Transparency Blog

Sakhi Kunj was never built to function like a factory. It was built as a sisterhood, a network of women supporting one another through skill, dignity, and shared responsibility. This distinction matters, because it shapes every decision we make: how women join, how they are paid, how products are designed, and why pre-loved saris sit at the heart of our work.

This blog exists to offer ‘manufacturing’ transparency without reducing women to numbers. Not to simplify a complex process, but to explain every step.

Why a Sisterhood (and not a “manufacturer”)

The word manufacturer suggests uniformity, speed, quotas, and control. Sakhi Kunj operates on the opposite principles.
Our work is decentralized and home-based. Women participate according to their lives, not the other way around. There are no production quotas, no time clocks, no penalties for slowing down, and no expectation that every woman contributes in the same way.

A sisterhood recognizes that:

• Skill develops at different speeds
• Family responsibilities are important 
• Time is not equally available to everyone
• Learning requires space for mistakes

This is not a branding choice. It is an ethical one.

How Women Become Part of Sakhi Kunj

Women join Sakhi Kunj primarily through word of mouth. A sister tells another sister. A neighbor introduces a friend. Trust moves faster than advertising ever could.
There is no skill gatekeeping. Sewing experience ranges from highly skilled artisans to women who are learning for the first time. What matters is willingness to learn and participate at a pace that fits their life. 

Sakhi Kunj also connects with social training centers focused on women’s employment, allowing women to continue building and applying their skills within a flexible, home-based model.

Skill-Sharing, Not Skill-Sorting

Women with more experience train other women in new techniques.
Both the training time and the trainer’s time are paid.

This matters. In much of the global garment industry, training is unpaid, rushed, or extracted. At Sakhi Kunj, knowledge transfer is recognized as labor.

When a required skill does not already exist within the group, Sakhi Kunj brings in an external trainer so women can learn new techniques, such as jewelry making.

Ethical Design: Why Simplicity Is Intentional

Design at Sakhi Kunj is guided by ethical inclusion, not trend acceleration.

Simple designs:

• Allow women at different skill levels to participate
• Reduce pressure and error risk for beginners
• Make learning possible without exclusion

This does not mean stagnation. Finding the balance between simple, teachable designs and wearable, contemporary fashion is an ongoing experiment. Complexity is introduced slowly with support.
Design is never prioritized over people.

Autonomy at the Core

Women:

• Set their own schedules
• Decide how much they can take on
• Work from home
• Pause when family needs arise
• Return when they are ready

One woman may sew several garments a week.
Another may make one garment a month.
Another may work fifteen minutes a day.
All are equally welcome.

This is what autonomy looks like in practice.

How Payment Works (and Why It’s Per-Garment)

Women are paid per item, not hourly.
This is a deliberate choice.

Hourly pay assumes:

• Standardized materials
• Identical difficulty
• Equal speed
• Uniform skill

None of these exist when working with pre-loved saris.

Why Per-Garment Is More Ethical

Each piece is discussed directly between Meera and the artisan:

• Time required
• Skill level
• Fabric complexity
• Construction difficulty

For example:
A skirt design may have a base price. But if a silk sari is used, requiring more control, reinforcement, and precision, the woman’s compensation increases accordingly.
This respects skill, not just time.

Why Pre-Loved Saris Are Not Cheaper

A common misconception is that upcycling pre-loved saris reduces costs. In reality, the opposite is often true.

New Fabric vs. Pre-Loved Saris

New textiles are:

• Produced in bulk
• Standardized
• Predictable and easier to work with, allowing for faster production
• Easy to source
• Cheap due to scale

Pre-loved saris are:

• Irregular in size, strength, and condition (more skill and time required)
• Inconsistent in dye behavior
• Time-intensive to source
• Labor-intensive to prepare (storage, transport, wash, mend)

In India, second-hand clothing is not widely normalized in the same way it is in many Western contexts. Clothing passed within families is generally accepted, but buying second-hand from unknown sources can carry social stigma. This includes concerns about cleanliness, energy, or who previously wore the garment. At the same time, awareness of the environmental impact of new clothing is not mainstream. Damaged saris are often discarded rather than resold, making sourcing a difficult and time-consuming task at scale.

This means sourcing requires:

• Personal relationships
• Trust
• Time
• Travel

“Free” Is Often More Expensive

While donations may appear cost-free, the hidden costs include:

• Transportation costs, including fuel, vehicle maintenance, and travel time
• Sorting and assessing fabric usability
• Washing and drying textiles (water, electricity, detergent)
• Storage space, organization, and ongoing handling
• Distributing materials to women across different locations
• Design and planning time to work around fabric limitations or damage
• Coordination and communication to source irregular quantities

Pre-Loved Saris Do Not Imply Donation

To meet demand, we also purchase second-hand and damaged saris through informal markets and online platforms. Pre-loved does not mean free, it means chosen because it aligns with our values and vision for the future. 

