Many brands have started to pursue ethical purposes during the last few years. However, some companies were born pursuing it, and their products, although not as recognized as others, are proof of the existence of truly ethical fashions.
Kotn a Canadian clothing retailer, is an example of a brand that was sustainable from the beginning. Every business is different, so let’s see how Kotn is an ethical brand and what have been its achievements.
Kotn’s Foundational Goal
Kotn was founded by Benjamin Sehl, Mackenzie Yeats, and Rami Helali in 2015. They all shared the goal of creating a t-shirt that didn’t compromise the lives of the people who made it or the planet. Rami Helali was the one who realized how to create their business while visiting his family in Egypt and living in a cotton-farming community for months.
Today Kotn has stores in Toronto and Montreal but sells online in both Canada and the United States. It is also a certified B Corporation, with one of the most positive community impacts among apparel brands in North America.
Kotn’s Principles
The purpose of creating better products that are also better for the planet and the people is based on the principles of:
Relentless quality – A commitment to giving each item the best crafting process that will ensure its durability for years.
Honest value – A promise to offer the best possible product for the deserved price.
Considered design – A challenge to create the best product while using non-harmful materials for the people who make it or the planet.
Positive impact – A continuous pursuit that keeps the organization, suppliers, and consumers collaborating.
How Is The Perfect T-Shirt Achieved?
Kotn’s cotton comes from family-run farms in Egypt and the Better Cotton Initiative. Recycled water and materials along with non-toxic dyes are used to create each clothing item. These are then free-plastic packaged and delivered to you, who will care for them for years.
Impacts In The World
From 2015 to 2022, Kotn has impacted 2,390 farms, 10 schools, and 107,888 lives. How does it do it?
Kotn works with 2,390 farms and provides subsidies for them along with the support they need to keep their businesses going. A portion of each order is destined to build primary schools in the Nile Delta and Faiyum regions in Egypt. This practice is known as the ABCs Project.
More About The ABCs Project
Kotn aims to impact the 95 million people currently living in the Nile Delta, a significant part of whom have not learned to read nor write. Seeing that poverty and illiteracy were connected, Kotn started this project to help more children have access to school, especially young girls who are often left behind by gender inequality.
By working along with Misr El Kheir Foundation, a local NGO, Kotn ensures that its donations are used to improve schools’ infrastructure and the roads linking them with local communities. With Kotn’s support, the Misr El Kheir Foundation also provides books, furniture, supplies, and basic resources like water to students.
A “B Corporation”
The certification granted to Kotn was conferred by B Lab, a non-profit global organization. This certification proves that a business has a high social and environmental impact, meets performance and transparency standards, and is accountable.
To become a B Corporation, a business must undergo multiple tasks, like B Lab’s evaluations every three years, achieving (if possible) a benefit corporation status through legal commitment, and passing both risk reviews and B Impact Assessments.
A benefit of being a B Corporation is establishing trustful relations with consumers, suppliers, and communities. Organizations with this type of certification are also more appealing to employees and investors.
Kotn’s Products
At Kotn online store you can find items for women, men, and home. Women and Men items include the following categories:
T-shirts and tanksLoungeTops and BottomsSocksAccessories
As for home items, you can find:
Blankets and sheetsDuvet coversBedspreadComfortersTowelsVases and rugsBasketsBowls, cups, and mugsTeapots
Prices: How do Ethics Impact Pricing
As you might expect, using ethical procedures to produce any item is expensive. The cost of giving every employee and material their deserved treatment is high. However, brands like Kotn target consumers who are purpose-led and won’t spare in buying an article of durable clothing that helps the people who made it.
This is why Kotn prices for clothing items are around $30 and $110. In the case of home items, you can expect to pay $200 for products like duvet covers, $80 for regular sheets, $175 for a comforter, and $50 for a vase or set of mugs.
Conclusion
Kotn is an ethical brand that aims to offer the perfect clothing item by giving back to the people who worked to create it. The brand supports the family-run farms from which it gets its cotton and helps other local initiatives to improve schooling in the Nile Delta and Faiyum, in Egypt. As expected, Kotn’s prices are high, but they’re a reflection of the honest work the brand puts on their products, which makes them worthy and right.
What is the Cotton Initiative?
It’s a non-profit governance group whose purpose is to improve cotton farming practices across 21 countries.
What is an NGO?
It stands for Non-governmental Organization that is also non-profit and addresses a social or political cause.
