“A typical garment travels to at least five countries before reaching the consumer.” Source: BBC News
If you've been on Dessous's Instagram page recently, you know we've got something exciting in the works! We've been developing our new collection with a manufacturer in India. We're very proud that our first collection was made in the United States, so it was a difficult decision to move the majority of our production abroad.
However, the move to India should reduce our carbon footprint pretty significantly. This may seem counterintuitive, but production in the U.S. involves shipping fabric from the manufacturer (the majority of sustainable fabrics are made in Asia) to the fabric wholesalers--the company we've been using is in Canada--to our factory in Los Angeles. From there, the finished garments are shipped to Atlanta where we pack and ship the orders to you.
All this shipping is expensive and a heavy burden on the planet. Another problem we faced was finding Indian block print fabric in organic cotton in the U.S. Thankfully, Jaclyn connected with a company in India that offers a one-stop-shopping solution. Our Indian manufacturer does everything in-house including weaving the fabric, dyeing, printing and embroidery, and cutting, sewing, and packaging the garments.
The company offers a large number of sustainable fabrics and strives to leave the smallest amount of waste possible. It is an ethical, environmentally responsible manufacturer that provides its employees safe working conditions and a fair living wage. We’re proud to be doing business with a company whose mission is closely aligned with our values and with yours.