An Ethical Supply Chain You Can Feel Proud to Support
When we say we are accountable to the planet and its people, we don’t just mean our eco-friendly end products. There is a long and winding road that leads to your ponytail or wrist, and it intersects with a lot of humanity along the way. When we decided to move our production overseas, it was a decision we thought and researched long and hard about.
We dove deep to source partners whose values aligned with ours in all aspects of the supply chain. It was imperative that they were both certified and audited regularly. We vetted facilities, and compiled a shortlist of like-minded Fair Trade and GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) accredited options. We visited India multiple times, tried and tested countless samples, met and interviewed partners and found groups who exceeded even our own high expectations.
These are the Coles Notes. If you want to meet some of these amazing people, click here. You’ll learn about the nuns (yes, nuns!) who work in one of our cut & sew facilities, the innovative group from the dye house we use, where low impact reactive dyes have been perfected (you’ve seen our shade selection!), and the small family farms who supply the natural rubber we use.
Accountability is one of the most important aspects of our supply chain - and it goes far beyond the highly regulated (and happy) working conditions of our artisans. The cut & sew that the nuns run, for example, is a social good enterprise that uses profits to fund humanitarian causes and empowers members of their community who have been left behind.
Some of these stories sound too good to be true. Not only is there paperwork to back them up, we visit them regularly and get to see the joy that they bring to their work and their community because people like you invest in this brand. Good and true.
