We’ve partnered with charity: water, a non-profit organisation bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing countries.

From farming to manufacturing, we recognise that the global footwear and apparel industry relies heavily on freshwater. We kicked off our partnership with charity: water in 2021, supporting their mission to bring clean, safe water to every person on the planet. We funded sustainable community-owned piped systems to bring clean water to three taps in each home in a remote community in the Odisha state in India. Here, access to clean water can be as low as 4% of the population. We’ve chosen to work in India as this is one of our manufacturing locations, and we want to support these communities. *See additional resources for more information.

Since charity: water was founded in 2006, they’ve been chasing one ambitious goal: ending the global water crisis. And while the water crisis is huge, they’re optimistic. They know how to solve the problem, and make progress every day thanks to the help of local partners and generous supporters. If we work together, we believe like them that everyone will have access to life’s most basic need within our lifetime.

charity: water work with local experts and community members to find the best sustainable solution in each place they work, whether it’s a well, a piped system, a BioSand Filter, or a system for harvesting rainwater. And with every water point that’s funded, our partners coordinate sanitation and hygiene training, and establish a local Water Committee to help keep water flowing for years to come.

India

We’re supporting charity: water by funding a water project in the Odisha state in India. India is home to one of our factories and it’s important to us to invest back in the communities we are a part of.

In India charity: water work with implementing partner Gram Vikas who focus on communities where people with access to clean water can be as low as 4% and is rarely higher than 18%. Their specialty is piped water systems and their model requires 100% community participation, ensuring that people who are typically marginalised or excluded are included and valued.

Gram Vikas’s piped systems bring water directly into households and includes a tap in the kitchen, bathroom, and shower. Every home within a community, without exception, will have clean water once Gram Vikas’s work is complete. Schools are also connected into the piped system.

Community members are trained as water system operators and handle routine maintenance and basic repairs. The project is also constructed for a growing population, based on 20 year projections for the community, this ensures sustainability.

Gram Vikas supports every household to build their own toilet and bathroom before they begin work on a piped system. They also educate communities on everything from personal hygiene to safe food storage. Typically, this reduces open defecation by 90%.