What do a handkerchief, a duvet cover and a pair of pyjamas have in common?
For Lisa and Philip Ingram, quite a lot!
The team behind LittleLeaf Organic has spent the past nine years looking at the ordinary textiles we surround ourselves with every day and asking a simple question: could we do this differently?
From their home base in Hampshire, UK, the two-person business has built a collection that now stretches from bedding and pyjamas to towels, bathrobes, babywear, washbags and reusable makeup remover pads. The ambition behind it is considerably bigger than the size of the team: to offer thoughtfully designed textile products made with certified organic cotton and certified to GOTS.
And sometimes, that starts with something as small as a hanky. One of LittleLeaf’s favourite creations isn’t a luxurious duvet cover or a colourful pair of pyjamas. It’s a little pouch containing three organic cotton handkerchiefs.
The idea came from an everyday object familiar to anyone who has ever had a cold: the small packet of disposable tissues wrapped in plastic. LittleLeaf wanted to create a reusable alternative that was just as convenient to carry around. Their solution was deceptively simple. Three organic cotton, GOTS-certified handkerchiefs sit inside a matching cotton pouch, with a separate internal pocket designed to keep used hankies away from clean ones.
For Lisa and Philip, this small product captures much of what LittleLeaf is about: looking at familiar objects and finding thoughtful ways to rethink them.
They’re now on what they jokingly call a mission to bring back the “good old hanky.” This approach has gradually taken LittleLeaf far beyond the bedding and babywear with which the business began. Today, the same philosophy can be found across an expanding collection of household and personal textiles. There isn’t a large design department behind all of this. In fact, LittleLeaf has just two employees: Lisa and Philip.
Even the company’s prints have a family connection. One of the couple’s daughters is an artist and helps turn their ideas into original illustrations for LittleLeaf’s designs. That personal approach extends to how the business works with customers. Lisa and Philip handle enquiries themselves and see responsive, individual customer service as one of the advantages of remaining a small company. LittleLeaf works with a GOTS-certified manufacturing partner in India, a facility Lisa and Philip have visited themselves. The company also asks its supplier to bulk-pack products for shipping rather than individually wrapping each item in plastic. Sheets, duvet covers and pyjamas are instead packaged in reusable organic cotton bags, while the company’s other packaging is paper- and card-based.
In 2026, these efforts were recognised by UK environmental charity Surfers Against Sewage with its Gold Plastic Free Champion Award.
For LittleLeaf, GOTS certification wasn’t something that came later as the business grew. It was there from the beginning.
LittleLeaf became GOTS certified in 2017, the year the company was founded. Lisa and Philip wanted independent certification to be part of the foundations of the business.
GOTS applies to textiles made with certified organic fibres and sets requirements for subsequent textile processing and manufacturing, including environmental, chemical, social and traceability criteria.
“GOTS gave us a defined framework to work with and independent certification against its requirements. That gives us peace of mind, and we believe it gives our customers greater confidence too.” – Lisa Ingram, Co-Founder, LittleLeaf Organic
Certification requires an investment from a business of any size, and for a team of two, that commitment is particularly tangible. LittleLeaf has maintained its certification throughout its nine years in business. For Lisa and Philip, part of the value of certification is having their compliance with defined GOTS requirements independently assessed. The company isn’t trying to reinvent what people have in their homes. We will still need sheets to sleep in, towels after a shower and pyjamas at the end of the day.
Instead, Lisa and Philip are interested in the choices behind those ordinary products: what fibres are used, how products are processed, how they are packaged and who is involved in making them. Their ambition is to become a go-to destination for high-quality, reasonably priced organic cotton products.
And there will undoubtedly be more products to rethink along the way. Because change doesn’t always have to start with a grand invention. Sometimes it starts with looking at something as ordinary as a packet of tissues and wondering whether three little handkerchiefs and a cleverly placed pocket could offer another way of doing things.
