MEET THE MAKERS

11.11/eleven eleven envisions the creation of sustainable ecosystems that facilitate the use of indigenous artisanal practices in design. It seeks to connect the makers of its products to the rest of the world.

Over the past 15 years, the label has created a supply chain of artisan cooperatives, organisations associated with KVIC (Khadi Gram Udyog) and for-profit artisan producer companies, each playing a crucial role in the journey of the product. The future of the indigenous practices are closely linked to the growth of these organisations and their artisans, who are the custodians of these crafts. Sharing the journey of our products will allow the world to see the makers and know their potential in design, thus enabling the artisans to earn better than just minimum wages.

The label also emphasises the creation of a sustainable value chain from Seed to Stitch, and works towards providing supply chain transparency. These sustainable indigenous practices need to be celebrated for their contribution towards the world’s ecology. For instance, the handspun and hand woven cotton textiles that are used have 93% less carbon emissions than mill made cotton textiles.

11.11/eleven eleven seeks to connect the world to its makers through the NFC or Near Field Communication technology that records data at the source. Information is captured at every stage of production; the people, processes, and materials involved.

The supply chain system has been designed using a unique code for each piece that is produced. The NFC chip placed in each product, concealed in a crochet button, is linked to all the processes that went into making the product from Seed to Stitch, ensuring supply chain transparency.

Lightly tapping the crochet button on the product with a phone or clicking the ‘Meet the Maker’ link on the website product page, will lead to a platform that displays all the artisan clusters and the artisans involved in creating that product.

To know the hands that created the pieces inspires deeper resonance and reveals the potential that these indigenous practices have in our current lifestyle.

Video by Pratik Khatri

Photo credits to Sohail Wazir, Soujit Das, Nishant Shukla and Lucas