The ethical secret to a good night’s sleep

High sustainability and social justice standards led this local couple to create the Bhumi range.

Melbourne-based couple Vinita and Dushyant Baravkar believe that everyone deserves a good night’s sleep. But they don’t believe that it should come at the expense of producers, workers or the environment.

So, when the pair conceived the idea to start their own lifestyle brand, they resolved to delve deeper into the production processes to ensure that the highest levels of social responsibility, sustainability and comfort would be woven into every product they produced.

“Bhumi is a culmination of years working and travelling in developing countries such as India and Bangladesh where I saw firsthand the negative impacts of the textile industry on the workers, farmers and the environment,” says Vinita, who has a master’s degree in international public health from the University of Melbourne.

“The same staggering patterns of child labour, toxic pesticides, usage of harmful dyes, chemical waterways and land degradation, along with farmer suicides, kept coming up.

‘‘I could not unsee what I had seen, and I felt I knew too much to go on without addressing the issues and trying to make a change and find better ways of creating products that had a positive impact on both the planet and humanity.”

The couple’s shared social conscience and passion for acting responsibly is the motivator for Bhumi’s use of sustainable organic cotton and linen – sourced from small farms that use sustainable and ethical farming practices and support fair labour, and that is free from toxins including harmful chemicals, pesticides and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) – to create its luxurious signature bedding, as well as towels, throws, robes and an expanding range of basics.

“From the day we started, we have been committed to using the finest 100 per cent organic cotton available on the planet,” says Dushyant, whose background in finance and technology has helped the company expand on a global platform. ‘‘It ensures a better life for the people who grow it, and it makes a better product for the people who use it

‘‘By using sustainable raw materials and fabrics and implementing the strictest production methods that ensure high quality products while maintaining high sustainable and social justice standards, we are able to guarantee a ... more luxurious product.”

Bhumi’s raw materials adhere to the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), the world’s leading certifier of textiles, and consist of long fibres, which ensure a more plush and durable fabric.

Its products, meanwhile, are made in a Fairtrade-certified factory, ensuring artisans and farmers are valued for their knowledge, expertise and craftsmanship, they are paid fairly and there is no child labour involved.

And while the couple are understandably proud of the approach they take to making a difference, they are equally focused on the day-to-day benefits of their products to their customers – including that aforementioned good night’s sleep.

“The best feedback for us is when we hear that people are sleeping better thanks to Bhumi bedding,” Dushyant says. “Sleep is such an important window to health. Without good sleep everything falls apart so by helping people sleep better and hearing people’s reactions we are always thrilled.”