How Kind Maintains the 3P’s

February 11, 2008

We know we will never get there. The manufacturing of bikes will always have an environmental footprint and there will always be someone willing to take advantage of cheap labor. What we can do is strive for a shrinking footprint and look at the life cycle of materials used in bikes and their production. We also think we can be effective at eradicating poor labor practices that are common in developing nations.

So what are we doing exactly? The following is already in place:

Kind requires its suppliers to demonstrate a deep sense of obligation to social and environmental concerns. We know that is kinda loose so check out our partners page for more details on our component supplier’s efforts.

The assembly factory we use has a commitment to pay minimum wage plus overtime to its employees. We will continue to push for living wages for all workers involved in building Kind’s bikes. Local regulations regarding work hours and child labor laws will be enforced. Kind will also ensure that proper protective equipment be worn during the manufacture of our bikes. These conditions may not sound that hard to comply with but we have had factories turn us down when we asked for these minimum requirements. Kind will be on-site during production to audit the factory and will conduct audits during non-production time. Results of the audits will be posted on our website when available.

Kind will be using a shipping box that enables the bikes to ship almost fully assembled. This reduces the need for packing material inside the box. Internal packing has traditionally been composed of foam, plastic wrap and zip ties, most of which will be eliminated in a Kind box. Our paint is produced by a company that is ISO14001 certified. This is just a start, we have more initiatives coming soon.

We will continue to advise our partners on how to reduce their environmental footprint and save costs at the same time – for them it is free consulting to improve their business. For us, it is the least we can do. We will continue to advocate for workers and workers’ rights overseas by donating $5 of every bike made to a local cause that directly improves lives of those who make them. (As of early February we have yet to settle on an organization where funds will be appropriated in a manner that fits our mission).

We know it is not perfect, but we also know we are the first to start this conversation. We hope the dialog continues.

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