About Us
Samana Living is immensely proud to be the exclusive distributor of CONSCIOUS STEP and PEBBLE. We stock the largest range of these products in Australia and New Zealand, selling direct to the public and to wholesale merchants.
Our story began in 2013, in the Northern Rivers region of NSW. After 10 years’ as a retailer of clothes and toys (shopfront and online), we turned our focus to fairtrade. We felt motivated to make a difference to the lives of the people who grow the raw materials and create the products we sell.
So began our mission to partner with global initiatives supporting ethical supply chains – a search we quickly discovered was anything but straightforward. We sought guidance from Fairtrade International. Their standards ensure the conditions of production and trade of all Fairtrade certified products are both socially and economically “fair” as well as environmentally responsible. The outcome is fairer terms of trade between farmers and buyers. Workers’ rights are protected within a supply chain that allows producers to build thriving farms and organisations.
Our journey led us to Samantha Morshed, the founder of Hathay Bunano, a Bangladeshi non-profit organisation established to make PEBBLE toys and blankets, providing training programs and dignified employment in keeping with the rhythm of rural life. With more than 10,000 women working in 50 rural production centres across Bangladesh, having built crèche facilities and pre-schools where possible, Samantha Morshed was honoured with an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) from the Queen for her services to the rural women of Bangladesh. | |
We partnered with Hathay Bunano. Samana Living Pty Ltd was incorporated in 1997 – the name “Samana” meaning “EQUAL” in Bangla. PEBBLE products quickly became a hit with our customers, favoured for their hand-made quality, their attention to detail and the designs that babies and toddlers love. |
Touched by the plight of the Bangladeshi people and, in 2018, we helped establish two of the PEBBLE’s many pre-schools, where Mums can work while their children go to class nearby.
Building upon PEBBLE’s success, a partnership was established with Conscious Step USA - makers of organic cotton socks whose entire supply chain (in India) is certified to the Global Organic Textiles Standards (GOTS).
Samana Living is the exclusive distributor of all Conscious Step products in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). We work closely with the Conscious Step team to support ANZ initiatives and will to announce a new Australian-themed Sock in October 2020.
We are so very proud to be associated with Conscious Step and their amazing global initiatives.
Conscious Step is Fairtrade Certified. They maintain an ethical and transparent workplace with strict adherence to laws relating to minimum wage, overtime compensation and freedom of association for workers. Moreover, every pair of Conscious Step socks has a Purpose. Each style supports a different social cause with societal benefits documented each year. |
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Today, Samana Living operates from a small warehouse in Brisbane. Our corporate brand on Instagram and Facebook includes the by-line “Pieces of a Story”, indicative – we believe - of the lives of the people that, through your support, we hope to touch and improve. We welcome your feedback on our products. We know you’ll love them!
Kind regards. Bernadette & Don |