"Every handcrafted carpet carries a legacy of tradition, skill, and dedication. For us, social responsibility means preserving this heritage, creating fair conditions, and keeping the art of weaving alive for future generations."
Fair-Trade Label STEP
Designercarpets Drechsle is a member of the fair trade label STEP. STEP is a non-profit fair trade organization committed to the welfare of weavers and workers in the handmade carpet industry. In addition to internal audits of working conditions in the production countries, Designercarpets Drechsle now receives external and independent support. Further information about the STEP label can be found here.
Social responsibility as an integral part
Fair production of handcrafted carpets has been a priority at Designercarpets Drechsle since the beginning. Regular travel, fair pay, and trusting collaborations with long-standing partners have ensured good working conditions since the 1990s. This includes regular checks on the age of employees, support for kindergartens and schools, and high expectations for fair working conditions, which are regularly discussed with partners alongside independent audits.
Sustainable Production
Designercarpets Drechsle places great value on traditional handcraft. Up to 100% natural materials such as Tibetan sheep's wool, nettle, silk or hemp are used. These raw materials are washed, partially dyed and knotted directly onto cotton yarn. This makes the hand-knotted or woven carpet a product made from natural raw materials.
We support through our local network and experience the impact personally.
donation projects and support
The basic idea behind Designercarpets Drechsle's donation projects is to promote education for children and young people in Nepal. On this basis, further collaborations with supporters in the service network are constantly being established.
In April 2022, the donation project for the Shree Ganesh Basic School Nomobuddah was made possible. This is located about 30 km outside of Kathmandu. In coordination with the Rotary Club Lörrach and the Rotary Club Kasthamandap, sports and school supplies, uniform clothing, leisure facilities such as a hand carousel and slide, two- and four-seater benches and an additional computer with a printer for the infrastructure were purchased.
The Manmohan Memorial Community Hospital grew out of a simple roadside hospital. International donations made it possible to convert and expand it into a clinic with beds and an emergency room. In the emergency room, patients are treated by volunteer doctors free of charge. In April 2022, Designercarpets Drechsle, together with Rotary Club Lörrach and Rotary Club Kasthamandap, ceremoniously inaugurated the installation of a dialysis facility with equipment. The hospital is thus a great relief for around 110,000 people in the Dashinkali area. They can avoid inconvenient journeys and expensive means of transport to Kathmandu.
Designercarpets Drechsle donates two colorful carpets to the newly built kindergarten in Kathmandu/Dhapasi.
Women are still disadvantaged in Nepali society. It makes sense for Designercarpets Drechsle to get involved in fundraising projects for women. The indirect and direct support of women and families through jobs is an important part of the support projects. The Women Driver License fundraising project was created. 15 women were able to complete driving lessons and obtain a driving license. This gave them a job. The earnings help the women to become independent and the families to earn additional income for the children's school education. The donations for this were made possible by the Zonta Club Southern Black Forest.
The extension (extension of the main building for 3 additional classrooms) enables the school to be upgraded to grade 10. The young people can now complete their school leaving certificate in the same building and do not have to change districts.
Children in poorer countries need special attention. Orphans are particularly affected. Together with the manufacturer and other donors from Lörrach and the surrounding area, we support a home for blind orphans in Kathmandu.
On April 25, 2015, Nepal experienced a severe earthquake. Designercarpets Drechsle initiated a delegation with four-wheel drive vehicles and, in response to the spontaneous willingness to donate by the Rotary Club of Lörrach with the assistance of the Rotary Club of Kasthamandap, delivered funds for the construction and infrastructure of a temporary school in Yogeshwore. In this remote and difficult-to-access mountain region, around 300 children were thus spared a one-and-a-half-year interruption in schooling and were able to attend school.