ABOUT OUR FOUNDER, MS. TASLIMA MIJI

The story of Leatherina follows a long and difficult road, that twisted and turned with the main events of my life. Graduating from Dhaka University in Sociology, I pursued a career of my passion, journalism, where I spent a solid and active six years. During this time, I settled down with my own family, but the arrival of my son changed my priorities and I found that the long hours demanded by journalism was cutting into motherhood. I decided to shift away from service, into entrepreneurship. With my existing savings, I jumped into the market. My first business was in retailing finished goods, mostly supplying computer hardware, to the local market. It was a successful business that ran for several years, but I was constantly chased by the urge to begin my own production-oriented capacity business.

I looked for another opportunity to find something where I could make a difference. I had long since yearned to be able to make my own products that would successfully meet a market demand. I deeply respect the multitude of skills and the tireless efforts that make a good manufacturer, who can make the final product look seamless. I craved to enter the world of sophisticated and technically challenging production to make my own mark there as an independent manufacturer, exploring materials, learning processes, and researching techniques while setting a standard in workmanship that was of the highest quality. I always knew that anything I would produce would have to blend in our local culture, with the best of our human capacity and skills of our local artisans and elevate our potential for creating fine consumer goods. I wanted my products to showcase the best that Bangladesh had to offer, while being respectful and mindful of our greatest treasure – the environment.

As the dream persuaded me on, I looked at local raw materials and production capacities in the leather industry over a long period of time, both in Bangladesh and abroad and finally one day settled on leather goods as my products of choice. I started small, with a limited number of designs each season, and with my Facebook page as my only marketing outlet. But the products flew off the line! Before I knew it, we were coming out with new designs and finding new customers and lifelong friends in this journey.

I registered my business as Leatherina, deliberately using feminine terminology as I am conscious about women’s challenges in the workforce and in this country and wanted each stage of my business to work towards making the playing field a bit more even for women. My manufacturing business is a symbol of women’s empowerment, responsible production and consumption, and ethical fashion.

The business turned a corner when we were selected for training by Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). Leatherina’s operations received training and hands-on coaching on bag-making, which gave us our primary exposure to global standards of sustainability and export-oriented production. During the 2017 Christmas season, Leatherina shipped its first international order abroad, to the Netherlands and from there we have never looked back!

We began our journey with the goal of creating a positive impact on people and the planet, and therefore preventing any harm from our actions is a major priority. As the creators of handmade goods, we appreciate the critical ways in which commerce and industry affect our lives and this world and we aim to ensure a production process in support of a more harmonious world.

OUR COMPLIANCE AND CSR

Leatherina is committed to the principle and practice of responsible production and consumption as defined by the Sustainable Development Goal, SDG 12. We believe that ensuring sustainability is the most responsible, ethical, and lasting development pathway for businesses. Our organizational foundation is based upon our gender equality, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability principles, included below.

Gender  Equality  And  Social Inclusion Policies

In an environment of heightened attention of consumers’ awareness on sustainable production, our social responsibilities include supply-chain traceability and workers’ occupational health and safety. To achieve full traceability, we confirm that our suppliers understand our priorities and goals, and they in turn ensure full traceability of materials. This makes it easier for us to ascertain environmental compliance standards of Leatherina products in all aspects of manufacturing.

In its most significant social responsibility, Leatherina is also deeply committed to care for the health and safety of its workers as well as the end user — and that is you. We guarantee that no harmful substances are allowed in the items such as adhesives, accessories, string, threads, or trim, that are used in the production of our leather goods. We ensure safe working conditions and take an active stance against labour exploitation.

We reject specific items in making our leather goods even if there is a high demand in the market. Guided by our ethical sourcing policy, we strictly maintain no use materials that may be the subject of child labour, and of leather that may have a background of animal cruelty.

Our gender equality and social inclusion policies include the following elements:

• Allow preference in certain jobs for women, including considering their responsibilities at home, as applicable.
• Counsel male workers and employees on gender sensitivity.
• Ensure implementation of gender equity policies for job promotion and career development.
• Disciplinary action against sexual harassment at workplace. This policy involves a progressively increasing system of reprimands for workers found to be in contravention of required conduct. All workers are given the chance to rectify early infractions.
• No discrimination for women or any other workers and employees in recruitment process, promotion, and job distribution. Utmost efforts are made by the founder through organizational policy to ensure a good working environment for women workers given the difficult local social context for women working outside the home.
• Provide counselling for women on legal, reproductive, and general health and career development.
• Providing free sanitary napkins for female workers at our factory.
• Under section 45 of Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, pregnant women workers are provided 16 weeks of maternity leave.

Environmental Sustainability Policies, In Adherence to World Fair Trade Principles

We are striving to ensure that our leather and other materials’ sources are complying with stringent international standards in their production processes. Similar to verifying that our tannery sources are applying global environmental standards in the tanning process, that they use only allowable chemicals, and observe best practices to ensure safety by not releasing untreated, harmful effluents into the environment. We are vigilant about the use and production of harmful substances in all our processes to the greatest extent possible. We monitor these processes and adhere to progressive international norms in the case of chemicals like chrome. Our production method also prevents excessive wastage of water and actively minimizes solid waste. Our leather is only sourced from Leather Working Group certified tanneries, of which uphold the highest certification process globally and we guarantee that no harmful substances are allowed in the items such as adhesives, accessories, string, threads, or trim, that are used in the production of our leather goods.   Our environmental policies adhere to the following:

• Environment-friendly materials, and animal welfare.
• Optimizes the utilization of leather.
• Practicing efficient manufacturing methods to economize the use of resources.
• Supply chain traceability.
• Sustainable production.
• The practice of upcycling, including textile materials.
• Using leather with minimal health and climate concerns.

Climate Change Commitments – Mission Zero Waste

Mission Zero Waste (MØW) is Leatherina’s innovation initiative. As a supporter of the circular economy, a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. For a product to be included within the circular economy framework, its raw materials, its wastage, and its end-of-life residual objects should be kept within the economy, wherever possible. Leatherina’s MØW project has a target of reaching full zero waste discharge status for its two main raw materials sources by 2025 by:

• exploiting each raw material component to the maximum, and
• dropping production wastage down to zero.

Fair Trade Commitment 

Leatherina is a member of WFTO and verified under the WFTO membership Guarantee System. As such, Leatherina has committed to adhere to the following Principles embedded in its mission and practices:

1. Opportunities for disadvantaged producers
2. Transparency & accountability
3. Fair trade practices
4. Fair payment
5. No child labour, no forced labour
6. No discrimination, gender equity and freedom of Association
7. Good working conditions
8. Capacity building
9. Promote fair trade
10. Respect for the environment

Our Quality Guarantee 

As a women-owned business and guaranteed member of the World Fair Trade Organization, we are a leather industry leader in Bangladesh. Each product created combines an artisan approach to design, handmade and machine craftsmanship, and the utmost focus on quality standards.

We are continually researching techniques to ensure the best results in creating and designing using a diverse spectrum of raw materials. Every piece of material and trim is hand selected to confirm our utmost commitment to quality standard, chic design, and functionality.

Through fair working conditions for employees, and a dedication to the betterment of our community, we are continually upskilling our young artisans. Ultimately making a positive impact in their lives, and within the industry. Being a change maker in the Bangladeshi leather goods industry is the goal we strive for every day.