{"id":6135,"title":"Read: #WhoMadeMyClothes","description":"#WhoMadeMyClothes? Great question. Traceability is something we've always been very transparent about here at Rapa. In this blog we've collected some of our favourite staff stories so you can learn a bit more from behind the scenes and how our clothing is made using world leading sustainability from","content":"

#WhoMadeMyClothes? Great question. Traceability is something we've always been very transparent about here at Rapa. In this blog we've collected some of our favourite staff stories so you can learn a bit more from behind the scenes and how our clothing is made using world leading sustainability from seed to shop.
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All good design starts at the end. And to make our products circular, we need expertise at a raw materials level. Enter Natubi, organic cotton farmer with over 55 years experience. For as long as he can remember his family have been cotton farmers - he specialises in growing organic cotton.<\/p>

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Although many people say farming organic cotton is worse for farmers as you get a lower yield, at a systemic level the story is different. Organic cotton sells for a far higher price. That means less work, for more money - positive for rural farmers in India. Organic farming also means his soil is high enough quality to grow edible crops, so during the off season he grows other things like onions, too.

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Natubi loves the outdoor lifestyle of being a farmer - he's always smiling, but when we worked on his farm for a bit, we got to show him some of the products his cotton farm had made in collaboration with Rapanui and that gave him an extra big grin.

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Inside the factory, these two cheeky chaps are in charge of quality controlling the organic cotton used in our products. Once it's spun up, the cotton is shot across a big light bed to check for irregularity issues - if there's anything wrong, they slap a defect sticker on it.

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Their long term game is to sneakily stick defect stickers on one another when they're not looking - when we came to visit everyone was falling about laughing as they'd managed the ultimate, to stick one on someone's head.

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Once the cotton becomes fabric it falls into the hands of Rajesh. Rajesh is another cheery character in our team - a speedy tailor, he's pictured here sewing sleeves onto white organic cotton tees. He's got his aims set high with his eye on the big boss's job - he's not afraid to say it even when the big boss is right next to him.

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Our heavily modernised supply chains are great for people - for example, our methods show who performs best rather than who the boss likes the most. These two women (who wished not to be named) were promoted due to their exceptional work as tailors. Now they share the responsibility of managing the staff and overseeing quality control, meaning they spend their days coaching and training people, solving problems and making sure the products are always great.

Confident, friendly and focused, these two explained their loved ones are really proud of the progress of their careers as they're both the first generation of women in their families to have leadership roles.

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We don't believe in the concept of waste. It's just another material flow. So when we realised there were off-cuts from our cotton factory that weren't being used we looked into how we could utilise them. In this factory we take floor cuttings, mix them with water and sunlight, and create paper, stickers and our notebooks.<\/p>