Dragon Gardens Northwest (DG) considers itself an environmentally and morally conscious, American company. Ceramics are produced by the harvest of raw natural materials, heavy labor, skilled craftsmanship and combustion. The word “ceramics” is derived from the Greek word “keramos” practically translated as “burnt earth.” This being said, we still do our best to persuade and direct the factories to follow humane and environmentally conscious production methods if they are not already doing so. Below you will find some of the challenges we face and some of the solutions we have found work in China and Vietnam.
Working Conditions & Human Rights Overseas
The unskilled nature of harvesting of raw, naturally occurring materials and the physical labor involved in production, create an opportunity for factory owners to exploit their virtually inexhaustible supply of migrant workers, most of who are ignorant of their rights under Chinese law and are willing to work under any conditions without protest. There are a number of actions we have taken to avoid investing in factories that exploit their laborers.
The first action we took is direct supervision. I make frequent trips abroad to inspect and observe working conditions at the factories we support. During these trips, I tour the factory with the managers and my assistant, then ask to inspect without supervision in order to converse with the staff without the intimidation of management listening in. We observe their work areas; ask them about work breaks and hours worked per day. The work day generally begins around 7am and concludes at 7p or dark in the shorter days of winter. The majority of our factories pay their production personnel by the piece. They are allowed to set their own pace and are paid based on the quantity of products that meet quality standards. Most production staff are groups of husband and wife teams working together. The larger factories provide a breakfast and lunch and a mid afternoon rest-time (generally 12-2pm) Workers are guaranteed at least one day off every week, but we have observed that in the "piece-work" factories the workers choose to work nearly 7 days a week, The working conditions are required to be safe and sanitary.
In addition to our personal supervision, we maintain a full-time independent representative, living in China. This individual is valuable for a number of reasons, including quality control and inspection, as well as new source inspections. Since she works for us and not the factory we are able to receive an unbiased evaluation of working conditions at each new factory. She is instructed to look for infrastructure that is hard to fake, like the presence protective equipment (gloves, face shields, fans, etc) clean and uncluttered work spaces and the presence of hydration facilities and first aid supplies. The Ceramics trade does not exploit the use of children in their labor force, due to the physical strength required. The apparel and rug trades are notorious for their use of children.
Another action we have taken was to form a purchasing group with a company similar to ours based in Australia. Between our two companies we are able to present ourselves to the factories as a single entity with significant buying power. In addition to the buying power we also present ourselves as a efficient client since we have opposite "busy seasons, being in opposite hemispheres. The factory is guaranteed year round orders allowing their factories to be more efficient. But as the saying goes, “money talks” and in China this is the bottom line. By sending our rep to the factory with the buying power of two companies that purchase nearly one hundred 40’ containers of pottery a year, we are able to demand conditions meet our standards, in order for them to earn our business.
Our experience in this business, having a practical working knowledge of how our product is produced, knowing the cost of the raw materials allows us to make informed decisions about who we choose to purchase pottery from. Jon Paulson, my father, recently spent two months at our primary Boldstone factory. He was able to truly witness the work flow of the factory, get to know some of the workers and help streamline material handling and quality issues.
We understand the measures taken by a factory if their prices “look too good to be true.” Our knowledge of the production process enables us to avoid the factories who exploit their workers, or compromise quality with cheap or dangerous materials. Either way we choose not to work with those folks. We feel that the reduction in labor rights violations and the maintenance of better working conditions will strengthen the loyalty of factory workers, resulting in improved production quality and efficiency, creating a higher valued product for the factory, importer, retailer and consumer.
Environmental Impact Overseas
In order to discuss our actions to minimize the environmental impact of our products, we first need to review the nature of ceramics. Pottery is typically produced by the application of heat upon processed clays and other natural raw materials to form a rigid product. Ceramic products that use naturally occurring rocks and minerals as a starting material must undergo special processing in order to control purity, particle size, particle size distribution, and heterogeneity. These attributes play a big role in the final properties of the finished ceramic.
The next step is to form the ceramic particles into a desired shape. This is accomplished by the addition of water and/or additives such as binders, followed by a shape forming process. Some of the most common forming methods for our ceramic containers include slip casting, press molds and coiling. Slip casts and press molds are fabricated from plaster. Once the molds begin to show wear, they are recycled into new molds. After the particles are formed, these "green” (meaning un-fired) ceramics undergo a heat-treatment (called firing or sintering) to produce a rigid, finished product. Many of our ceramic products then undergo a glazing process. Some materials used to glaze these containers are Iron, Copper, Cobalt and Magnesium, all of which are made inert, due to the high temperature firing. Any volatile organic or potentially hazardous metallic components are either vaporized during firing or stabilized and made inert during firing.
Our kilns are fired with naturally occurring combustion materials; wood (primarily pine and bamboo) or natural gas. These are the traditional materials used in Asia and the USA for the last 2,000 years. The primary pollutant produced is CO2, ash and soot. Ash is cleaned from kilns and amended into soil (most kilns have an adjoining farm.) Our rustic kilns have been producing ceramics in the same valley for the last 800 years.
Domestic Environmental Impact
Domestically we do our best to minimize pollution. We run electric lift trucks and utilize 'vegan' diesel delivery trucks when available. We recycle approximately ½ to 1½ tons of cardboard per month and heat our warehouse with natural gas. At Dragon Gardens Northwest we take the condition of our environment seriously. As a father of four, I think this Native American proverb says it best...
“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children…”
Thank you for your concern,
Eric Paulson, President
Dragon Gardens Northwest
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