We have a way of working in India and Nepal that we’ve held onto for a long time. The people who make our clothes are not simply suppliers for us. They are, in a very real sense, our partners who we have been working with for many years: our two main partner suppliers have been working collaboratively with us for almost 40 years. Both these manufacturing businesses are family concerns, spearheaded by women.
These partnerships did not happen easily or by chance.
We worked with a lot of different companies until we found people whose values aligned with our own. Obviously, we needed competent business people, as the first requirement for any business is that it stays alive and profitable. But we wanted more than that: we wanted people who shared our passion for beauty, comfort and self expression in clothing, specifically employing Indian craftsmanship and decorative arts. And we wanted people who truly care about the karigars (skilled artisans) who create these products.
Our suppliers remain committed to striving for improvement in all matters relating to the environment and the welfare of their workers. We trust these people because we know them and their ideas and ideals; and because we are there in India and Nepal several times a year to see for ourselves.
Our Delhi and Jaipur suppliers are Sedex certified and as such comply fully with state wages policy and their workers have cover for medical expenses (paid by the employer) and belong to a worker Provident retirement fund.
We have never sent a garment to landfill.
The number of collections we produce, and the number of pieces we order per style, has barely changed in twenty years or more.
We work with a small design team based in Australia and it takes roughly six months for a collection to be designed, sampled, produced and shipped into our stores.
We are not trend based but have remained resolutely in the niche market of sixties bohemian/hippie clothing since the late sixties. Sometimes we are in fashion, sometimes we’re not; but we have found there’s always an audience for comfortable, flowing garments in natural fabrics.
We supported every one of our suppliers through Covid and they in turn supported their workers.
We don’t cancel an order because it’s running late, and we don’t ask our suppliers to give us a lower price if it is. A late delivery is usually due to a problem the supplier is already dealing with: making it their financial problem as well has never seemed like an appropriate response in a partnership. Similarly, we don’t make financial claims against our suppliers for faulty garments: we work together with them to try to ensure the best possible outcome for both parties, while accepting that a perfect outcome for us is not always possible. John, founder of Tree of Life, always said that in business you don’t always have to win: for trust and longevity, it is important that overall, both sides win.
We don't wholesale and we don’t franchise. There’s nobody else setting the pace, so there’s no reason to make more than we need.
What doesn’t sell goes into our regular seasonal sales, and then to our outlet stores. If a piece is genuinely faulty, it goes to the outlets too, priced down and described accurately.
Our creative customers are the reason this works. They remake them. They cut them up, re-dye them, patch and embroider them and use the fabric to fashion something of their own.
We use deadstock fabric [leftover fabric from mills or other manufacturers] where we can to help reduce wastage in the garment industry.
We employ artists and artisans to develop and oversee the production of our original prints step by step. They are usually local people we have worked with for a long time and we’ve deliberately kept working with slower, traditional printing methods, including hand block and silk screen printing. These techniques are fast being overtaken by digital printing, but we remain committed to hand drawn, handmade prints with their particular rougher beauty.
We don’t use plastic buttons. We use coconut, shell and occasionally metal.
Almost everything comes to us by sea.
The exceptions are small and specific — a capsule bought late in the season, or a style that missed its container and needs to catch up.
Global conditions can of course disrupt and overtake these supply methods at times.
Our stores have used brown paper bags since we began retail trading in the early 90s.
Online orders go out in compostable packaging.
In our stores you can purchase a pouch made from recycled saris instead of a paper bag or wrapping paper. No two sari bags are alike, making them both a unique treasure and a sustainable way to use up sari off-cuts.
Our garments from India come in biodegradable or compostable polybags, and we are seeking further ways to reduce environmental impact in this part of our supply chain.
In Jaipur our factory uses rainwater harvesting and an in-house water treatment plant. Their dyeing and printing partners also use water treatment plants.
They use a solar plant for their electrical needs.
Our Delhi factory owner has developed a roof top garden for the enjoyment of the staff and they have grown trees around the building to counter pollution.