T-shirt: Cut and sewn in India by Rajlakshmi Cotton Mills (GOTS, SA8000 certified)

Yarn: Spun in India (GOTS certified)

Organic Cotton:  Chetna, India (Fair trade certified)

Certifications: This t-shirt is GOTS certified by Control Union license no.:  847594

Rajlakshmi Cotton Mills was founded in 1934 and have been pioneers in organic garment manufacturing. They work with almost exclusively organic and fair trade cotton. Rajlakshmi have build a reputation for high quality tailoring and respect for workers. The factory has a positive stance towards unions, with workers having the freedom to join any union they want. Workers also benefit from contributions to medical insurance and reimbursement for education fees for children up to university level.

The organic cotton is fairly traded and sourced from Chetna Organic who work with marginalised farmers from Maharashtra, Odessa and Andhra Pradesh towards improving their livelihoods and making farming a sustainable occupation.

To ensure social responsibility, KCA establishes long term relationships with carefully selected suppliers. In addition to KCA’s own supplier visits, they rely on third-party certification. Social compliance is a part of GOTS that each production step in the supply chain must comply with. This gives KCA the opportunity to ensure that social standards are met throughout their supply chain and not only with their direct supplier.

In addition to GOTS, KCA seeks out suppliers that have been third-party certified by SA8000, BSCI and Fairtrade.

Organic cotton helps farmers escape the health risks and financial burden of toxic chemicals involved in conventional cotton production. It also benefits wider communities by maintaining (rather than draining) the local water supply and keeping it clean.

Knowledge Cotton Apparel's second and third tier suppliers (fabrics and raw materials) are based in the same geographical region as products are cut and sewn. This reduces the carbon footprint of their products compared to other fashion supply chains where inputs often cross back and forth around the world.

GOTS living wage policy currently only requires that national legal standards are met. We’d love to see KCA collaborate with an organisation like the Fair Wear Foundation to advance the complex topic of a real living wage for garment workers.