At Diamond Brand, we are committed to caring for the people who make up the Diamond Brand Family, as one of the pillars of our sustainability platform. This is the first Triple Bottom Line we strive to protect, based on the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework of People, Planet, and Prosperity. To start, we define our version of the TBL as a framework that accounts for the wellbeing of our craftspeople, our communities, and the Earth. Then, we acknowledge that for our craft to thrive well beyond the next 138 years, we must nurture these three forces with equal importance. Overall, it is a challenge we humbly accept.
sustainability of people starts with respect
The textile industry, supplying fabrics for apparel and gear, has a reputation for a lack of care and respect for the people that make up its supply chain. Industry watchdogs routinely report of human trafficking, death from factory fires, forced labor, and below-poverty level wages. At Diamond Brand, we’ve been able to avoid these issues in our supply chain for several reasons:
- We’ve worked to build a responsible supply chain for over one hundred years. First, we carefully select partners who share our vision for the highest quality materials. And then we maintain respect and care for those who make them.
- Diamond Brand creates opportunities for financial success for our employees.
- We have built support and equality into our company culture.
- Community wellness is a Diamond Brand commitment. The wellness of our employees, our stakeholders, and our greater Western North Carolina region is a priority.
We strive to be leaders in our approach to the sustainability of the people across our supply chain and in our community. It is essential that we play our part in building a more responsible textile supply chain.
Who’s included in our People Bottom Line
For us, ‘People’ extends beyond the walls of our factory. So our ‘People’ Bottom Line includes our employees, investors, local communities, suppliers, partners, customers, and future generations. We want to consider anyone who is impacted by the creation, use, and disposal of our products.
We make products in America with highly-skilled craftspeople that we treat like family.
Opportunities for Financial Success
We’re proud to make all of our products in our Fletcher, North Carolina factory. And we’re proud to be a great place to work.
100% of our employees make at least a living wage for Henderson County, North Carolina. This factors in the number of adults in the household who are working and the number of children they are supporting. In a place like Western North Carolina, where costs of living continue to rise, providing a living wage is more important than ever.
Through our Gainsharing Program, we split our gross margin profits we exceed 50/50 with employees each month. We have a goal of 100% of our employees participating by the end of 2022.
We also have a robust employee referral bonus system in which we reward employees for employment referrals. This system offers a graduated pay scale dependent upon milestones such as interviewing and length of employment.
Support & Equality
As family, we understand that life can give us lemons at any time. We provide an Employee Assistance Program. This program helps our family members through times of exceptional need with marriage, the birth of children, substance abuse, personal finances and continuing education. It’s our duty and honor to stick by our people who show up daily to help us succeed.
We’re honored to have a diverse workplace. Thus, our goal is to make sure that everyone receives information in their language of fluency. We provide translation services that enable everyone to have access to the same information. This way, we empower our team to make the best decisions for themselves and their families. Firstly, all our internal publications are translated into Spanish and Russian. Additionally, we offer live Spanish translation in company meetings.
Community Wellness
Our commitment to family extends into our community. So we support our employees’ efforts to generate positive change by offering paid volunteer time.
We are proud members of Carolina Textile District. It is a network of makers, designers, and entrepreneurs with a mission to revitalize the textile industry and build a reliable domestic supply chain. Being active members of Carolina Textile District is first an opportunity to create quality products here at home. But it is also a chance to generate quality jobs, strengthen local communities, and establish an ethical system of production. And further, this system can be modeled nationwide.
sustainability in regards to people: Why we do it
Of course, we can make a strong business case for these actions. To begin with, we can cite financial savings from reduced employee turnover. Next we can point out innovation and efficiency gains from experienced employees. Further we have a higher quality employment pool. Additionally, sustainability in terms of impact on people’s live has become more and more visible in the world. Customers are increasingly interested in knowing how, where, and by whom the products they buy are being made.
However, our drive to do right by the people impacted by our business runs deeper. It comes from a commitment to supporting those we see as family — our employees and the greater Diamond Brand community.
For businesses that want to produce goods domestically, we are here to say it’s possible. And we’ll show you how. We’ve done it — just ask. Together, we can craft a new textile industry that puts the sustainability of people first. We can build an industry that values people and their contributions to the health of our companies.