Sisters Under One Sky: Promoting Ethical Consumerism
Lotus Sky is proud to be 100% women run at all levels, from our Studio Manager, Sangye Dolma Lama to our Creative Director, Sarah Chapman to our US super shipper, Caroline Christian! The Sisters Under One Sky program unites women here in Nepal with a global sisterhood of women who wear Lotus Sky bracelets all over the world!
Business with a Conscience
Since we first started rocking out our globetrotter-glam artisan jewelry here in Kathmandu, Nepal, Lotus Sky has been all about the business. We’ve got a team of awesome go-getter women, after all! But more than that, we've been all about using business as a way to create opportunities for women who want access to skills, the global marketplace, economic independence, and a place to recognize, cultivate, and proclaim their own creativity.
The world today truly is a global marketplace. When you go into your local mall or grocery store, take a look at the countries of origin! Figuring out how to shop and consume consciously can seem daunting. But at Lotus Sky, we make it easier to know the face behind the product. We show you exactly where your beautiful bracelets, handmade with a purpose, came from!
Although all Lotus Sky bracelets are 100% authentically handmade by the women of Lotus Sky, we ascribe to the principles of FAIR TRADE business practices to use commerce as a tool for positive change for all Lotus Sky women, both fabricators and consumers alike!
When women have access to reliable income in a healthy, sustainable, and supportive environment backed by sisterhood, they make economic decisions that result in empowered communities, increased educational opportunities for themselves and their children, and medical access. Lotus Sky creates an entire team of women who push themselves and believe in their own capabilities, setting incredible goals for themselves and their families.
In recognition of FAIR TRADE business principles, Lotus Sky:
- Offers more than a base living wage, allowing Lotus Sky women to save money and do more than simply make ends meet.
- Seeks to create long-term, holistic relationships with all Lotus Sky women
- Provides free ongoing training for all Lotus Sky women, so that they have opportunities to continue to grow and learn within the business
- Ensures a reliable, sustainable income with college plans, financial planning assistance, and continued opportunities for leadership roles
- Ensures healthy, eco-friendly working conditions for all
- Builds strong, personal relationships with and among all Lotus Sky women and their families for a true community
- Repudiates child or forced labor of any kind
- Empowers women to make their own career choices, with work-from-home or “studio-track” options
- Ensures that women are never punished for medical or maternity leaves
- Encourages women to open their own bank accounts, in their own names, to ensure financial security and independence
Lotus Sky women gathered in their tent camps in an open field right after the April 2015 Nepal earthquake to support each other and keep the crocheting going!
Sisterhood and mutual support are a huge part of our ethos!
Lotus Sky Creative Director, Sarah, with Sangye, one of the first "gap year" students. Sangye has now been with Lotus Sky for nearly 3 years and is earning Bachelor of Business Administration!
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