A sustainable silk alternative born in New Zealand — and brought to life with the right sourcing partner.
Shop NÓTT Silk →Two New Zealand women who loved silk products — but couldn’t ignore how silk is made. The environmental cost troubled them, and they started searching for an alternative that had all the same properties: the softness, the temperature regulation, the feel. Something luxurious without the impact.
After two years of research, they discovered Tencel — a sustainable fibre derived from wood pulp that behaves remarkably like silk. It was the answer. They contacted Tencel directly, but as a tiny startup at the bottom of the world, they couldn’t get traction. Local suppliers wanted minimum orders far beyond their budget. Every door they knocked on stayed shut.
They knew there had to be someone, somewhere, who was an expert in this — who knew how to make the connections happen. That’s when they found Epic Sourcing.
It didn’t feel like it was us against the world. It actually felt like we had a whole team behind us — which was amazing.
Co-founders, NÓTT Silk
The moment Epic came into the picture, everything changed. The founders had the vision, the product knowledge, and the passion — they just needed someone who already had the manufacturer relationships and could make the connections they couldn’t make alone. Epic became exactly that.
With direct connections to Tencel-certified and sustainable fabric manufacturers in Asia, Epic was able to identify suppliers that had been completely out of reach — giving NÓTT Silk the ‘way in’ they’d been searching for over two years.
Samples arrived quickly. For the first time, the founders could hold the material in their hands rather than just imagining it on a screen. That moment — taking samples home at night, using them, feeling them — gave them renewed confidence that this was actually going to work.
Sourcing sustainable materials requires specialist knowledge. Epic helped NÓTT navigate the complexity of certified sustainable fabrics, connecting them with manufacturers who could meet the ethical and environmental standards at the heart of the brand.
Epic didn’t just hand over a supplier list and walk away. The team stayed engaged — sharing ideas, offering feedback, and actively collaborating on the product direction. It felt less like a transaction and more like having an experienced team genuinely invested in their success.
You loved silk but couldn’t justify it ethically. How did you find Tencel?
We were researching alternatives and one day came across the Tencel product. We were like — right, this is it. It had all the properties of silk, acted like silk, without the environmental impact. It was the answer to the question we’d been asking.
You contacted Tencel directly and tried local suppliers. Why didn’t those routes work?
Tencel were good — they did contact us back — but we were just two women at the bottom of the world wanting a couple of swatches. They’ve got so much more going on. Locally, the quantities were out of our realm. Trying to get someone to do us a sample felt impossible. We couldn’t crack through.
What changed when Epic came into the picture?
All of a sudden we had momentum. Very quickly, samples and material were coming. It gave us renewed passion — the idea came out of our heads and was physically here. We were taking samples home at night, using them. It felt like this could actually become something, whereas before it kind of felt like maybe it wouldn’t.
What would you tell another founder who’s stuck trying to crack this alone?
Contact Epic first, and go from there. We were really lucky because we found them early in the process. We could have floundered for a long time — maybe never got it off the ground. Get Epic on your side and then go from there.
NÓTT Silk went from two years of dead ends to having physical samples in hand — quickly. A product that had felt impossible to make was suddenly real, touchable, and wearable. The founders describe the shift in energy as transformative: from uncertainty and stalled momentum to genuine belief that this business was going to happen.
Today, NÓTT Silk pillowcases are available to buy. The brand is built on a clear ethical foundation — Tencel fabric, certified by The Vegan Society — and the founders credit finding Epic early as one of the most important decisions they made. Without it, they say, they might never have got it off the ground at all.
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Tell us about your product, your category, and where you are in your journey. We’ll tell you honestly whether Epic is the right fit and what the process looks like.
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Our China and Vietnam-based team identifies and vets manufacturers matched to your product requirements, quality expectations, and budget — presenting you with real, comparable options.
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We manage sampling, quality checks, and production coordination so you can focus on your brand. From first sample to first shipment, we’re with you every step of the way.
