Shari Keller Advisory · Responsible sourcing for apparel, textile & home brands
Supply-chain evidence that holds up when someone looks.
Responsible sourcing advisory for apparel, textile and home brands, from a US-based founder who spent 25 years on both sides of the supply chain.
A supplier's certification tells you what a factory is supposed to look like.
It rarely tells you what's actually happening on the floor.
The Question That Matters
A retailer sends a questionnaire. A B Corp auditor asks for records. A shipment is held at customs. In each case the question isn't whether you have a policy. It's whether your records show what actually happens at the supplier.Many brands have the commitments. What's often missing is the operating evidence behind them.
Who This Is For
Apparel, textile and home brands that source internationally, often without a full in-house responsible-sourcing team, and have something on the calendar:Certification and ratings:
B Corp V2 certification, or recertification on the new standards · Year 3 requirements · EcoVadis (Labor & Human Rights, Sustainable Procurement)Customer and regulatory evidence:
retailer questionnaires and audit findings · forced-labor import risk in the US and EU · supply-chain disclosure reports (Canada, UK, Australia) · the evidence behind sustainability claims
How I Help
Most work starts with a review, and goes only as far as you need.1. Evidence ReviewI read your policies alongside the records that are supposed to prove them: supplier codes and onboarding, wage and hours records, subcontracting controls, grievance and corrective-action logs, environmental monitoring, and purchase orders. Then I test whether they show what actually happens at your suppliers. You get a prioritized roadmap: what a certifier, customer or auditor is likely to question, what to fix first, and where your own buying practices make supplier compliance harder. Fixed fee, agreed before we start.2. Systems & DocumentationThen we close the gaps. I help you write or rework the operating procedures, process flows and supplier-facing documents behind your human rights, fair work and environmental commitments. Your team ends up producing evidence as part of normal work, instead of assembling it the month before an audit. I work with the people who will run the system, so it doesn't depend on me.3. Buying Practices & Supplier AlignmentMany recurring audit findings, like excessive overtime, unauthorized subcontracting or missed wage commitments, trace back to the buyer: late order changes, compressed lead times, prices that don't cover compliant production. I work with your sourcing team and key suppliers to change the practices behind them. This is where 17 years on the factory side matters most.Engagements beyond the review are scoped to what it finds. Sourcing work strengthens your existing supplier relationships; I don't find or match new manufacturers.
Why Work
With Me
I'm Shari Keller. Ph.D.
Both sides of the supply chain
I sourced as a brand, then ran a factory that international brands sourced from, advising brand clients along the way. I know how a buyer's price, timing and design decisions land on the factory floor.Evidence over assertions
Mehera Shaw was WFTO Guaranteed (member #1047), and our wastewater system passed Government of India lab testing. I'm used to claims that have to be backed by records.Built for real scrutiny
The goal isn't a file that reads well. It's records that match what actually happens, so they hold up when a certifier, customer or customs officer asks.
How I Got Here
1999: Co-founded Mehera Shaw, a US brand sourcing from a third-party manufacturer in Jaipur.2007: After seeing labor and environmental gaps firsthand, founded our own vertically integrated, export-licensed manufacturer in Jaipur.2007–2024: Founder and CEO. Grew to 50+ people, became WFTO Guaranteed, held fair-wage compliance year over year, and monitored Tier 1–3 suppliers so subcontracting stayed visible.2010–2024: Advised international brand clients, including Nancybird, Arnhem, The Ethical Silk Company and Kate Austin Designs, on sourcing, dyes and GOTS fabric, zero-waste cutting and responsible purchasing.2024–2026: Senior advisor to Mehera Shaw through the leadership transition.2026: Founded Shari Keller Advisory.Before all this: PhD in anthropology (UT Austin) and Fulbright fieldwork in Hyderabad, training in reading what actually happens, not the official account.
Mehera Shaw
WFTO Guaranteed member
50+ person team across design, production, and export — Jaipur, RajasthanVertically integrated production — in-house stitching and hand block-printing units, no dependency on third-party subcontractors for core production.Licensed exporter status — full customs, compliance, and export documentation for clients across North America and Europe.WFTO Guaranteed member number 1047.Artisan-scale wastewater filtration & rainwater harvesting system, designed and built in-house, passed Government of India lab testing.
Out of Scope
I'm not an auditor or a lawyer, and I don't do carbon accounting or life-cycle assessment. I help you build systems designed to hold up; independent verifiers do the verifying. If your project needs legal or technical specialists, I'll tell you and point you to the right ones.
Start With a Conversation
Tell me what's on your calendar (an audit, a customer request, a recertification) and we'll see whether an Evidence Review is the right first step.