EDUCATION: THE PREREQUISITE OF PROGRESS
When starting Monsoon Blooms we embarked on a fairly substantial learning quest to find out as much as we could about organic cotton farming, natural plant dyeing and ethical manufacturing - specifically in the context of India.
We think it’s a pretty intriguing topic, and given most of us are consumers of dyed cotton, one that is worth knowing about. Below you will find the resources we found helpful, as well as a few generally inspiring companies that can help you make positive purchase decisions beyond our underwear and basics.
We think it’s a pretty intriguing topic, and given most of us are consumers of dyed cotton, one that is worth knowing about. Below you will find the resources we found helpful, as well as a few generally inspiring companies that can help you make positive purchase decisions beyond our underwear and basics.
FAIRTRADE / ETHICAL MANUFACTURING / WAGES IN INDIA
- Labour Commissionerate Government of Kerala, Minimum Wage Notifications - http://www.lc.kerala.gov.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11&Itemid=66
- Wage Indicator, Wages in Context in the Garment Industry in Asia, The case of India - http://www.wageindicator.org/documents/publicationslist/publications-2016/wages-in-context-in-the-garment-industry-in-asia-the-case-of-india
- Fairtrade International, Fairtrade Textile Standard - https://www.fairtrade.net/standards/our-standards/textile-standard.html
- Pay Check India, Minimum Wages in Kerala - http://www.paycheck.in/main/salary/minimumwages/kerala
- Flocert independent certifier of Fairtrade products worldwide - http://www.flocert.net/
- Social Accountability Accreditation Services – certifier of SIA8000, established by Social Accountability International (SAI) - http://www.saasaccreditation.org/
- Scope and Benefits of Fairtrade, Seventh Edition, 2015 https://www.fairtrade.net/fileadmin/user_upload/content/2009/resources/2015-Monitoring_and_Impact_Report_web.pdf
ORGANIC COTTON FARMING
- Problems and Prospects of Cotton in Different Zones in India. N. Gopalakrishnan, S. Manickam and A. H. Prakash Central Institute for Cotton Research, Regional Station, Coimbatore - http://www.cicr.org.in/pdf/ELS/general3.pdf
- 100% Cotton. Made in India: Farmers commit suicides after planting GMO cotton, RT Documentary - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omBxXzdBR2Y
- Global Research - The Seeds of Suicide: How Monsanto Destroys Farming, Dr. Vandana Shiva. 9th March 2016 - http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-seeds-of-suicide-how-monsanto-destroys-farming/5329947
- India investigates Bt cotton claims, K.S. Jayaraman - http://www.nature.com/news/india-investigates-bt-cotton-claims-1.10015
- Organic Cotton.org – The Risks of Cotton Farming - http://organiccotton.org/oc/Cotton-general/Impact-of-cotton/Risk-of-cotton-farming.php
- Rodale Institute: Dig Deeper, Chemical Cotton. Melody Meyer, February 4th 2014 - https://rodaleinstitute.org/chemical-cotton/
NATURAL PLANT DYES / THE SYNTHETIC DYEING INDUSTRY
- Status of natural dyes and dye-yielding plants in India, Ramamoorthy Siva - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228365046_Status_of_natural_dyes_and_dye-yielding_plants_in_India
- Indian Journal of Fibre and Textile Research, Application of Natural Dyes on Textiles - http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/6886/1/IJFTR%2034(4)%20384-399.pdf
RESOURCES FOR CONSCIOUS CONSUMERS
- Project JUST - go to guide for responsible and ethical fashion - https://projectjust.com/
- Organic Trade Associations - https://www.ota.com/
- Good On You - http://goodonyou.eco/