Our Partners
Nearly a decade of working side by side with our partners has taught us how demanding ethical manufacturing really is. We don't take this path because it's simple — we take it because it's right, and because we're convinced we can do better by everyone who touches Shakti. What we build with our partners goes well beyond a transaction. We seek out people who hold the same values we do, welcome them into our family, and look after their teams the way we look after our own.
Our values
We build partnerships that last.
That stability gives the people who craft your tools real economic security. Long relationships also give us genuine access and leverage, so we can make sure our standards are actually met.
We stay hands-on about ethics.
We keep a full-time representative based in India, and our senior leaders visit often. They travel to every production site on a regular basis, so what we're shown matches what really happens day to day.
We rely on independent auditors.
That's how we keep things transparent and accountable. We hold a written code of conduct and verify it through independent Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audits (SMETA), which every supplier has to pass before working with us.
We go further than compliance.
We keep looking for ways to do more for our own team and for our partners. Much of that effort goes into finding ways to support the communities that surround the places where our products are made.
The Gratitude Factory, Varanasi
Varanasi, India's holy city, is where the Shakti Mat first came to life. Out in the villages that surround it, meaningful work is hard for women to come by. The Gratitude Factory was born in 2008 with one idea in mind: to build a safe, welcoming place where women could stand on their own feet and earn their own independence.
Every woman on the team receives a living wage, paid sick days and paid holidays. They also get weekly meals, protected time for daily puja, free healthcare, and access to an emergency medical fund that covers them and their families.
Kishor Exports, Ranchi & Agra
Kishor Exports is a well-respected garment maker with operations in Ranchi and Agra. Started back in 1978 by a husband-and-wife duo, the company holds just about every certification a demanding buyer might look for.
They've taken home the Best Corporate Social Responsibility Practice award at the World CSR Congress. Everyone on their payroll gets a living wage, fair hours, transport, medical support, health insurance and a retirement fund.
Shakti has partnered with Kishor since 2022, and we can't wait to see where it goes. Today, Shakti Premium Mats and Pillows plus a selection of Shakti Acupressure Tools come out of one of their Fairtrade-certified plants.
The Shakti Network, Delhi
Shakti Delhi isn't a single factory — it's a web of small family-run workshops, each contributing a piece to every mat we make. The whole setup is designed around empowering families, building financial independence and keeping working hours flexible.
Guiding the network is our partner Matman Plastics, who oversees the final delivery of Shakti products. The craftspeople behind them earn living wages, overtime pay and end-of-year bonuses, and are covered by ESI medical insurance so that they and their families are properly cared for.
Panipat
Roughly 95 km north of Delhi sits the historic “City of Weavers”. It's a textile manufacturing centre known worldwide, and Spartan Trends has been building on that legacy since 1954.
Spinning, weaving, stitching, embroidery and fabric bonding are Spartan's specialities. All five come together in our Acupress Leg Wraps and Back & Belly Band, and they handle the finishing on our Torus Rings as well.
Two acres of the factory grounds are reserved purely for the staff to enjoy. Spartan also holds SMETA, ISO (9001:2015) and ZED certification — covering safe and ethical labour practices, quality management and compliance, and a commitment to cutting waste and using energy more intelligently.
Noida
A little over 10 miles southeast of Delhi sits the city of Noida — the home of Curio Crafts, the workshop behind our Wonderball.
The 400 local artisans at Curio are specialists in centuries-old glass and metalwork craft. Turning our sketch of a spiked brass ball into a real acupressure tool proved how skilled they are — and the way they look after their people and their surroundings proved how much they care.
Everything is produced under one roof, and their CSR programme covers commitments to CTPAT, SA8000 and SEDEX. Each of those certifications helps prove and maintain supply chain security along with social and ethical standards. Curio also gives back to the wider region through charity work in underserved communities.
Independent audits
Beyond our own hands-on involvement, we rely on independent auditing to keep the whole network fully transparent and accountable. Every partner we work with is audited under the Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit programme (SMETA).
A SMETA audit looks at labor standards — fair pay, working hours, non-discrimination and the removal of child labor; health and safety — safe workplaces, emergency procedures and staff well-being; environment — management systems and sustainable practice; and business ethics — how business is conducted, anti-corruption rules and responsible purchasing.
Our Materials
Every single part of what we make gets a huge amount of consideration. We weigh the impact on everyone involved — the planet, the artisan who builds it, and you, the person who uses it. And we never stop hunting for better materials that serve our communities and the earth more responsibly.
GOTS
Organic cotton simply feels better. Better on the skin, better for the planet and — above all — better for the hands that make it. That's why we only partner with factories holding the world's foremost processing standard for organic fibres; it's the bare minimum in our eyes. The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) lays down ecological and labour benchmarks along the whole cotton supply chain, guaranteeing traceability and good practice. Organic growing means farming that keeps soil healthy and restores it, with no persistent, toxic pesticides or synthetic fertilisers involved. Every bit of Shakti cotton carries GOTS certification.
Blissfoam™
Our premium plant-based Blissfoam™ comes from two different suppliers.
Eco-Latex is a top Sri Lankan producer, with 60% of its energy already coming from renewable sources. They're on the way to carbon-neutral status and partner closely with their Government on a range of initiatives that create genuine, meaningful jobs.
Signature Foam operates out of Kerala, India — the country's first and only farm-finished organic latex producer. All 150 of their staff receive fair wages, free meals and housing. Signature also puts under 2% of profits into a fund backing schoolchildren, terminally ill members of the community, and sustainable farming. Their employees are enrolled in the Provident Fund (PF) and the Employees' State Insurance Scheme (ESI), India's principal social security programmes.
ABS plastic
When we last experimented with recycled plastic, the points simply weren't sharp enough — and a blunt mat is about as handy as a white crayon. That's the reason we stick with ABS today: it performs, it lasts, and it's safe against skin.
The spikes are probably the single most important part of what we make. Everything carries a 5-year guarantee, yet there are Shakti Mats out there from 2014 still delivering the same sensation and benefits we'd expect from a new one.
A force for good
Each Shakti order lets us put business to work as a force for good. In practice that means donating a minimum of 10% of our profits to causes across India, plus planting a tree for every Shakti Mat that goes out the door.