We're setting up in NYC / Will resume shipping in September.

OUR APPROACH

Look for all the marvelous ways the world over, people use the resources they have to climb the mountains they face. 

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Our entire process is material led. We find the good in people, their actions, and their environments. With these materials we design and co-create value-chains that support equitable & circular economic activity. We hope that with good design practices we can engage customers in a way that creates and moves as much value as possible.


We want our products to be loved and used to their fullest. Then be returned for recycling, be reused, or discarded, always safely breaking down to return to the soil. Our commitment to noble materiality guarantees that the value generated returns once again as noble material.

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1: CHOICE OF MATERIAL
Our supply chains are material led. We first look for ethical, natural, and biodegradable raw materials that guide us on our product design process. By using age-old processes developed within the synergy of their localities, our materials support equitable local systems and empower local communities. 

The materials we've led with so far are:

ORGANIC KALA COTTON
COCONUT SHELL

2: MATERIAL LOCALITY
We recognize that materials and skill exist because of their localities. That cultural systems exist because of their localities and unless we respect these relationships between soil and productivity we will repeat patterns of waste and exploitation. 

We've been able to work with local systems in the following locations so far:
 
AHMEDABAD
KASAR DEVI


3: PRODUCT DESIGN
In our design philosophy, form always follows function. This means that it is more important for us to create products that function first, so that they are truly valuable from the inside out. Functional, versatile, and season-less products that promise to last with you through many occasions, becoming more meaningful with age. We want our customers to feel like they are being valued by us and creating value with us. 

Our product range so far is as follows:

TRUVIAN SOFT PANTS TIP-TOPS
LONG SHIRTS
UP-TOPS SHAWLS & SCARVES


4: MANUFACTURING

Our materials (so far) are manufactured in Kutch, Ahmedabad, and Kasar Devi, and our garments are manufactured in the National Capital Region of New Delhi. Our materials and products support soil health, are biodegradable, manufactured sustainably without the use of chemicals, and use socially responsible production processes.

Our handwoven organic-cotton product materials (including the coconut shell buttons) are made by the network of farmers, ginners, spinners, herbal-dyers, block-printers, weavers, and wood carvers in rural Kutch, Gujarat. While the sustainable machine woven textiles (that depend on industrial technologies) are woven and herbal-dyed using infrastructure available only in cities. Thus, the botanical silks, and certain organic cotton textiles are all manufactured and sourced in Ahmedabad.

Our superfine lamb and merino wool shawls are hand-spun, hand-dyed, and hand-woven by women artisans at our weaving-center partners in Kasar Devi, Almora. Each woolen product creates value for everybody involved, including shepherds, spinners, dyers, weavers, and their communities.

Last but not the least, our clothing manufacturing partners are in New Delhi. An all-women-led team of conscious hand-crafters (MasterG India) who create high-quality garments, a testament to their determination for excellence. Challenging the status quo in a male-dominated industry, they stand squarely in the face of prevalent patriarchal social-systems. We're proud to work with them.


5: PACKAGING & SHIPPING
We purchase carbon points monthly in order to offset our shipping emissions. We courier our small batch products together from our warehouse in Gurgaon to our warehouse in Reno (in corrugated cardboard boxes) and once in Reno, the packaging is re-used or recycled. When we make a sale, we pack products in acid-free tissue paper, and compostable, corrugated boxes. We use USPS domestically in the United States and a choice of couriers including FedEx, and DHL for international deliveries.


6: CIRCULAR VALUE GENERATION 
When you shop with us, you activate the value of our process. Then we redistribute that value to keep our equitable, economical, and ecological chains going.

We do this is two ways:

a) Profit Sharing:
Our products are not made in isolation, and the intellectual property utilized in each product belongs to the cumulative whole of our entire chain. Thus we share the profit generated from each sale to the very communities that enable that intellectual property (or any community that needs help). Since our launch in December 2019, we have contributed up to 100% proceeds from the sale of each of our products to community-led initiatives working for the localities operating our supply-chains. So far, we've been able to pledge 1587 to the following initiatives in India, United States, and Lebanon. 


b) The NSE Material Return Program:
Once our customers are done using their products, they can choose to return them back to us and get a 25% discount on their next order. This allows us to reuse, recycle, or donate valuable materials responsibly, and lets our customers re-engage with our mission and regenerate circular value. If you own an NSE Product that you are done using, write to us at customerservice@notsameequal.com to start the return process.
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