Our Story - Vision - Values

 

 

OUR MISSION

Our mission is to be a force for good in the garment industry. To create beautiful, high-quality, handcrafted products through equitable relationships and sustainable practices within the fashion industry. To work directly with artisans at every step in the production process. 

 

 

Our work is born of Jaipur, India.

"We started out motivated by our love of India, its artisan crafts and wanting the freedom to have our own business. We felt intuitively the importance of treating people with respect and dignity as a fundamental part of our own humanity.  We also felt we wanted to use natural fibers, and artisan textiles, and have a high-quality standard.  We have always been deeply inspired by Gandhi's philosophy and life and feel motivated to do things in the best way possible.  Gradually we realized there was a world of people who had a similar vision and so we engaged with terms like 'fair trade,' 'ethical,' and 'sustainable' as a means of connecting to others who share our belief in fundamental human and environmental values.  

Underlying the language of sustainable fashion and manufacturing, are good business practices.  These practices are the road to sustainability and the only thing that makes sense.  I like the term 'sustainable' the best because it also speaks to something which is at the very core of being human.  Our vision must include everyone in the making process.  And collectively, we must sustain everyone in the making process as well as our environment if we and our children are to endure.  We are all in this together.  We must find, and act according to, our humanity —  be kind, respectful, sincere, do things well, and make things that will last." --Shari Keller, Director

VISION

A People-Centered Approach

Our vision is born of a belief in
human dignity
people helping people
and a market need for a
well-designed, affordable, and sustainable product.

 

VALUES

 

• We adhere to all fair labor standards in our in-house manufacturing. We also partner with artisan textile producers in India who are social enterprises and work to the same ethical standard. We support artisan handmade fabrics and products at every step along our supply chain and promote artisan craft whenever possible.  We develop long-term working relationships with artisan printers, weavers, and with women artisans who produce handwork. 
• Our environmental standards (including water filtration, usage, energy consumption) and design process (including upcycling) is as sustainable as possible. We use low-impact fabrics such as handloom cotton, linen, certified organic cottons, artisan textiles, and upcycled textiles in every collection. We use AZO free dyes and have installed a water filtration system for our block printing unit.
• We focus on sustainable design which considers the quality of the fabric, production process, context of production, and use.  We also consider the longevity of the design itself and educate customers about the life and care of the garment, recycling, and upcycling. We believe sustainable fashion is only sustainable through quality design, which wears well over time and reflects the story of its production. 

 

"Thoughtful design goes hand-in-hand with beautifully made, hand-crafted textiles. Sustainable production, artisan craft, and thoughtful design must be integrated to create a new business model, that of slow fashion. When all aspects are integrated, and the makers have a voice and are part of the process, then there is real trade.  Fair trade protects artisan rights, but trade alone should be the equitable exchange of both ideas and goods between people and should support the greater good.  We are engaged at every step of production, with the people, the story, and the equitable exchange of goods and ideas for the greater good.” —Shari Keller, Director

 

ENVIRONMENTAL PRACTICES

We use environmentally positive production practices to reduce our footprint as much as possible. 

• We use only natural fibers (cotton, linen, silk), no synthetics.  
• We use only low-impact, AZO free dyes and pigments, or for special collections, vegetable dyes (with no heavy-metal mordants).
• We use GOTS certified organic cotton whenever possible, in about 95% of our collections. To date, when organic cotton is not available, we use cloth that has not been processed after looming, thus by-passing the addition of chemical additives that are normally present in commercially loomed cotton.
• We use handloom fabrics made by artisan cooperatives in India. Many of our garments are made of “khadi,” which is any natural fibers fabric that has been spun and loomed by hand without the use of electricity. The khadi industry was founded by Mahatma Gandhi with an emphasis on giving Indian villagers a path to self-sufficiency. Mehera Shaw is, and will continue to be, an enthusiastic and appreciative, supporter of the khadi movement. To learn more about what sustainability means to us click here.
• We have developed an artisan-based water filtration and rain catchment system to our block printing unit so that our wash water from block printing can be recycled.
• We have developed an upcyling project for post-production scrap fabric to reduce our textile waste.

INTEGRATED WORKING

We have integrated our manufacturing, brand, and Meher Road Foundation projects in a transparent and vertical supply chain using:

• fair labor standards as well as sustainable fabrics and artisan textiles
• excellence in design and high-quality production standards, and
• artisan upcycling programs within the Foundation projects.

Our commitment to both sustainability and design allows us to work in an organically connected way with our entire team.

 

MEHERA SHAW TEAM

 

 

OUR STORY

Our Founders - Shari and Mark Keller

Founder Story — Shari Keller

I started the Mehera Shaw brand in 1999, inspired by a deep desire to work with the highly skilled block print artisans of Jaipur, India, and to create beautiful handmade clothing together. From the beginning, my goal was to build something that worked in a more equitable way—one that honored the traditional designs, craftsmanship, and beauty of block printing.

My connection with India began early in life. I first visited India when I was seven years old, and that experience changed my life. I fell in love—with India, with artisan textiles, and with a different vision of the world. That love shaped my path in unexpected ways.

My interest in textiles led me into design, while my fascination with India led me to work closely with textile artisans. As an anthropologist by training, my graduate research with artisans in India opened my eyes to the importance of creating a more sustainable and ethical way of doing business.

Before founding Mehera Shaw, I spent many years working with artisans in India and in the American market. Those experiences helped shape the values that would later become the foundation of our company.

In 2007, we founded Mehera Shaw Textiles Pvt. Ltd., our fair trade manufacturing company. The vision was to build a vertically integrated company that could ensure worker rights, fair trade standards, supply chain transparency, and improved environmental practices. Creating our own manufacturing structure allowed us to maintain the ethical principles that have always guided our work.

Today, as Directors Vishal and Sanjay, continue to lead the company with the same vision that inspired its beginning. My background as an anthropologist and designer led me on a long and sometimes circuitous path to the world of artisan textiles—but in many ways, it was always the natural destination.

I remain deeply committed to the belief that safe and dignified working conditions, along with transparent and equitable relationships, are the only way to do business. Since the beginning of our enterprise, this principle has guided every partnership we have built with artisans across India.

— Shari Keller