A rug is an important decision when decorating a room—sometimes even the first one you make—providing an important foundation for your overall style statement. Jaipur Rugs is helping create a foundation of a different sort for the people it works with in remote rural areas of India. Through the Jaipur Rugs Foundation, the company is giving people living in often impoverished areas a sustainable way to earn a living, as well as access to health care and education resources.

Mostly women in remote rural areas, the 40,000 plus artisans pairing with Jaipur Rugs learn craft and business skills and are put in touch with markets thousands of miles away. One way the company promotes this fair trade is by opening offices in production areas, so that the carpet creators get a bigger chunk of the profits, instead of losing them to brokers further down the chain. The company also transports materials to the artisans, so that they don’t have to waste time and resources doing so themselves. Instead, they spend their time tufting, looming, weaving or hand-knotting the dazzling wool creations that make our homes more cozy and beautiful. There are up to 81 processes involved in making a rug—and that makes for lots of job opportunities. 

“We exist because we have a responsibility to do more, and it’s a responsibility myself and everyone who works with Jaipur takes seriously. This is a part of our core,” says Asha Chaudhary, President and CEO of Jaipur Rugs. “Because it is part of who we are, and not just what we say, we are able to make a real difference in people’s lives.” 

In the Jaipur Rug Foundation’s Dream Weavers program, top artisans throughout the network are allowed to choose from excess wool and materials to make one-of-a-kind pieces, all part of the company’s zero-waste initiatives. Nothing is wasted here—not wool, not human potential, not the creative spirit. 

Shop the Jaipur Rugs sale on Gilt starting Sat., May 3, at noon.