SURFING INTO SLEEPWEAR
Belinda Keehn has an excuse to be in leisure wear all day – it’s her business after all!
Like many small business owners in Australia, she has to work full time to maintain her passion project – BJ’s PJ’s. If there is one thing Zooms have taught us, active wear is great! Let’s support Belinda!
Belinda Keehn is the eco warrior of Australian Leisurewear – a woman who was so determined to find 100% cotton, sustainable and ethical lounge wear that she went into production herself.
The multi-award winning businesswoman behind BJ’s PJs, makes collections for women, men and breathable wraps for babies.
It all stems from her inability to find just what she needed to wear when relaxing at home.
“As someone with sensitive skin, I wanted natural fibres that breathed, plus I hate underwires, so I was looking for something to support me, so I could even move about in public.
“I can wear my collections out anywhere, travelling, going to the gym, or on Zoom when I’m working from home. It’s a great sense of freedom,” she explains.
In a bold move (and one that is talked about in the industry), BJ as she is affectionately known, eliminated buttons, zippers and synthetic trims, so her garments could simply be pulled on. She also found a fabric with four-way stretch to support even fuller figures.
“My fabrics are made from pure Australian organic cotton without harmful chemicals, dyes or toxins. They are super soft, smooth and feel fantastic on your skin,” she points out.
Based on the New South Wales’ Central Coast, it was also critically important to her that everything would be made in Australia and she eventually found a family-run workshop in Sydney’s Marrickville with a solid pedigree. They also make for other premium Australian fashion brands.
Manufacturing overseas was not an option, she says, as she could never control the process.
“A lot of companies have amazing showrooms but their products are made somewhere else, so you don’t really get to see what is happening behind the scenes,” she explains.
“It also took me three years to find the right fabric for my designs,” she says.
While this search was going on, she, like so many start up owners, was also working full-time. For BJ, it was food styling and gardening maintenance for properties on the Central Coast.
“I have fingers in a few pies, just to make a living,” she says. “BJ’s PJs is my side hustle and passion project but one that is very worthwhile.”
She points out many consumers are unaware of the chemical composition in their clothes and says that some activewear brands are actually made with petroleum.
“My fabrics are certified organic cotton and sustainable. Unfortunately, that costs a lot of money, which is then added to the price. But as a bonus, they’re easy to maintain and they last.”
Keehn also understands the nitty gritty of overseas manufacturing with her background in the surf wear industry. She started out working part-time in a warehouse when she was still a teenager and gradually moved up through the ranks.
This career took her all the way to the USA and when she returned home to Australia, she worked in the same industry.
“I learnt so much about the background of the surf wear industry,” she says.
(Left to Right): Jeff Gray, Belinda Keehn, Justine Heald and Michael Harper at the Australian Small Business Champion Awards
So, she surfed the next wave right out of there with her own ideals about quality local production and looking after staff members in her own venture.
“A lot of consumers do not understand this,” she laments. “They think they can buy five T-shirts for the price of one but the quality and fabrics are so poor that they end up in land waste. It’s going to take a while to change that mindset,” she claims.
This “side hustle” of hers has certainly not come easy with many cheaper overseas brands trying to copy the supportive style of BJ’s PJs. She is not alone in the fashion and lifestyle industries.
“Unfortunately, they use cheap fabrics and it never looks quite right,” she points out.
At present, Keehn also produces Baby Origami wraps but she has plans to bring out a dedicated children’s wear collection, so that the whole family can benefit from moving about in natural fibres.
It’s just a question of coming up with the finances to do that. She’s mindful of over-extending herself and still runs her business from the spare room in her home.
Certainly, Belinda Keehn is just a tiny part of the Australian sportswear market, which was valued at $8.5 billion in 2020 with a predicted growth of six per cent, according to GlobalData.
But Keehn’s not greedy. She’s determined to stay in her lane and continue to produce niche, premium collections, while having high hopes for the future.
“I’m all about positivity and how we can make a change to do something good for ourselves as humans and for the planet,” she says.
Consider BJ’s PJs then to be a whole new take on “investment dressing” – one that nourishes and protects us in one of the world’s most naturally beautiful destinations. Winter here we come.
