OF AN ORIGIN
Established in: 2021
Based in: Naperville, Illinois
Products made in: India
Sustainability & Social Impact
What does Sustainability mean to Of an Origin?
We are committed to people and the planet in multiple facets of our company. These are our 4 primary tenets:
1) Natural fibers: Most synthetics are petroleum-based fibers used in polyester, nylon, spandex, acrylic. Our collection is made from 97% naturally-derived materials. As of Fall 2023, our cotton is GOTS certified, grown by Chetna Farms in India. We work with small family farmers from Chetna Organic Farmers Association.
Chetna was founded in 2004 and has grown from just 240 farmers to 15,000 small scale organic cotton farmers in the Orissa, Telangana, and Maharashtra regions of India. For nearly two decades, Chetna has supported marginalized farmers, enabling them to practice sustainable and profitable farming. Chetna farmers use 70% less water and 60% less energy than the average non-organic farmer. To learn more about Chetna’s inspiring story, click here.
2) Thoughtful Design: Through our convertible designs and flexible fit, we allow women to do more with less through multiple seasons of life. This means owning fewer things, slowing down consumption and simplifying your closet.
3) Stewardship & Fair Trade: We also believe in environmental stewardship. Our factory is Fair Trade certified, and meets rigorous environmental and labor standards. We partner with a reforestation NGO in Peru, and our production partner is active with several NGOs.
Our factory in India is Fair Trade Certified, and we pay an additional 1% of our costs in Fair Trade premiums that go directly to the workers' initiatives. The elected Fair Trade Committee decides how the funds will be directed for the most positive impact on the workers.
What does Fair Trade Mean?
4) Packaging & Trims: Finally, we are using sustainable materials in our packaging, labels, and hang tags as much as possible. We have eliminated the use of virgin plastics where we can. We use Vela paper packaging and polybag mailers made of recycled ocean-bound plastic by Better Packaging Co.
Our Factories
Our Peru Factory
Our Peruvian factory is a family-owned business currently working towards its fair trade certification. It specializes in knitwear and is aligned to our values. The company offers biodegradable packaging, and natural alternatives to synthetic trims. The team is in constant pursuit of improvement towards impact, and helping us towards our sustainability goals.
It is committed to building healthier communities by pursuing positive environmental changes and offsetting any negative impact. The company donates 1% of annual sales on reforestation and conservation among other charitable efforts helping different communities in need.
Our India Factories
Rajlakshmi Cotton Mills
Mightly, Inc (Mightly & Of an Origin) works with Rajlakshmi Cotton Mills. LLC in Kolkata India. In 2010, Rajlakshmi was the first factory in the world to achieve Fair Trade Certification under Fair Trade USA's new Fair Trade Standard for Apparel and Homes Goods. Rajlakshmi is a longstanding partner and supporter of Chetna Organic and buys 80% of Chetna’s organic cotton output. This partnership provides many additional benefits the Chetna farmers, including pre-harvest contracts, financing and support of community development projects in remote farming villages such as schools, vocational training centers, eco-centers, women's enterprises and revolving loan funds.
Eastman Exports
Eastman makes some of our blouses, meet OEKO-Tex 100 Standard and high labor standards meeting rigorous WRAP certification standards.
Ethical values:
Fair Trade, Sustainably Made, Organic, Eco Friendly
