We’re super excited to launch our first crochet edit. Crochet is a brand new category for us, and we have learned a lot along the way. We want to take you on this journey with us and introduce you to the wonderful artisans who have created these beautiful pieces. The new edit includes a small number of crochet accessories, but we are hoping to increase the range as we learn more from the women behind them to create more complex pieces. All of our crochet stitched pieces are hand made, giving every single piece a unique look, which cannot be achieved by machine knitted crochet.

While we celebrate our crochet launch, we also want to draw attention to this part of the clothing industry and be completely transparent with you about how crochet is made.

THE ARTISANS WE PARTNER WITH 

A lot of handmade pieces of clothing are made by people (often women) in supply chains, who work from home and often do not have bank accounts.  This makes it more difficult to get the products they make certified by a third party organisation, which can lead to exploitation in the industry. We understand this problem, and want to tackle it. We do not think this should be a barrier to work with these talented artisans, however, we know we have to put in extra measures to ensure that the artisans are treated fairly. 

We’re super excited to launch our first crochet edit. Crochet is a brand new category for us, and we have learned a lot along the way. We want to take you on this journey with us and introduce you to the wonderful artisans who have created these beautiful pieces. The new edit includes a small number of crochet accessories, but we are hoping to increase the range as we learn more from the women behind them to create more complex pieces. All of our crochet stitched pieces are hand made, giving every single piece a unique look, which cannot be achieved by machine knitted crochet.

While we celebrate our crochet launch, we also want to draw attention to this part of the clothing industry and be completely transparent with you about how crochet is made.

THE ARTISANS WE PARTNER WITH 

A lot of handmade pieces of clothing are made by people (often women) in supply chains, who work from home and often do not have bank accounts.  This makes it more difficult to get the products they make certified by a third party organisation, which can lead to exploitation in the industry. We understand this problem, and want to tackle it. We do not think this should be a barrier to work with these talented artisans, however, we know we have to put in extra measures to ensure that the artisans are treated fairly. 

At Lucy & Yak, our suppliers (who employ the crochet artisans) are responsible for ensuring that they meet the requirements of our Responsible Sourcing Policy, which includes carrying out audits directly in factories. In addition to this, we support our suppliers in ensuring that conditions are good for the artisans and that they’re happy with their pay, including a recent trip to the artisans by the Lucy & Yak team personally, allowing the artisans direct access to us, which will continue to happen. We are also in the process of creating a booklet to issue to these workers to help them in their line of work. The booklet (in picture and text format) will allow them to manage their wages, understand topics like the importance of health and safety and understand our ethical policies. It’s really important to us that everyone working with and for Lucy & Yak understand what it means to be paid and treated fairly in the work they do, with the booklet helping to achieve this. 

At Lucy & Yak, our suppliers (who employ the crochet artisans) are responsible for ensuring that they meet the requirements of our Responsible Sourcing Policy, which includes carrying out audits directly in factories. In addition to this, we support our suppliers in ensuring that conditions are good for the artisans and that they’re happy with their pay, including a recent trip to the artisans by the Lucy & Yak team personally, allowing the artisans direct access to us, which will continue to happen. We are also in the process of creating a booklet to issue to these workers to help them in their line of work. The booklet (in picture and text format) will allow them to manage their wages, understand topics like the importance of health and safety and understand our ethical policies. It’s really important to us that everyone working with and for Lucy & Yak understand what it means to be paid and treated fairly in the work they do, with the booklet helping to achieve this. 

All of the artisans we partner with work from home to run their households while their husbands work outside of the home. The crochet work that the women do allows them to stay at home and look after their families, while generating another stream of income. India has a large population of the workforce who have to leave their families and their villages and travel to work in the cities, which can be thousands of kilometres away. Kids might not see their parents for months and so we think it’s extremely valuable to work with these women and support them in their chosen line of work, to allow them to be there for their families and to contribute to their household income. 

All of the artisans we partner with work from home to run their households while their husbands work outside of the home. The crochet work that the women do allows them to stay at home and look after their families, while generating another stream of income. India has a large population of the workforce who have to leave their families and their villages and travel to work in the cities, which can be thousands of kilometres away. Kids might not see their parents for months and so we think it’s extremely valuable to work with these women and support them in their chosen line of work, to allow them to be there for their families and to contribute to their household income.