SUSTAINABILITY FRAMEWORK

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  • PRODUCTION CONSIDERATIONS

    10. MINIMUM MATERIALS 

    We minimize materials as much as we can to reduce environmental resource consumption and also economic costs. We achieve this through efficient production processes and a focus on “minimum materials” from the earliest stages of product development.  

    11. MINIMUM PRODUCTION STEPS

    We reduce production steps to lower emissions, energy consumption, and overall costs, supporting both ecological and economic sustainability. We achieve this wherever possible by combining multiple functions into a single component and selecting materials that require minimal or no additional treatment.  
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  • 12. RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR PRODUCTION

    We consciously use renewable energy from wind, water, and solar sources to enhance ecological sustainability. Wherever feasible, we replace fossil fuels with cleaner alternatives, such as low-sulphur coal or natural gas, to further reduce environmental impact.

    13. MINIMAL ENERGY FOR PRODUCTION

    We use materials that demand less energy to process, to benefit both ecological and economic sustainability. Lower energy requirements reduce emissions and operational costs, minimising environmental impact while enhancing economic efficiency.
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  • 14. LOW-EMISSION TECHNIQUES

    Cleaner production processes with minimal emissions benefit both society and the wider ecological environment. We ensure we comply with statutory regulations on emissions. We strive to further reduce emissions through low-impact techniques—such as bending in place of joining or soldering.  

    15. PROPER MANAGEMENT OF PRODUCTION EFFLUENTS AND WASTE

    Responsible management of production effluents and waste benefits both producers and the broader environment. We ensure that effluents are properly treated, and waste is managed and disposed of, safeguarding both the micro and macro ecosystems. 
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  • 16. REDUCE/ REUSE PRODUCTION WASTE 

    Reducing and reusing production waste limits ecologically harmful outputs. Our strategies for a smaller waste footprint include minimising waste during production, recycling residual materials, and maintaining high production standards to reduce rejected products.  Less waste also lowers material and processing costs, enhancing economic sustainability.  

    17. INDIGENOUS TREATMENTS AND PROCESSES 

    We strive to incorporate indigenous treatments and processes in order to carry forward and preserve the deep ecological wisdom, social continuity, and cultural sustainability of traditional craft practices.
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  • 18. CONSULTING INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES ON PRODUCTION ISSUES THAT AFFECT THEM

    In large private-sector corporations, decision-making is most often shaped by profit imperatives, with dispersed ownership structures diluting accountability. Involving local and indigenous communities restores this accountability, embedding social responsibility within the production–consumption system—particularly when these communities form the workforce itself. We argue that such participation is not only ethical but essential. 

    19. SAFE AND HEALTHY WORK ENVIRONMENT

    We ensure a safe and healthy working environment, because it is essential to social sustainability and directly supports economic sustainability through improved productivity. A responsible workplace is hygienic, well-lit, and properly ventilated, with adequate facilities for eating, sanitation, washing, and changing. Many craftspeople and traditional producers work within family units or as apprentices, often from their homes. In a sector marked by widespread poverty, access to potable water and basic healthcare is frequently limited. When such producers form part of a company’s supply chain, ensuring safe and healthy working conditions must extend beyond the workplace to include these communities as integral contributors.
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  • 20. FAIR WAGES AND BENEFITS TO PRODUCERS

    UNESCO defines a fair wage as compensation that reflects the true value of work and remains proportionate to the final retail price of a product. Yet within globalised supply chains, profit-driven outsourcing to the lowest-cost labour often results in wages that undermine both social and economic sustainability. At a minimum, workers must receive statutory wages, overtime premiums, paid leave, social insurance contributions, and maternity benefits. Transparent wage communication and regular, lawful payment are essential. As traditional systems of subsistence erode, many craftspeople now operate on precarious margins. Fair remuneration—particularly for self-employed artisans who routinely undercost their own labour—is essential to restoring dignity, value, and sustainability within craft-based production systems.
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  • 21. NO CHILD LABOUR

    The International Labour Organization identifies child labour as a driver of intergenerational poverty, denying children access to education and limiting social mobility. As such, it undermines both social sustainability and long-term economic resilience. While children have historically participated in craft production within family-based and master–apprentice systems as learners, the shift to unregulated labour markets transformed this role into one of exploitation. In formalised workshops, child labour became cheap and vulnerable labour rather than a pathway to skill and sustainability. Ethical production requires strict compliance with statutory minimum-age regulations, verified through appropriate documentation.

    22. NO FORCED LABOUR

    The International Labour Organization defines forced labour as work undertaken involuntarily, under coercion or threat of penalty. Practices such as debt bondage and illegal sweatshop or agricultural labour fall within this definition and severely undermine social sustainability, disproportionately affecting women and migrant workers. Ethical production demands the absence of coercion. Workers must be free to leave the workplace, retain control of their personal documents, and never be required to pay deposits or incur debt to secure employment.
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  • 23. FAIR WORKING HOURS

    Fair working hours are integral to ethical labour practice and social sustainability. Working time should remain within statutory limits and must not exceed forty-eight regular hours and twelve hours of overtime per week. Workers are entitled to one weekly day of rest after six consecutive days of work, in addition to statutory sick, casual, and parental leave.  

    24. FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

    The right of workers and employers to freely form and join organizations of their choice is fundamental to social sustainability. Within the legal framework, employees must be able to establish, join, and participate in workers’ organizations, including trade unions, without requiring employer permission or facing retaliation. Worker representatives should be granted lawful access to members within the workplace. Employees must also be entitled to collective bargaining and to raise grievances, including through anonymous complaint mechanisms, in accordance with statutory regulations.
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  • 25. NO DISCRIMINATION

    Discrimination against producers undermines both social and cultural sustainability. There should be no distinction, exclusion, or preference in matters of compensation, benefits, hiring practices, job allocation, retirement provisions, or access to services based on age, caste, disability, ethnic or national origin, gender, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, pregnancy or parenthood, social background, indigenous status, membership in workers’ organizations (including unions), or any other personal characteristic. We ensure all employees are treated with dignity and respect, and workplaces must ensure zero tolerance for sexual harassment. 

    26. LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

    Opportunities Localized employment positively contributes to social, cultural, and economic sustainability. When production and employment are rooted locally, the impacts of the production–consumption system—ecological, social, cultural, and economic—remain visible to local communities, enabling timely awareness and response. This proximity creates a feedback loop that makes systemic forms of unsustainability, such as child labour or resource depletion, more readily detectable and therefore easier to monitor, regulate, and address.

GET IN TOUCH

Have a project or idea to discuss? Email us at info@rhizomedesign.co and our team will help bring your design vision to life.

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