Owned by Sreeranga Rajan, Dibella’s mission is to improve the livelihoods of small-scale, marginalised cotton farmers and textile workers. The factory is GOTS, Fairtrade and BSCI compliant. Dibella employs 420 workers, 97% of whom are women. It is a place they can feel safe and form good friendships with one another. 

Dibella Ltd runs a number of social projects called ‘sustainable development pillars’, these have a particular focus on women and children. One pillar invests in education; this is done through providing desks, chairs, computers, laboratory equipment, teachers, toilets and sinks to the local schools. Another pillar focuses on hygiene; by providing medical care, check ups and training on personal hygiene, particularly for girls and women. This pillar is very important to Dibella and hygiene procedures have been upgraded due to Covid-19. Another one of Dibella’s pillars gives training in farming techniques and educates farmers on how to do agriculture sustainably. And one more of Dibella’s other pillars looks at female empowerment. This is done through providing training opportunities to the women who work in the factory, many of whom came from poor living conditions before they received work at Dibella. The women are trained in a variety of tasks from food processing to life skills.

Flax (from which linen fibres are derived) is resilient and can grow in poor soil, using far less water in its cultivation than cotton. According to the European Confederation of Linen and Hemp, “Across its lifecycle, a linen shirt uses 6.4 litres of water” compared to 2,700 litres for a cotton shirt. (Good On You) Flax production also replenishes the soil with vital nutrients that are depleted by cotton. 

The Linen for this shirt is grown in China. Brothers We Stand would like to see more transparent information about this supplier and how social conditions can be assured.