At Buno Behen transparency is key, we always try to explain what we do and what we stand for in a jargon-free, transparent manner.
Buno Behen is a social entreprise. European Commission defines it as - Social enterprises that combine societal goals with an entrepreneurial spirit. These organisations focus on achieving wider social, environmental or community objectives.
So today, as promised in our life map and in the spirit of the Fashion Revolution which begins with empowering the people who make our clothes just as the ones who wear them. We are vocalising our sustainable development goals for the coming decade. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon!
We are proud to be a part of the UN's Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network. You can see our profile here
But first,
What are SDGs & Who Set Them?
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are 17 goals established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015. The goals aim to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The SDGs are meant to be a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. They often also eco the fair trade principles.
SDG Goals 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
At Buno Behen, most of our suppliers and craft partners fall within two kinds of business structures - first, small enterprises, cooperatives & self-help groups and other medium-large size businesses.
We are committed to ensuring all our partners get fair remuneration for their work, furthermore, we partner with organisations that invest in the well-being of their employees through capacity building, digital training, and a transparent payment model.
Most of our collections are co-designed using indigenous crafts & materials. By collaborating with artisans all over India we aim to not only conserve their traditional crafts but also offer them consistent employment opportunities that enable them to support their livelihoods
Our crafts artisans are skilled in their craft form and often work from the comfort of their homes. They are directly remunerated by us without going through unnecessary middlemen.
We also train novice artisans through our Badho Behen Initiative & 10% of our annual profits are reversed towards this project.
SDG Goal 5 & 10 - Gender Equality & Reduced Inequality
One of the founding principles of Buno Behen is to prioritise & support women-led & women-benefiting organisations, so much so our brand name is inspired by the sisterhood of our first craft partner SEWA. You can read our story here.
98% of our groups are comprised of women. We pride ourselves in being true to the gender equality mission. While we prioritise women & other minority-led organisations, here’s why. This does not mean we discriminate against any binary or non-binary folk. You can see everyone we work with on our website & Instagram. We welcome and respect all.
SDG Goal 12 - Responsible Consumption & Production
Buno Behen creates slow, small & handmade collections, 2 or 3 times a year which is an anti-thesis to the rapid production of fast-fashion brands. We also incorporate pre-orders as a way to avoid over-production.
We don’t engage in clickbait or mass sales such as Black Friday. We incorporate flexibility in our designs by making them reversible or size adjustable to ensure you get more out of every piece you buy from us.
We also have a detailed care guide to ensure you know how to take care of our products and extend their life! Our founder Maithili Chodankar has been a fair-fashion advocate and is part of the Remake Our World network.
SDG 13 - Climate Action
We ensure that our production practices are low-impact. For each collection, we try to work within the boundaries of a state/region keeping our supply chain short & local. Thus bringing down our transportation emissions.
In terms of raw materials used, we prioritise working with indigenous materials such as kala cotton, native wool and eri silk thus encouraging regenerative farming practices.
Our fabrics are either handlooms or deadstock sourced from our suppliers. We use natural or azo-free dyes. We upcycled chindi from local tailors and our craft partners and transform them into small products for sale & gifting items you receive with each order.
All our packaging is recycled, biodegradable & eco-friendly. For our orders shipped from France, we use carbon-neutral shippers such as La Poste. We haven’t yet found a solution for our shipment from India to France, this is a puzzle we are yet to solve. We are looking at credible carbon-offsetting projects in the absence of other solutions.
Real Talk: Buno Behen is a solo-enterprise run by Maithili alone, we are not 100% perfect but we aim to get there as we grow and have a team. We believe that fair and inclusive fashion is possible and vocalising our SDG goals helps us move forward in the right direction.
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