Sustainable Threads exclusively promotes fair trade, handmade products made with natural fibers. Founded by Poonam Abbi and Harish Hathiramani, this social enterprise brings together our professional experience and passion for rural development, entrepreneurship and social justice. Sustainable Threads works in partnership with disadvantaged artisans including physically disabled individuals, survivors of domestic violence, and socially marginalized tribal communities – to co-design our collection, marrying our modern aesthetic with traditional art techniques and textiles.

The work offers high quality designed products to our retail partners and markets; and to our artisan partners long-term trade relationships, design inputs, safe working conditions aiming to help them improve their financial circumstances and self-esteem. The collective nature of (most) this work enables people to come together and also impact other realms of their life.

Speaking of unintended benefits, our work and priorities have helped create a community here in the US – we call Friends of Sustainable Threads – who devote their time and more to help us make and realize ‘good’ company goals. For instance, we are persuaded to commit time and resources to complement our products with ecologically friendly packaging. Most, if not all, of our packaging (cartons, peanuts, bubble wrap etc.) comes from contributions from various stores in our community, as well as from family and friends. We are grateful for their generosity, as helping us with our recycling goals means they keep spaces (physical and otherwise) assigned in their home to collect material until it is substantial enough for us to make a trip!

Sustainable Threads is a member of the prestigious Fair Trade Federation and Green America.

Our brief profiles –