About Indigenous Designs
Founded in 1994, Indigenous makes clothing that honors both people and the planet. We are a leader in organic and fair trade clothing. Our clothing supports thousands of artisans in the most remote and impoverished regions of the world and uses the finest organic materials and traditional skills passed down over thousands of years.
We feel like the values and aspirations of B Corporation are very closely aligned with our own. As market pioneers of organic, fair trade clothing, we strive to continually innovate and raise standards for sustainable and social enterprises. We feel like B Corporation can help us achieve those goals and vice versa.
At Indigenous, we believe our business activity should have a positive affect on all the communities we touch. From our beginnings over a decade ago, we have held ourselves accountable to make the choices that honor both people and the planet. This means respecting the culture and traditions of artisans around the world with fair trade practices, using only natural and organic fibers and being conscious of our business practices at home. We have seen firsthand how our choices can make a big difference for those communities involved in creating our clothing.
The Change We Seek™
Indigenous is changing the way business is done in global apparel through a ground-breaking socioeconomic trade model. We encourage indigenous peoples to get organized and help them obtain the funding, organic certifications and access to global markets necessary to elevate them to world-renowned status.
• We are proud to be part of the partnership which continues to elevate knitting and hand looming artisan cooperatives in some of the poorest regions of South America. We allocate more of our production cost to the artisan than typical conventional textile companies. This means the artisan makes a fair, living wage well above what they might earn working independently. In addition, we partner directly with non-governmental organizations and others that provide training, educational materials, and equipment that otherwise could not be afforded.
• The green energy obtained from the Solar Living Institute—located just 50 miles from Indigenous' Santa Rosa, California headquarters is projected to offset over 33 tons of CO2 emissions generated over the next two years and prevent the sequestration of roughly 4,300 trees.
Founding B Corporation
Indigenous Designs Corporation
- Industry: Textile - Apparel Clothing
- Product/Services: Organic, Fair Trade Appare
- Location: Santa Rosa, CA
- http://www.indigenousdesigns.com
Summary:
Certified: June 2007| Points Earned | % Points Available | |
|---|---|---|
| Environment » | 20.1 | 50% |
| Employees » | 34.1 | 77% |
| Community » | 18.7 | 41% |
| Consumers » | 30.2 | 60% |
| Leadership » | 18.2 | 90% |
| Composite B Score | 121.3 | 64% |
- >80 out of 200 is eligible for certification
- >60% points available = Area of excellence
Highlights:
2008 B Impact ReportEnvironment: 100% organic clothing; annual increase in percent renewable energy; biannual increase in percent sustainable packaging; incentives to encourage low-impact employee commutes.
Employees: >50% employees share ownership; 75% employees offered tuition reimbursement.
Community: 100% democratically governed supplier price controls; >40% suppliers majority owned by women or minorities; >25% suppliers from low-income communities; >30% management from previously excluded populations; >5% company owned by nonprofit; majority banking with local, independent bank.
