That Dress

I rarely use this space to log-roll for particular companies (although I do use Amazon affiliate links, which have earned me…I think like $0.11 in 2015). However, I’m going to now.

I am not being paid for what I’m about to write.

This summer, I moved away from my usual thrift-store-only wardrobe MO and bought myself two nice dresses (for a work thing). I got them from a website called eShakti. The site allows you to customize your dress, changing sleeve length, skirt length, neckline, etc. AND all the dresses have POCKETS. Big ones!

I get compliments on these dresses every time I wear them. Really every single time.

They’re well-made and the materials are high quality.

BUT

I was concerned when the package came. It came super fast, and was from an area in India that I recognized from reading articles about sweatshops. So I emailed the company asking about their labor practices, and I never heard back. I kept wearing the dresses, but I never put them on without a twinge of guilt. When people asked me where I got them, I told them, but I also told them that I had some concerns about how they were produced.

Then, I got a promotional email from the company, supposedly from the office of the CEO, that said he wanted “To seek your kind feedback on where we need to do better to meet your expectation fully.” Well, I wrote back, asking about the conditions of the workers, how they’re treated and paid, etc.

And he wrote back to me. I’ll quote him in  full:

Thank you for your feedback.

You have raised the question with the right person this time! I am in business to build a great company, that is innovative, solves customers’ problems and takes responsibility for all stakeholders – customers, employees, investors, in that order. We pay 40% higher than the industry average to the manufacturing workforce because they are skilled in making all kinds of garments. Hundreds of people work in well-lit, well-ventilated work environments, and their families live a life of dignity, and their children are put through school, because of it. We are proud of it and also thankful to our customers who make it possible for us to do this.

Privileged to have you as our customer.

Yours sincerely

B G Krishnan

Is it as good as a third-party certification? Well, no. But it’s pretty good. I’ll take it.

If you’re interested in checking them out, you can use this link to get $40 off of a $70 order (and if you use it, I’ll get a discount on my next order–and I assure you there will be one!).