Sustainability

Environmental Sustainability

Higg Index

While not a certification itself, the Higg Index is widely adopted for sustainability assessment and reporting by brands and manufacturers like Maple Accessories. The Higg Index, developed by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), is a suite of tools used in the fashion industry to measure and assess the environmental and social sustainability of apparel and footwear products. It includes modules like the Materials Sustainability Index (MSI) for evaluating material impacts, Facility Environmental Module (FEM) for assessing manufacturing practices, and Brand & Retailer Module (BRM) for overall sustainability performance. The index helps companies identify areas for improvement, set goals, and track progress in reducing environmental impacts and improving labor conditions across supply chains.

GRS

Maple Accessories is a Global Recycled Standard (GRS) certified company. GRS is a voluntary certification developed by Textile Exchange for products containing recycled materials. It ensures traceability and transparency in the supply chain by requiring a minimum percentage of recycled content and verifying environmental and social criteria such as chemical restrictions and fair labor practices. GRS-certified products demonstrate responsible sourcing and support the circular economy by diverting materials from landfills. Independent certification bodies verify compliance with the standard, making GRS a recognized symbol of sustainable and ethical production.

Sustainable Leather

TANNERIES: We are working with LWG accredited tanneries who are using treatment and technologies to reduce pollutants in the liquid form and convert them into solid or semi-solid form.

Another problem with leather tanning is the creation of sludge which can affect the quality of the soil and the groundwater. Our tanneries ensure that sludge and dry waste is disposed of, so that it does not affect the fertility of soil in a negative manner.

ANIMAL WELFARE: All leathers procured are bi-products of the meat industry and no animal is harmed in this process.

Harvesting Energy

SOLAR ENERGY- Maple Accessories is the only leather factory in the world to be run 100% by Solar Power. Solar Energy helps to minimise carbon footprints and thus contributes to the environment in a great way.

RAINWATER HARVESTING – We have adopted rainwater harvesting technique for optimum utilisation and recycling of water.

Green Waste

At various different stages of production, effective waste management is practiced to ensure that the wastes are minimised and disposed off in an environment friendly way.

Social Compliance

We are BSCI certified company. BSCI measures social performance in eight areas important to social accountability in workplaces, anchored by a management system element that drives continuous improvement in all areas of the Standard.

Child Labor: No use or support of child labor.

Forced and Compulsory Labor: No use or support for forced or compulsory labor.

Health and Safety: Provide a safe and healthy workplace.

Freedom of Association and Right to Collective Bargaining: Respect the right to form and join trade unions and bargain collectively.

Discrimination: No discrimination based on race, national or social origin, caste, birth, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, union membership, political opinions and age.

Disciplinary Practices:Treat all personnel with dignity and respect; zero tolerance of corporal punishment, mental or physical abuse of personnel; no harsh or inhumane treatment.

Working Hours:Compliance with laws & industry standards.

Remuneration: Respect right of personnel to living wage.

Social Sustainability

Women Empowerment

We run a continuous programme for training women from economically challenged backgrounds with an aim to impact the right skill sets so that they can be utilised to their full potential in our workforce.

Single mothers receive job training and career assistance and also have access to financial education, transportation, child care assistance, nutrition programs and more.

Artisans

Every year skill development training is organised and the trainees are selected in an unbiased manner to ensure that everyone gets an equal opportunity to participate. Continuous workshops are conducted to educate and enhance the skill of our artisans.

Overtime is voluntary. This means that the workers are not obliged to work overtime and can opt against it.

The artisans are paid fairly and enjoy benefits such as interest free loans, performance based yearly bonus, retirement benefits and accommodation to employees who have to travel a long distance to work.

The factory maintains a very safe working environment for all of its employees and health benefits are provided to everyone.

Our Mission towards Social and Environmental Sustainability

  • To adopt the models and to follow the guidelines proposed by International Organization for Standardization. To obtain certifications in near future for ISO 14000 for the environmental management, ISO 9000 for the quality management.

 

  • To follow the principles of Total Quality Management (TQM) with respect to environmental and social aspect without requesting any certification but defining a set of rules for suppliers, carriers, employers, and stakeholders in general.