Through "Transform Trade", we are now supporting an innovative women's group in India: this is how they describe the project "Sadhna".
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​The problems in the fashion industry
In the fashion industry, large brands hold immense power over their suppliers.
This power is often abused to avoid paying for an agreed order in full - by delaying, arguing for reductions or simpply refusing to make payments. The result is suppliers cost-cutting by exploiting workers and manufacturing with unsustainable practices.
Clothing production is often outsourced through factories to 'invisible' homeworkers, with a long and complex supply chain and little accountability for workers' welfare or basic rights. There is an increasing drive to produce low quality, trend led items, produced as rapidly as possible to meet consumer demand. Traditiional skills, such as block printing or hand embroidery, are being lost in favour of quick turnarounds and maching prints.
Women are uniquely affected since they're less likely to be formally emplyed or negotiate better terms. Ethical businesses paying fair prices in equitable and inclusive supply chains find it hard to compete for sales with businesses willing to use or overlook unfair practices.
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A better way of doing business
SADHNA was founded in 1988 and makes clothing and textile products in Udaipur, India. When it started, it employed just 15 people - and today emplys over 700 women from marginalised backgrounds. A women-led social enterprise, Sadhna is committed to providing training and economic opportunities for marginalised, isolated and vulnerable women artisans across Udaipur, and peserving heritage and artisanal skills, like patchworking and embroidery.
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Where is Sadhna located?
Over 69 million people live in Rajahstan in north-west India -
and 10 million of them live in poverty - nearly 15% of the
population. It's the largest state in India and has a long
and impressive history of textile production and
artisanal skills, including block printing, Zari embroidery,
and tie dye techniques. It has among the lowest rates of
female literacy in India, at less than 60%.​
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Sadhna's goals for the future
1. To open up new domestic markets to grow their impact and raise awareness of fair trade fashion
​The Indian domestic market is huge - but fair trde makes up a tiny fraction of the clothing and textiles sold across the country. There is a huge opportunity for growth, as Indian consumers follow global trends towards buying more sustainably , with greater focus on good production values and conscious shopping.
2.To invest in recycled and zero waste textile products
​The textile industry produces a huge volume of offcuts and waste products - from fabric scraps, to faulty items and seconds. Using these productively can cut down waste considerably - and means less fabric has to be produced in the first palce, as well as fewer items ending up in landfill.
3. To provide safe jobs for women living in disadvantaged communities.
Historically, women in the areas Sadhna works were not allowed to work outside the home. During a severe drought in the Mewar region, Seva Mandir, an established NGO, decided to start a programme which enabled womento earn an income from home, and increase their independence. Thanks to changing social attitudes, a significant proportion of Sdahna's 700 artisans now work from hubs or the main Sadhna factory, rather than from home, when it suits them. They are encouraged to set up their own bank accounts, giving them not just an income, but power over how money is spent within the family.
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