Ethical Policy

Scaramanga’s Fair Trade Policy

At Scaramanga we take great pride in working with producers and suppliers in traditional artisan and craft based industries that use traditional materials, methods and skills. Many of our suppliers are small-scale producers and family-run businesses, this is particularly the case for our vintage leather satchels and travel bags. We aim to develop long-term relationships with our suppliers and continuity is important to us. Scaramanga trades fairly with all our producers and suppliers and we have developed our own ethical buying and trading policy, which follows those of many British fair trade organisations.

Scaramanga is a proud member of Ethical Junction (EJ), whose members' actively help other businesses, consumers and peers make positively discerning lifestyle choices. As an EJ representative, we are committed to being part of a growing population of ethical communities and businesses worldwide.

In addition, our buying team make regular trips to visit all our suppliers and producers to ensure the ethical standards we set ourselves are being met. We ensure staff are all well looked after and earn above average wages for the industry and ensure no children are employed.

Scaramanga:

• Buys most of its goods and materials from traditional small-scale producers, craft based families and communities.
• Communicates and is transparent with its overseas suppliers in order to create greater equity. By doing so we help to maximise the income generated by local producers.
• Pays suppliers a fair price, agreed through discussion and participation, which improves their standard of living and their community. We pay at least a 75% advance for orders and pay promptly.
• Develops long-term relationships with its suppliers and respects local designs and production methods.
• Undertakes product development with suppliers and producers, which ensures more money goes to the local economies.
• Promotes a safe and healthy working environment for producers.
• Actively encourages sustainable development, which often means paying a premium.
• Are committed to ensuring women’s work is properly valued and their contribution is always paid for fairly.
• Ensures producers will be paid equally regardless of gender, race and caste; and that income should improve their standard of living.
• Respects traditional seasonal working patterns and holidays.

Ethical policy for wooden furniture and wooden accessories

Scaramanga sources only old and vintage furniture made from tropical hardwoods such as teak, rosewood and fruitwoods. We do not sell new furniture or wooden home accessories, nor is any piece mass produced to look old. That means our wooden products are sourced with the environment in mind. We individually select each piece of furniture/wooden home accessory and oversee the restoration using skilled craftsmen and carpenters.

We feel that restoring a piece of furniture entirely to its original state would result in it potentially loosing a lot of its character, history and appeal. Therefore, many pieces of furniture may have small marks; a slightly uneven surface or the colour may vary on its surface. These are consistent with their age and original use. For example an old stationery box may still have ink marks from where the glass inkbottles and fountain pens were stored. Furthermore, many of the wood’s characteristics such as knots, grain variations, and colour features may have been used as an integral part of the furniture. We feel that this gives them even more character.

Occasionally, a wooden chest or box may have a small area where an old piece of damaged wood has been removed and replaced with a similar piece of reclaimed hardwood. This ensures our furniture continues to have a wonderful antique look. This is then treated to match the existing colour and texture, but may be still visible as a replaced piece. We feel this reduces the use of scarce hardwoods and keeps as much of the original piece as possible.

Each piece of furniture will be delivered in full working order, cleaned and polished. Where we restore a piece we use recycled/reclaimed tropical hardwoods.

Leather ethical policy – nothing to hide

Genuine leather is natural and possesses truly individual characteristics. Scaramanga uses buffalo leather hides tanned using traditional methods and finished with natural substances such as mustard seed oil. Furthermore, no dyes or harmful chemical treatments are used on the buffalo leather after the traditional tanning process. This allows the natural markings, scars, shade variation and other characteristics of leather to be enjoyed. Modern leather processing often involves the removal of the surface texture and the application of a ‘finish’ to give a more uniform appearance.

Parts from several buffalo hides may be used to make a single Scaramanga leather bag. So there may be some variation in colour and the texture to the different parts of a bag, which will al create a wonderfully unique effect.

There may be significant variances in texture and shading, which is individual to each bag.

• All natural marks are left fully exposed.
• No two pieces are exactly the same.
• Our bags may have dark lines and marks in the leather.
• These features go to show the genuine origin of our leather satchels and messengers bags, they form part of the bag and not affect its durability. With a little care leather will improve with age.
• Like all our leather products, our leather bags are handmade and your new leather bag may be subject to natural variation in size and colour.

All this simply enhances the unique appearance of your bag and adds extra character. Think of your bag as an investment for the future. To be enjoyed for years to come. Your bag may give off a leather odour for a week or two, which is not unusual for a natural leather product. They all have a lightly distressed leather  / antique leather / vintage  great worn look and feel, which adds to their character and appeal, so now you can have a vintage style leather bag without having to wait years.

Please bear in mind that each leather satchel and messenger bag is a totally natural product therefore the colours and the finish can vary from one piece to the next. If you are looking to order a leather bag to match a particular item of clothing or clothing accessory please contact us before ordering.

To see Scaramanga’s wonderful men’s and women’s leather messenger bags, satchel and travel bags, click here.

Textiles
We use a variety of natural fabrics that are hand woven or spun such as: raw silk, silk taffeta, hemp and cotton. These fabrics are used to create cushions, throws, quilts and bed linen and are often hand embroidered or stitched to create interesting and unique designs.