Wages that Transform Lives

Fair Trade Commitment

Artisan Partnerships Based on Respect

This is not a supply chain. It’s a circle of trust.

Every product is a representation of the people who make it. We work with artisan partners in Nepal, India, and Ukraine who are not only expert craftsmen but community builders. They’re committed to shifting the narrative in their regions, raising wages, providing safe working environments, reducing waste, and bringing more women fair paying employment.

We walk with our partners hand in hand, sharing ideas, solving challenges together, and building lasting relationships based on trust and mutual growth.

Fair Wages That Transform Lives

Going Beyond What’s Fair to What’s Right.

  • Workplace Equity

    We don’t meet the bare minimum, we surpass it. In all our partner locations, we pay fair and timely wages. In places like Ukraine, we’ve raised compensation beyond fair trade standards because “just enough” isn’t enough.

    Wages aren’t just paychecks, they’re promises that show up in school fees, healthier meals, and homes in safer neighborhoods

  • In Nepal

    Our artisans receive:

    • Daily hot meals
    • Childcare on-site
    • Menstrual health education and free products
    • Medical checkups
    • A 2% matched savings program
    • Life insurance and emergency healthcare funds
  • In Ukraine

    Weavers work safely from home on personal looms, preserving cultural traditions while earning dignified incomes.

Transformational Change

The Impact of Income on Girls' Education

When Mothers Earn, Daughters Learn.

Roughly 70-80% of our artisans are mothers with children in school, and 100% of those children are enrolled in school today. Yes. We said 100%.

In the rural regions of Nepal, where many of our women come from, girls are often pulled out of school as they grow older, especially due to menstruation stigma and household needs. Over 90% of girls experience social isolation for 7–10 days each month, forcing them to fall behind academically and putting their long-term education at risk. But at Hustle & Blush, stable income and menstrual education changes that.

Because of fair wages and menstrual education:

  • Children stay in school instead of going to work
  • Girls often attend private schools with better facilities, teachers and access to higher education
  • Education is prioritized even in single-parent homes
  • Families can afford to get a tutor, extracurriculars, and healthcare

Without this income, many of these girls would never see a classroom past primary school. This is what generational change looks like. An empowered artisan means a child educated and a cycle broken.

Certifications that back our promise

Real Accountability. Real Standards.

Our Nepalese production sites are independently certified for:

  • Fair Trade

    Upholding worker rights and equitable compensation

  • Sedex

    Ensuring ethical trade practices and transparency

  • ISO

    Meeting global benchmarks in sustainability and workplace safety

Working Conditions

Working Conditions That Honor the Whole Person

A Safe Place to Work. A Reason to Stay.

Our Nepalese workshops are child-labor-free, clean, and community-based.

Employees receive:

  • We provide a hot, nutritious meal to every team member each working day.
  • Healthcare support is available at all production sites, including regular checkups and access to medicine when needed.
  • Our spaces prioritize mental wellness and dignity-first policies, ensuring every woman feels safe, seen, and supported.
  • All team members work in clean, communal environments that welcome everyone, regardless of caste, class, gender, or religion.

In Ukraine, weavers work from home with full autonomy. This flexibility ensures safety and continuity, even through regional conflict. We build products with intention, because the environment in which they’re made matters just as much as the design and execution.

Closer to Home. Closer to heart.

Short Commutes, Longer Impact.

Our Kathmandu-area production sites are intentionally located within a 1–5 km radius of our artisans’ homes, with nearly a dozen sites located around the city.  This is intentional, as Kathmandu has some of the worst traffic congestion in the world (average speed in Kathmandu is only 15km per/hour!) and transportation is also very expensive (due to high gasoline prices), making a lengthy commute too costly and time consuming for many people. It hinders work opportunities and access to fair paying employment.  We’ve sought to address this by hosting micro-production sites instead of one, large facility.

  • 80–90% of our artisans walk to work each day
  • Commutes are short, just 15 to 30 minutes
  • That means more time at home, and less time spent on the road
  • Fewer emissions, quieter mornings, and a better quality of life

This is what local empowerment looks like, keeping life, work, and wellbeing in balance.

Financial Support

Building a Future, One Paycheck at a Time.

We’ve created systems that help artisans not just survive, but build.

  • Over 80% of our artisans now save regularly
  • We offer matched savings plan (2%)
  • We support our artisans in their small business development ventures (like selling vegetables or other handmade items)
  • Our reserve fund offers security for emergencies
  • Life insurance is part of our commitment to the long term

Banking is new to many of our team and has been historically mistrusted in rural communities. We offer workshops to help artisans build trust in the system, save for their future, and create security for their families. .

Financial dignity is the first step toward generational freedom.

Equity beyond the workplace

Reinvestment Beyond the Workshop

Reinvestment that Reaches Beyond the Workshop

Because Equity Doesn’t Stop at the Workplace Door.

  • We take a portion of every sale and reinvest it directly into the communities we work with. Not out of charity, but out of shared humanity. This is what responsibility looks like: personal, powerful, and rooted in love.

  • Menstrual Health & Equality

    In rural Nepal, nearly 90% of women face menstrual exclusion. Many girls are confined to sheds isolated from others for up to 10 days each month. We’re helping change that.

    We’ve provided:

    • Menstrual education to 450+ women and 80+ men
    • Free menstrual products at all sites
    • Safe spaces to speak about cycles without shame and the ability to work when menstruating.
  • Animal Welfare in Kathmandu

    In partnership with the KAT Center, we:

    • We fund spay/neuter and vaccination clinics to reduce disease and protect both animals and people.
    • Support helps sustain a dedicated team of veterinarians, vet techs, and three animal ambulances.
    • We’re rebuilding key parts of the KAT Centre destroyed in the 2024 mudslide, including recovery and kennel areas.
    • So far this year, we've helped treat and care for over 500 street animals and the work continues.
  • Elder Care for Tibetan Refugees

    In Pokhara, we support 18 elders who are stateless and vulnerable.

    • We provide food, toiletries, medicine, and daily essentials to elders and their caregivers.
    • Support is also used for doctor visits, prescriptions, and health needs.
    • Our caregivers and on-site team guide how funds are used, ensuring support reaches where it’s needed most.
    • We’re building an emergency fund for wheelchairs, medical equipment, and housing upgrades like new bedding.
  • This is how business becomes community. This is what shared dignity looks like.

Environmental Sustainability & Upcycling

Waste Less. Respect More.

We honor the earth by making the most of what we have, because every thread, every scrap, and every hour of labor holds value.

  • In India, our artisan partners transform leftover fabric and carpet offcuts into masks, trivets, and beautiful one-of-a-kind artwork.
  • In Nepal, we repurpose Dhaka fabric scraps from our pet bed covers into thoughtful details, like trim on canvas totes and other small goods.
  •  In Ukraine, we’ve found creative ways to reuse imperfectly woven textiles and pieces that were distorted during the washing and drying process. Wool can shrink or warp when drying, but we pay our artisans for their work regardless of the final result.  We turn altered woven goods into framed art, holiday stockings, and pillows; proof that even imperfections can be used in a beautiful way. 

Every scrap saved is a story reclaimed, proof that sustainability and beauty can live in the same breath.