Sustainability
At SUTRAM we aim to honour the bed with quality products that are safe for sleepers, the environment and for the people involved in making them. They are made to love and to last for years to come.
ENVIRONMENT
The cotton for SUTRAM sheets is 100% organic and GOTS certified
Organic farming combats climate change through regenerative crop rotation, promoting healthier biodiverse soils that (a) retain more water and (b) store more carbon. It also removes the need for toxic, energy-intensive inputs (like fertiliser).
The Global Organic Textile Standard is the most widely recognised and comprehensive standard available, incorporating a balance of social and environmental criteria. Choosing GOTS means:
- no GMO seeds
- no harmful chemicals
- no child labour
- fair wages and working conditions
- non-toxic dyes (see below)
SUTRAM sheets are made in a water neutral factory
The supplier for our sheets operates a state-of-the-art energy efficient factory. They harvest monsoon rainfall and utilising renewable solar and wind power to help service its energy and water needs.
All SUTRAM products use only azo-free, non toxic dyes
Safer for workers and consumers alike, these dyes are eco-friendly and eliminate the use of toxic compounds.
- no chlorine
- no heavy metals
- no formaldehdye
- no chromes or fasteners
Our dye houses recycle and reuse the majority of their process water. They have reverse osmosis plants to purify the water which can then be reused.
IMPACT
SUTRAM sheets are certified under the Fairtrade Textile Standard
This promotes improved outcomes for workers throughout the supply chain by providing:
- fair, reliable terms for producers
- a proper living wage
- fair safe and healthy working conditions
- reduced barriers to unionisation
- training and capacity building
- access to grievance procedures
SUTRAM contributes 1.5% of landed costs from revenue toward the Fairtrade Premium
This is an additional sum of money that farmers and workers invest in projects they choose, from community projects to business assets, training and development.
Visit www.fairtradeanz.org (FLO ID: 46160)
All SUTRAM products are made in India by responsible suppliers
The supplier of our sheets has dealt in an exclusively organic and Fairtrade cotton supply since the mid-nineties, growing from strength-to-strength to pioneer a more responsible path for textile industry players. This supplier is certified and audited regularly under the SA8000 social accountability standard.
They go above and beyond to offer further support to workers and the broader community:
(1) By providing additional employee benefits:
- paid holiday and sick leave
- double-rate overtime, social security
- house rent allowance and provident fund premiums
- annual bonuses
- medical insurance and free regular check-ups
- free transport and subsidised lunches
- free schooling for the children of 160+ workers
(2) Through broader community initiatives such as:
- annual polio vaccination clinics
- cataract removal clinics
- tertiary scholarship fund contributions
- product donations to orphanages and reputed NGOs
The cotton for our sheets is sourced from a collective of small-scale farmers from the Maharashtra, Odessa and Andhra Pradesh region that has risen in number from 234 to more than 15,000 members over the course of their 18 year partnership with our supplier. The greater financial security and self-empowerment fostered by this partnership has had significant socioeconomic benefits for their communities.
The Dehli-based supplier for SUTRAM accents has worked to engage, up-skill and educate brands, consumers and artisans in better practices for the past two decades. They operate a special training initiative for at-risk women from surrounding slum-clusters - left vulnerable due to the lack of opportunities resulting from social censure and systemic disadvantage. The programme aims to provide valuable skills, stable jobs with fair wages, flexible hours for childcare and house duties, pension funding, healthcare, a safe commute and access to a scholarship fund for future education. They employ 532 women and have trained 952 artisans to date, allowing the benefits of economic empowerment to flow on to their families and broader community.
COMMITMENT
While we are proud to be offering better options to our customers, we are conscious that our commitment must not start and end here. SUTRAM acknowledges the magnitude of the problem posed by climate change and will continue to gear our decisions toward minimising this.
