Since my last post about Everlane’s sale to SHEIN was a downer, I wanted to share a more positive story. Who are the manufacturers in the fashion industry who are trying to do things better, with an eye towards the environment and labor conditions? I got the chance to speak with one such clothing producer, Green Oak, which is based in New Delhi, India.
A GOTS certified manufacturer, Green Oak produces knitted and woven garments. Among its clients is the Nashville-based brand Able, for which it has created cotton and leather garments, including Able’s best-selling Maha leather jacket. (Read my review of the jacket here).
Green Oak produces the Maha leather jacket, among other garments, for Able.
Co-founded by Kushal Sarkar and his wife Suchi, Green Oak prides itself on paying a higher than living wage, contributing to the education of their workers and their children, and tracing every step of their production system. The company employs 25 people, 11 of them women. They also claim to be a zero-waste factory that recycles production waste.
I spoke to Kushal about how he and Suchi started Green Oak after first running a wholesale business called Oaks India. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
When did you start your Oaks India, and why did you establish your manufacturing unit, Green Oak?
We started in 2013. We started as a wholesale buying house. And then in 2019 we felt the need to do our own production — where we can help workers and artisans directly, rather than go through big companies. Sometimes they don’t give them fair wages or don’t help them. So that’s how it started. Our manufacturing unit is more of a studio than a proper exporter house, I should say. Because we train the workers.
What does it mean to be a studio?
Our quantity is low, but quality is very high. That kind of quality — to make a factory expecting that we will give that kind of quality with transparency and everything was challenging.
Green Oak sources their cotton from an organic cotton farm in Odisha, located in Eastern India. Photo courtesy of Green Oak.
Was there something in particular that happened that led you to want to do your own production?
During one or two instances where we have interviewed the tailors and laborers directly, we came to know that they were doing overtime without proper payment. And for the tailors, they have their families to support. Suppose they have two or three kids. They are unable to get school fees. They were not in position to afford it. The company that we used to give work to, they were not helping on this matter, so slowly, we thought of helping all these artisans directly, whenever we can.
You say you have traceable production. Other producers do not. What are the challenges of making it traceable? Why don’t others do it?
Maybe they don’t want to share their contacts — where they’re purchasing the fabric or the raw materials. We felt that with our customers, we should share it. Yes, this is a shirt. And if you want, we can give you the field where the cotton is grown; then the ginning; then weaving, knitting, dyeing; and then coming to us for stitching. We thought that kind of transparency should be there. We are open for the customer to come and talk to our laborers directly and see what kind of benefits we provide. We have taken our customers to the school that we support by money or by providing computers and books.
Clients from a fashion brand visiting the Green Oak factory. Photo courtesy of Green Oak.
Why is empowering women important to you?
India is a big economy, but still the per capita income is extremely low. So, the tailors and especially the ladies, they do not get fair wages or they do not get the proper training so they can compete on the open market. So, we train them. They not only get the training, but also get confidence. Me and my wife, we strongly feel empowering women is helping the country to stand on its own the proper way.
