All clothing is actually handcrafted, in that people, instead of Terminator-like robots, made it. This value takes handcrafting one step further, by celebrating the traditional skills of ancient communities and the advanced high level training that is required to make these clothes. For a label to meet the requirements of our handcrafted value, a minimum of 50% of each of its' products must be made using traditional handmade methods, that can only be completed by highly-skilled workers. Learn more about these super-talented people here.
In India, there is an estimated 20 million hand loom workers (this includes pre-loom and post-loom processes), compared with 3 million in the IT industry workers. Source: The Hindu Times
UNESCO states hand craftsmanship is an integral, intangible, part of humanity's heritage. Source: Fair Trade Australia
In India, 7 million people use traditional skills to support themselves. Source: Aspen Institute
Hand craftsmanship employs the second largest amount of people in the developing world, after agriculture. Source: Aspen Institute