Is it perfect? No. Are we carbon neutral? Not yet. But we’re doing the actual work, not just changing our packaging color and calling ourselves green.
We’re building for the long haul. Carriers that last years, not seasons.
Learn more about sustainability
Products
Our productsWe’re obsessive about this because we’re parents too. We get the 3am “am I doing this right?” panic. That’s why we’re here.
Safety: every carrier checked twice
Every single carrier gets quality checked twice. Free fit checks from our trained educators. Hours of free safety content because safety info shouldn’t cost extra. We publicly call out unsafe marketing from other brands because someone has to.
Check out our educationArtist-made prints, not stock patterns
You won’t find art from a stock bank at hope&plum. We go straight to independent artists for designs, pay them properly, support their work, tag them in everything, and make sure you know exactly whose art is on your carrier.
Meet our artists
Locally made, within 15 miles
Our carriers are sewn, QC’d, packaged, and sent to you in boxes made 15 minutes from our Minneapolis warehouse. No drop-shipping. No overseas factories we’ve never visited. We know where your carrier comes from and who made it.
Learn about our production
Principles
How we operateNo hidden investors, no hidden agendas. Just our team, caring deeply about making good carriers without exploiting people or our planet.
Open and honest, always
No hidden investment or ulterior motives. Just our team caring deeply about making good quality, safe baby carriers that improve your life without exploiting people or our planet.
We’re also not perfect. If we’ve missed something, we want to know.
Tell us how we can do better
Progress, not perfection
Ethics isn’t something you achieve once and call it done. It’s showing up every day and doing the hard thing. We’re constantly examining our own blind spots, fixing what’s broken, and choosing people and planet over profit.
No private equity. No outside investors.
We’ve walked away from cheaper options because the math only worked if someone got exploited. Doing right by people means our prices are higher. We own that. Because somewhere, a parent is making your carrier while being able to afford their own rent. That matters more than our margins.
