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We do our best to find the perfect balance between the use of natural materials, traditional methods, and modern resources. We are diligent about where our commodities come from, how they are cultivated, and the standards in which they are processed.
All our products have traceable and ethical origins and honor the indigenous methods of creation, art that’s easily lost in our modern industrialist practices.
Our baskets, for example, are made with hand-rolled twine woven tightly to create better shape and durability – decorative, yes, but even more ideal for functional use. They are colored from natural dye extracted from tree bark, leaves, flowers, and ashes.
Our sisal baskets are made from the fibre crop Agave sisalana grown in Kenya, where they are also handwoven. Less movement between raw material and finished product means less carbon emission.
The organic cotton we use for pillow inserts and poufs come from a batting mill in Texas, one of only three in the United States that is certified to produce organic cotton batting under strict GOTS certification rules. No toxic chemicals are used in the farming of organic cotton.
It doesn’t damage the soil, has less impact on the air, and consumes significantly less water and less energy as compared to conventional cotton.
We are very careful to minimize waste, and to do this, we make some of our products using recycled or used materials, transforming them into something new and unique.
Just as an example, our rugs, made in a workshop in Jharkhand, India, are recycled from old and discarded saris. Our hair scrunchies are repurposed from kantha jackets. Kantha means ‘patched cloth’ – quilts, basically.
The daily amount of waste produced globally is staggering when most materials could be repurposed into something new or different.
The British Broadcasting Corporation estimates that 92 million tonnes of textiles waste are dumped in landfills each year globally.
Sao is in partnership with Solid Crafts, an NGO in close contact with a women’s basket weaving group in the Jora Village of Mount Kasigau, Kenya – among many other groups.
Solid works with communities represented by Hadithi Crafts Support, a community-based organization training women in traditional crafts-making using locally sourced organic materials, providing a lifeline for those living in vulnerable ecosystems.
Solid, as an international organization, helps socially responsible brands maintain the quality of their products, and find appropriate markets to carry the goods.
It’s also active in the conservation of the south-eastern Kenyan wildlife.
Arc Herkimer is a New York-based training and employment agency supporting over six-hundred people with disabilities each year. Through funding, grants, donations,
fundraising events, and unique revenue opportunities, the agency is able to offer life-enriching services and community-centered experiences.
Our pillow inserts (sourced from Cece’s Wool) are expertly put together by the brilliant humans at Arc Herkimer.
Cece’s Wool is a New York-based small family farm that supply organic wool from happy sheep, raised locally using sustainable agricultural practices.
They work with professional shearers that do an excellent job shearing the wool with as little stress to the animals as possible.
Their wool is processed with only biodegradable soap, and without the use of harsh chemicals.
They also process 100% organic cotton – our material of choice for our cushions.
Sao works with a women’s textile weaving group in Ranchi City in the state of Jharkhand, India.
The group is led by PACES
(Production of Artisanal Crafts for Empowerment of Society) as founded by Belgian non-profit Solid. PACES train a skilled team of female artisans that produce unique textiles. They also collaborate with local partners for dyeing, garmenting and other specific techniques. None of their products are factory made. The makers are known by name and their stories matter.
The organization provides health care, pension funds, and childcare for while mothers are at work.
Browse through multifunctional homewares that speak functionality, simplicity, and craftsmanship. Ethically sourced and produced by skilled hands.
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