There's no way around it: the fashion industry is infamously exploitative. Around the world, people are taken advantage of and pushed into workforces they cannot leave. In Shein factories, for example, a recent investigation by the UK's Channel 4 revealed, the conditions are abhorrent. In Shein factories, some workers are paid about four cents per finished garment or a monthly rate of around $500 (if they're a worker with high output). And rarely, the investigation also discovered, is anyone given a day off — most get one a month, if any at all.
In the fashion industry, brands serve as an intermediary between their consumers and those that actually make the products, unless the brand is small enough that the owner both makes and sells the items. Behind the scenes, though, brands are entangled in the clothing industry's exploitative systems. But they can be oppositional, and Kardo's Rikki Kher knows this. A Londoner that moved to India in 2004, he put down roots in New Delhi. It felt strangely like home, even from the first visit — so he stayed, and worked to build something different.
Ever since, he's dedicated his professional life to the country and its craftspeople. "I didn’t know how long I would stay, but India draws you in and it's very hard to let go," he says. Now, traditionally Indian colors and techniques are core to his brand. "The brand is all about India. Indian textile craft, artisans and the centuries of textile heritage that India offers. The brand is based in India, we manufacture everything in our own workshop here and ship to all our customers from here."
Kher doesn't just capitalize on local talent, though. With Kardo, he invests in it, creating a "'sustainable' circular system where everyone is supported, promoted and financially independent." He air-quotes sustainable, implying his definition of the word is different from others.
"We don't use the word sustainable," he explains. Sustainability moves made nowadays are done to fuel marketing campaigns, not effect true change. Instead, he wants his brand to take a slower, more mutually beneficial route, where he can control how the brand impacts others and the planet. "We are conscious of our environmental footprint and try to have the smallest impact on the environment as possible. In this way, we are perhaps ahead of some brands."
Rather than committing returns to shareholders, Kher focuses on being a messenger or conduit of these ancient techniques — and the biggest backer for these makers' burgeoning businesses. "Our commitment is to ensure that wherever we produce textiles or craft, the artisan community that produce it is supported financially, emotionally and that they are credited with the work," he says.
Inside each garment, a small tag tells you who cut, stitched and finished each piece. More than just "the receipts," as the terminally online say, these tags tell a story.
"The textile that makes up the piece has been touched and processed by so many creative hands," he says. "The piece is stitched by one tailor who is invested in the whole piece, not just in a collar or a sleeve. He owns the piece until it's finished."
Kher trusts each tailor to take responsibility for the final product. When they do, he says, the results are far superior. They're proud of the work they've done, and they know they'll be compensated fairly. By being the primary point of contact instead of a cog in an assembly line, they can be paid more for the work.
"When a tailor makes the piece from start to finish, the quality is like the first sample, not rushed but considered," he says. Even an untrained eye could spot the differences between a Kardo garment and something mass- and machine-made, he implies. "Each piece has a soul."
