Photography courtesy of Daniel Robson

Do mosquitos love you? Do you hate mosquitos? Well, you need to check out Newcastle-born social enterprise and fashion label; Borne Clothing.

Launched in 2020 following the Grand Challenge – a competition run by the University of Newcastle, where entrants were asked two questions; how do you tackle the problem of mosquitos on the campus? And how do you tackle the problem of mosquitos around the world?

“Even in 2021, 700 million people every year catch mosquito-borne diseases. Of those, 400,000 will die from just one, malaria. More than half of that death toll is children, which means that malaria takes the life of one child every two minutes,” Bal Dhital said.

After looking at the stats, the four friends; Timothy Keys, Bal Dhital, Daniel Robson, and Patrick Prell, came together with a joint passion to work on a solution to the problem. Thus, came Borne Clothing. With the whole essence of the questions proved that mozzies are a universal experience.

“We thought that connecting communities through that shared experience could be a way to generate much needed funding, so we set out to create something that could embody that belief.”

Establishing themselves as a social enterprise for two reasons. Firstly, to solidify their commitment to a donation model, the group has partnered with NothingButNets; a United Nations Foundation on a mission to end malaria.

Secondly, to make sure that the commercial and supply chain decisions are kept at the forefront of the business.

“From the outset, we agreed that any social good we could achieve should not come at the expense of the people and places involved in the process of making our mozzie-free clothing.”

The locally-based social enterprise and fashion label creates mosquito-repellent clothing that donates 50% of their profits to help fulfill their dream of a world without mosquito-borne disease.

Photo courtesy of Lauren Troyer

Keeping you safe from mosquito bites for over 70 washes, the 100% organic cotton clothing is also odourless, skin-safe, and FairWear Foundation approved and carbon offset: perfect for the Aussie bush, beach, and even the city streets.

Now, almost one year one, the group is coming up to their first birthday, and the local social enterprise is celebrating with a bit of bang!

“We’re going to be releasing two new designs (one is our first long sleeve!), and we may have another few exciting offers coming up. Early subscribers to our mailing list are already in the loop, so we recommend jumping on board there or on our socials to keep yourself from missing out.”

So, where can you get your hands on the Borne Clothing range?

The Original Collection of mozzie-free tees can be found online here, but to be amongst the first to know about the label’s new releases, sales, and early waitlist access are all available through their mailing list!