Earth Route India Collaboration
One of the first things I did when I started Sustle was to seek out NGO’s and fairtrade suppliers working with small pockets of artisans in India.
I was given the contact of Rita Shome who runs Earth Route India and I am so happy I was.
It has been one of those life changing collaborations in my journey with Sustle.
RIta has an ethos so closely aligned to mine it felt right from the moment we started talking.
Having spent over 2 decades working in the fashion industry Rita “came home” to Kolkata and reconnected with the pockets of talented craft producers in the West Bengal area.
She is committed to slow and ethical fashion and working with handmade artisanal fabric using GOTS certified organic cotton yarn and artisanal khadi yarn and supporting farmers who are producing Desi (Indian) cotton.
Importantly for me, Rita wants to preserve the dying Indian handicrafts by blending her technical product knowledge and design aesthetics with the traditional skill of the artisans.
She also ensures education for the artisans,many of whom are women and often at the bottom of the production pyramid.
This has been the most rewarding of collaborations. I was able to discuss my vision for the products and Rita was able to bring these to life with beautiful and contemporary designs for our quilts, wraps, kids snuggle sacks and super stylish laptop sleeves.
Rita and I are so happy with the outcome of this collaboration. But it was hard won. We were so nearly finished when suddenly India was hit by a series of unthinkable situations. Not only Covid-19 but also a devastating typhoon that swept West Bengal.
You can imagine the joy when Rita was finally able to ship the finished products and I was able to open them. They are the most perfect pieces. The quilts are soft and luxurious, the wraps the most beautiful patterns and the laptop sleeves are so stylish that I immediately wanted to give them to everyone I know as presents.
Rita and I know whatever you buy from this collection will bring you as much joy.
Take a look at the quilts and you will see what we mean.