Scaramanga’s Fair Trade Policy
At Scaramanga we take great pride in working with producers and suppliers in traditional artisan and craft based industries that use traditional materials, methods and skills.
Many of our suppliers are small-scale producers and family-run businesses.
We aim to develop long-term relationships with our suppliers and continuity is important to us.
Whilst we do not belong to any particular UK fair trade body we have developed our own ethical buying and trading policy, which follows those of many British fair trade organisations.
In addition, our buying team make regular trips to visit all our suppliers and producers to ensure the ethical standards we set ourselves are being met. We ensure staff are all well looked after and earn above average wages for the industry and ensure no children are employed.
Scaramanga:
Buys most of its goods and materials from traditional small-scale producers, craft based families and communities.
Communicates and is transparent with its overseas suppliers in order to create greater equity. By doing so we help to maximise the income generated by local producers.
Pays suppliers a fair price, which has been agreed through discussion and participation, which improves their standard of living and their community. We pay at least a 75% advance for orders and pay promptly.
Develops long-term relationships with its suppliers and respects local designs and production methods.
Undertakes product development with suppliers and producers, this ensure more money goes to the local economies.
Promotes a safe and healthy working environment for producers.
Actively encourages sustainable development, which often means paying a premium.
Are committed to ensuring women’s work is properly valued and their contribution is always paid for fairly.
Ensures producers will be paid equally regardless of gender, race and caste and their income should improve their standard of living.
Respects traditional seasonal working patterns and holidays.
Scaramanga is a proud member of Ethical Junction (EJ) – whose members activity help other businesses, consumers and peers make positively discerning lifestyle choices. As an EJ representative we are committed to being part of a growing community of ethical communities and businesses worldwide.
Ethical policy for wooden furniture and wooden accessories
Scaramanga sources only old and vintage furniture made from tropical hardwoods such as teak, rosewood and fruitwoods. We do not sell new furniture or wooden home accessories, nor is any piece mass produced to look old. That means our wooden products are sourced with the environment in mind. We individually select each piece of furniture / wooden home accessory and oversee the restoration using skilled craftsmen and carpenters.
We feel that restoring a piece of furniture totally so it looks as good as new would result in it potentially loosing a lot of its character, history and appeal. Therefore, many pieces of furniture may have small marks; a slightly uneven surface or the colour may vary on its surface. These are consistent with their age and original use. For example an old stationery box may still have ink marks from where the glass inkbottles and fountain pens were stored. Further many of the wood’s characteristics such as knots; grain variations and colour features may have been used as an integral part of the furniture. We feel that this gives them even more character.
Occasionally, a wooden chest or box may have a small area where an old piece of damaged wood has been removed and replaced with a similar piece of reclaimed hardwood. This ensures our furniture continues to have a wonderful antique look. This is then treated to match the existing colour and texture, but may be still visible as a replaced piece. We feel this reduces the use of scarce hardwoods and keeps as much of the original piece as possible.
Each piece of furniture will be delivered in full working order, cleaned and polished.
Where we restore a piece we use recycled / reclaimed tropical hardwoods.
Leather ethical policy – nothing to hide
The leather hides used for our bags have been processed using traditional leather processing techniques that allow the faults, marks and creases natural to the hide to be clearly visible. This results in each hide being slightly different from the next. The grain on the hide may be a little uneven or have marks on it and the colour may vary.
Further, no dyes or harmful chemical treatments are used on the leather after the traditional tanning process. This together with the hand finishing means that no two leather bags look exactly the same. Like all our leather products – our leather bags are handmade and your new leather bag may be subject to natural variation in size and colour.
Your bag may give off a leather odour for a week or two, which is not unusual for a natural leather product.
The beautiful, smooth finish is achieved by rubbing the bags with mustard seed oil, which protects the leather from cracking as well as sealing the leather for weather resistance. The leather naturally softens as you use it.
These natural features help to highlight the individual characteristics of each piece creating a truly unique leather bag with a distressed antique leather look and feel.
They all have a great worn look and feel, which adds to their character and appeal.
So now you can have a vintage leather men’s or women’s leather bag with a worn look without having to wait years.
Please bear in mind that leather is a totally natural product therefore colours and the finish can vary from one piece to the next. If you are looking to order a leather bag to match a particular item of clothing or clothing accessory please contact us before ordering.
To see Scaramanga’s wonderful men’s and women’s leather bags click here.
Textiles
We use a variety of natural fabrics that are hand woven or spun such as: raw silk, silk taffeta, hemp and cotton. These fabrics are used to create cushions, throws, quilts and bed linen and is often hand embroidered or stitched to create interesting and unique designs.