Having full control of the value chain was not part of the initial plans, said Skyum. During the infancy of the brand they met and worked with other suppliers, however, they were not able to offer the level of transparency or traceability they were going for, he said. “We discovered in the process that if we have more control and direct access to our value chain, we can also document and manage and decide how to run things.”
The craftsman’s advantage
Peru’s rich artisanal heritage and culture has shaped the identity of local brands. Knitwear brand Escvdo, launched in 2013, has been working with artisans throughout Peru for over 10 years and currently works with more than 300 in the country.
“The project from the beginning was to preserve these traditional techniques of textile development and [create] more work across the country. It is part of our identity and cultural heritage,” said founder Chiara Macchiavello. Macchiavello has since developed a web of workshops within Peru to help train and develop local artisans. She worked with Misión Huascarán, one of the largest non-profit organizations in the region, to launch the project, Knitting Hope, which currently works with over 170 artisans giving them access to workshops as well as sessions to train.
Macchiavello’s group of artisans receives 30-40 percent advance payment, he said. Retailers are asked to pay 30 percent up front, something Macchiavello negotiates with his retail partnerships. “It adds to our sustainability [efforts]. We cannot expect people who are in extreme poverty and in rural areas [to] produce and not get anything in advance,” said Macchiavello. “It’s a different mindset and it’s very difficult to understand the retailers, but some of them are actually surprisingly in line with it and have been able to change the some of their policies. So we will continue to ask for it. ”
Part of Sake’s sustainability ethos is the protection of Indigenous communities, who Tafur believes are key to preserving ancestral techniques. His brand currently works in approximately 80 communities based in the Amazon and the Andes Mountains.
“For good, the sustainability process is based on ancestral ‘biotechnology’, meaning that through all the observations made by indigenous peoples and indigenous communities over the years and centuries, we try to adapt these types of practices in our value chain,” said Tafur. For example, Sake works with Indigenous communities in the Amazon to produce vegetable dyes – a sustainable alternative to the use of sulphates, petroleum, lead or chrome.