They believe CSR should start at home. When Hidesign built its custom designed factory, it fired its own bricks from the local earth found in that area. No asbestos is used anywhere. The factory designed by well known low cost ecological building expert Ray Meeker confirms Hidesign commitment to innovation, technical excellence and environment. The ample green area, ponds and water fall make it a safe and healthy work setting. All waste water at the factory goes through filtration and is reused. All waste material is separated and reused or sold for reuse. They do not burn anything. Lunch time at Hidesign is pretty much outdoors, under the trees, sitting on the rock benches and tables. Ecology is an ongoing search for better healthier ways to live and work. It comes out of believing in it and making it a core value. Also, Hidesign has stopped the use of plastic bags in India and use only cloth bags now.

At Hidesign they make eco-friendly leathers, which means they are vegetable tanned, are 30% more expensive and take more than double the time to produce. "Almost all leathers today are chrome tanned and coated by heavy finishes - you might as well use a synthetic as far as your skin is concerned and the environment. Vegetable tanning greatly reduces the hazards of environmental pollution. Hidesign has pretty much single handedly pushed the envelope for vegetable tanned leathers in the accessories market. Today they are proud to say that they are leaders in the research and development of vegetable tanned leathers. Hidesign uses natural extracts from barks of Wattle trees and Myrobalam seeds found in their local forests. These natural oils & extracts give a unique look to Hidesign leathers with deep colors, good body and long lasting strength. This is great for the user both health wise (would you rather have a bark extract next to you or chromium?) and because it increases the life of your bag." says Mr. Kapur. It takes almost 30 days to cure these leathers while chemically treated chrome leathers are made in 4-5 days. They believe their ideological choice has to fit into what the customer relates to. It has to appeal to the customers' needs. Such as Beauty – Natural is beautiful. Vegetable tanned, natural grained leather looks more real and ruggedly beautiful. It is long lasting – It lasts longer and weathers beautifully with age. Vegetable tanning feeds the leather and makes it stronger. It is Healthier - It's better for your health as chemical chrome tanning can create allergies on your skin. What would you prefer? Something natural, made using extracts of barks and seeds or something with chemicals in it?

Pondicherry boasts of 100% literacy, but girls did not have a large role to play till recently. At their factory now it has become the opposite. Most of the women from the villages around us are now working in Hidesign. They are now amazingly 90% women! Hidesign launched the pink ribbon collection in 2010 by partnering with the Ogaan Cancer Foundation to create awareness around the issues of breast cancer. How could one not be sensitive to an issue like this? 60% of their customers & over 90% of the Hidesign community are women.Initiatives like these involves the brand at its core; the product itself. They engage the customer and empower them to be part of the campaign. The customer carries the product and the message where ever they go. They were amazed by the response from the people around them, their employees and their customers. It made the effort worthwhile!