Textile Sourcing: What We Use 

Pre-loved saris (primary textile), sourced through:

• Family and friends
• Donations from organizations and community groups in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh
• Occasionally from temples (donated cloths)
• Vendors who collect second-hand saris or cloths door-to-door
• Pre-loved sari groups on Facebook
• Purchased second-hand or defective saris from open markets in Delhi, including Indraprastha markets
• Defective or surplus products sourced from factory markets, including unsold, irregular, or excess stock that would otherwise be discarded
•  A small boutique/clothing maker owned by Meera’s friend. When items cannot be sold, Meera purchases them at a discounted rate to avoid waste and disposal. Fabric scraps are also collected directly from the store for reuse.

New Materials Used On Pre-Loved Constructed Garments :

• Zippers
• Thread
• Cotton or other natural-fiber linings
• Structural or stiffening linings (used for items such as standing bags)
• Elastics, hooks, and trims (when required)

Other New Materials: 

• High-quality, eco-friendly block print cotton is used for Sakhi pants.
• Blend Linen 

Sourcing New Materials

We source new materials from multiple small (both small and large, sometimes online), locally owned shops across different areas of Delhi. We do not buy in bulk quantities. As we make clothing in small batches.

When Mistakes Are Paid For

When a woman is learning a new product, it may take multiple attempts before one meets quality standards. If it takes five attempts, the following applies to all five garments:

• She is paid the full amount
• Materials are paid for
• Required training is paid for
• Transport, washing, and quality control are paid for

Yet, only one may be sold.

This means that when starting a new product line, production can initially operate at a financial loss. However, we do not view this as a loss, but rather as an investment into building long-term skill, confidence, and independence for the women.

Work From Home: What It Really Means

Work-from-home is not a convenience; it is access.
It allows women to:

• Care for children or elders
• Manage health needs
• Avoid unsafe or inaccessible commutes
• Maintain dignity and independence

When family needs arise, women step back without fear of exclusion. The door remains open.
Growth at Sakhi Kunj will never mean abandoning women whose lives do not fit centralized production.

Geographic Presence & Scale

When viewing Sakhi Kunj online, you may see a small group of women. It’s important to understand that what is visible represents only the women who choose to be visible.
Our sisterhood spans multiple neighborhoods across Delhi and includes a group of around 20 women. This does not mean that all women are working all the time. Participation depends on individual skills, availability, and the volume of work at any given moment.

Visibility is always optional. Participation is never tied to public presence.

Community Is Part of the Work

Sisterhood is not only about production. We invest in well-being:

• Shared celebrations like Diwali
• Time spent together beyond work
• Recognition of women 

Joy, rest, and belonging are not extras. They are part of sustainability.

The Role of Volunteers

The only unpaid work at Sakhi Kunj is carried out by volunteers who choose to support the project and is never used to replace paid labor.

Volunteers commonly contribute:

• Social media
• Photography
• Quality checks
• Writing, communication, or outreach
• Any other skill they can personally and ethically bring to the table

Quality Standards: How Finished Pieces Are Approved

Every piece goes through a final inspection before tagging and shipping. Loose threads are trimmed, seams are checked, and each garment is reviewed against shared quality standards developed over time. Inspection is carried out by Meera, volunteers, or by one of the women. Quality is not enforced through factory-style control, but maintained through shared responsibility and skill-building within the sisterhood.

Working With Partners: A Shared Responsibility

Partnerships with Sakhi Kunj are not a traditional buyer manufacturer relationship. They are ongoing conversations.
Working with us means understanding that:

• Mistakes will happen
• Learning takes time
• Grace is required
• The women behind the garments are real people

What Working Together Requires

• Flexibility with timelines, recognizing the realities of home-based work
• Openness to sampling and iteration, especially when developing new products
• Willingness to co-design simpler pieces when needed to support inclusion and skill growth

This approach allows us to produce responsibly while continuing to invest in long-term capacity rather than short-term output.

What Transparency Does Not Mean

Transparency at Sakhi Kunj is about honest visibility, not exposure.
We do not publish individual wages.
We do not standardize women into charts or metrics.
We do not share personal lives, family situations, or private stories (unless the woman chooses to share her story).
These boundaries exist to protect dignity and autonomy. Transparency should never come at the cost of reducing people to data or narratives.

Why This Work Exists

Living in Delhi means living with pollution, waste, and environmental strain daily. Separation from the impact of clothing production is not a luxury we have.
This work is rooted in mutual need-to support one another and protect the future.

Sakhi Kunj is not optimized for speed.
It is optimized for people.

How to Engage Responsibly

If this model resonates with you, we’d love to talk.
Reach out through the Contact Us page to start a conversation about working together, whether that’s a collaboration, partnership, or custom order.
We’ll walk through expectations, pricing, and timelines together to ensure it’s a good fit on both sides.

Together, we upcycle pre-loved saris into opportunities. Not because it is easier, but because it is necessary.

References & Research Context

Fletcher, K. (2014). Sustainable Fashion and Textiles: Design Journeys. Routledge.
Hoskins, T. (2019). Stitched Up: The Anti-Capitalist Book of Fashion. Pluto Press.
ILO (2022). Home-Based Workers in the Global Garment Sector. International Labour Organization.
UN Women (2023). Women’s Economic Empowerment and Informal Work.
Bick, R., Halsey, E., & Ekenga, C. (2018). The global environmental injustice of fast fashion. Environmental Health.