The Pragati Project is the world's first initiative to focus on sustainable castor cultivation. Since 2016, the international NGO Solidaridad and its partners have set themselves the task of reorienting castor cultivation in India, focusing on both climate-relevant and social aspects.
Since its founding, Solidaridad has managed to certify over 6,200 farmers in 80 locations in the Indian region of Gujarat and convert their work to sustainable cultivation - on almost 20,000 hectares of land. Not only has the yield for the farmers been increased, but water has also been saved by over 30 percent.
As part of the agreed code of conduct for all certified farmers, the farmers commit to actively sending their children to school, to providing regular medical examinations for themselves and their employees, and to accessing the use of renewable energies wherever currently feasible.
Children are our future. Oh yeah? What sounds like a slogan is actually the reason why we want to do a few things differently with MANTI MANTI. Beautiful glasses? Absolutely. Creating a world that is fun? Well, hello. And acting as responsibly as possible for this generation, all of us and our planet along the entire value chain - from design and materials to production, assembly and sales? Absolutely! Even if that isn't that easy.
We believe that the journey is the destination - because sustainability is not a slogan, but the standard we set for ourselves, a mission and a path. And we will take you along with us. In our little sustainability mantiverse you will find out everything: From A for cultivation of the miracle tree, which our glasses are made 100 percent from, to D for Germany, where our glasses are printed and produced, to Z for endurance test - because our glasses can withstand a lot. Have fun discovering, reading and getting to know each other. From us and MANTI MANTI.
You won't believe it, you won't believe it - our glasses are made from castor oil plant. PLANT-BASED Castor oil plant? You probably know this versatile plant better by the name castor oil plant. Or as a bad-tasting medicine. But the castor oil plant can do a lot more. The material PA 11 is extracted from the plant's oil. PA what? A plant-based polymer that has special properties. Extremely light. Super flexible. Particularly durable. Almost indestructible.
CONSUME UP TO 3 TIMES LESS CO2 WITH PRINTED PA 11 Another advantage of PA 11 - it can be used in 3D printing. This is an incredibly resource-efficient process for producing glasses. We even manage to use up to 3 times less CO2 than in traditional eyewear production.
WHERE DOES THE CASTOR ACTUALLY COME FROM? We source the material that our glasses are made of from Arkema, which produces the material PA11 from castor oil in France. Arkema is part of an initiative by our partner Solidaridad Network, an international NGO that launched the Pragati Project in India in 2016. The aim of the Pragati Project is to support castor farmers in the Indian region of Gujarat and to improve the cultivation of the raw material from a sustainability perspective: less water consumption, minimization of energy consumption, better yields, future-oriented working conditions and fair pay. This also allows us to ensure where our castor comes from - and to bring more transparency to the value chain with single-origin raw materials.
WE ARE ON SITE ON THE CASTOR PLANTATIONS IN INDIA In July 2023, we will take a closer look: Our team member Maria will be on site for three months to get to know the Pragati Project better, talk to the farmers and understand what further steps we can take on the path to greater sustainability. Of course, we will regularly share what we learn and experience on site with you - in the blog and on social media.
When we started looking for a suitable partner for our production, the requirements became clear very quickly: Of course, the quality of the products had to be right, we wanted to produce in Germany, but above all we wanted to have the feeling of working with people who love their work, with whom we can speak openly about all topics in the collaboration and who also believe in us and our product and are keen to start and grow with us from the beginning.
We found exactly these people when we went to Ingrid and Carlos in late summer 2022 and looked at their company and production. They took a whole day of their time, every question was allowed - for us, the absolute newcomers to the eyewear industry - every idea could be thought about and discussed, every process could be viewed and understood. And at the end there was not only a traditional Bavarian meal, but the feeling: this is a good fit.
Since then, we have been working together on MANTI MANTI and have found other great partners through them who have become a central part of designing and printing our glasses and assembling temple ends, hinges and nose pads.
PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NGO SOLIDARIDAD NETWORK
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CHILDREN'S GLASSES FROM THE PRINTER
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YOUR GLASSES ARE MADE FROM 100% WUNDERBAUM
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The production - MADE IN GERMANY – WITH LOVE AND EXPERIENCE
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