We get lots of questions on how we maintain and ensure that our footwear factory overseas is providing a quality work environment for all employees. It’s a great question and we’ve written about such related practices previously here in the Sole Blog. But when trolling through some of these earlier posts I realized that we have not specifically laid out our criteria, findings, and notes in one clear and concise post. So here it is!
- Worker pay. The workers at Sarada Indistries, the factory we employ in Vijayawada, India, pays a fair wage to all workers well above the country base line for pay in this industry which I have to tell you is scary low. Unfortunately we do not have direct control over this as we do not own the factory. We have spent significant time there though, and in speaking with workers directly have learned that they are paid well and often it is the best paying job in the area for them!
- Worker conditions. After having spent significant time on the factory floor Rao and I can comfortably describe the factory as: Highly Functional. Much like you would expect a Toyota auto factory except WAY smaller and less high-tech. Everything and everybody has a specific purpose and process they follow. Defining functional means that adequate lighting and safety precautions are in place, each worker has a comfortable space to work within, a breeze and fresh air comes through large open windows, and ceiling fans provide a nice cooling effect in the warm South Indian climate. Hazardous materials are not used in the production of Common Soles footwear, in fact, our products are so simple that most materials and tools used to assemble them can be found in the typical homeowner's garage throughout the US.