At Metaphor Racha, we have always shared information regarding various processes of textile making, methods of printing/embroidery, the people behind our work, the economics, the piechart & the works. We blog about it on our website.
Transparency is the new green, they say. So is Metaphor Racha fully transparent? The answer is not easy.
We neither hesitate to answer any of your queries nor do we post any made-up information. On a different note, usually, the smaller brands in the craft sector are questioned & not the bigger ones or other industries!
Don't get me wrong, I agree that transparency at work is important when used constructively, & let's not confuse "traceability" with transparency.
In a day & information age, selling fake products and stories on social media has become convenient, as most of the data & photos are available in the comfort of our keyboards to copy-paste.
Transparency is supposed to bring facts to the surface and speak for itself. But on its own, facts don’t create a space that seeks to know 'why' something happened, instead, we focus on knowing - who did it. "Who made your clothes" becomes more important than why someone decided to make your clothes, in what condition, & at what price.
Paradoxically, at times, transparency can also lead to distrust. Imagine, if you are asked to document every tiny part of your work for public consumption, won't you feel mistrusted? How much information can I extract from my workers? Should it be given away cost-free? When does transparency convert to trust? Or does a photo displayed of a weaver proof enough? If so, what about the craftsperson's freedom of privacy?
Is complete transparency a moral standard & an imported word? Are care, trust, forgiveness, and cooperation more effective than transparency?
As an entrepreneur, transparency is not about what it can fetch me in return, but it's about learning for both you & me and need not be seen as mandatory compliance.
Rest assured, I will continue to question myself & bring every aspect of our work to the forefront, with an understanding that transparency is beyond business, it's about wisdom-of-crowd, yours including.
