About Fair Indigo

In the Beginning

After years in the apparel industry, a small group of us decided to throw our corporate lives out the window and start something completely new.

Fair Indigo embodies the spirit of "why not?" Many people told us why we shouldn't do this. The clothes will be too expensive. Not enough people care. There is no fair trade certification program. All valid concerns, some of which nearly caused us to abandon our dream. But we knew there was a way forward.

So in late 2005, we trudged around all corners of the globe in search of factories, cooperatives, and worker groups that were treating workers well, paying workers fairly. The pickings were slim. We were laughed at, pitied. "Let me get this straight. You want to pay the workers more than the minimum wage?" This is a quote from one confused factory owner.

Launch

After months of scouring, we cobbled together a half dozen or so factories and cooperatives that were paying wages well over the legal minimum. That had things like air conditioned workshops, sick pay, maternity leave, employee education, subsidized health and education benefits, and at their core: respect. Respect for the good people who work very hard to put clothes on our backs. No we couldn't get everything we wanted right away (no outerwear, very limited pants, no fair trade certification), but we had enough to launch our business in September, 2006.

New Friends

Along the way we have met other like-minded businesses from Queen B in New Orleans, Rishi Tea in Milwaukee, Original Good in Berkeley, and Deep Steep in South Carolina. All of these businesses in their own way are advancing socially responsible shopping. We are proud to carry their products and many others in our line and tell their inspiring stories.

Reuse, Reduce, Recycle, Respect

Because of a changing market and your requests, we have rapidly expanded into organic and other ecologically friendly fabrics. Organic cotton tees and sweaters, recycled fleece, re-purposed Indian sari bags, bamboo blend sweaters. These are a few ways we have incorporated environmental sustainability into our assortment, and we are planning many more. It's all about respect. Respect for the earth, and respect for all its citizens, from the folks in Osage, Iowa who make our socks in a super-modern factory to the women of Delhi, India who craft our sari bags in their homes.