Social Impact

ROPE has sustainable social impact for rural workers and the environment.

ROPE aims to have a significant social impact on its rural workers. The employees of ROPE production centers have access to reliable work and other benefits not typically offered to rural workers. Currently in India, ROPE provides work to over 500 people (95% women). These artisans have seen their average annualized income increase from US$270 to US$720 after working with ROPE. Increased incomes lead to increased savings and investments for the future such as housing, health and education. Apart from financial security, belonging to a larger network of producers and also the sense of catering to global customers increases pride in their work. Furthermore, by allowing people to work close to their villages, they can avoid migration to cities and life in the slums and instead stay close to their families and social networks in rural areas.

Poverty in general, and specifically in rural areas, negatively affects all aspects of life, most notably health and education. Poverty is the single largest reason for the migration of rural poor to urban centers, where they often end up in slums with a decreased quality of life. Rural artisans toil long hours and often earn less than a dollar a day. Their work is inconsistent and they are under constant pressure from middlemen and other employers to reduce their wages. These difficulties often cause rural workers to neglect their family's health and education which contributes to a cycle of poverty. In a country like India where the economic divide between urban and rural poor is widening, it is imperative to create quality jobs for rural workers. By providing work to the rural poor, one allows them to improve their general quality of life and their family's health and education.

ROPE's products are eco-friendly. ROPE's materials are naturally and sustainably grown in rural areas where the artisans live. ROPE uses natural indigenous renewable plants to derive many of its materials. Furthermore, many of ROPE's materials come from agricultural waste bi-products, such as banana rope which is made from the the banana tree trunk which is normally discarded after the bananas are harvested.