Shipping policy

A shipment confirmation containing tracking information will be emailed to you once your order ships. Other questions regarding your order can be answered by emailing Aruna Customer Service at orders@arunaproject.com.

Order generally ships within 1-2 business days. We ship using the most economical ground method based on order size/weight. Once shipped, delivery time will vary based on your address but will generally be 1-5 business days.

If you would like your order to arrive before Christmas, please place it by December 15th 11:59 PM EST. Our team will continue to diligently fulfill orders after these dates, however orders received after that date are less likely to arrive by Christmas.

If you have not received a Tracking Number, the order may be able to be canceled. Please contact Aruna Customer Service at orders@arunaproject.com.

We endeavor to ship your product as soon as possible following final order receipt. Please contact Aruna Customer Service at orders@arunaproject.com.

At the present time, shipping is limited to the United States.

Our shipments originate in Ohio which has a sales tax rate of 5.75% and Hamilton County sales tax rate of 1.25% for a total of 7% sales tax. All items shipped within Ohio will be charged this tax rate.

Returns and exchanges

Aruna return policy is to ensure we provide customers with unquestioned confidence in our products and an exceptional experience with our customer service. There are 2 reasons for a product being returned: Preference & Performance.

  • Preference is to mean that the product does not meet the customer’s preferences related to color, fit, etc.
  • Performance is to mean that the product has a performance defect upon use. The return policy is different depending on Preference & Performance as well as Headband or Bag. Below is an outline of the policy:

Headbands:
Preference - Return up to 30 days, refund or replace
Performance - Return up to 30 days, refund.
Restock - No

Bags:
Preference - Return up to 30 days with tags attached, refund or replace
Performance - Return up to 1 year, replace.
Restock - Yes, if no visible wear.   

We hope that you love your new Aruna product made in freedom! If you are not satisfied with your purchase or any issues/concerns arise with your product, simply email returns@arunaproject.com with your request and we will provide procedures and answers to your questions.

About the Aruna Organization

Aruna is an athleisure lifestyle brand creating lifelong freedom for victims/survivors of human trafficking through employment marked by holistic care.  We create functional luxury products that keep our customers active, confident, and involved in the freedom story of the Aruna Artisans. We combine the best of non-profit and business for the sake of young women in need. Through our Training Centers situated in the heart of the brothel systems, we are able to accelerate the freedom process through Skill & Trade development as well as Trauma Focused Counseling.  Once freed, a young woman has the choice to step into our transitional housing while also starting full-time employment in our Freedom Business. Here she earns a living wage, retirement savings, access to health care, and on-going Care Plan, all in a community of care. 

Sex trafficking isolates, silences, and renders powerless those who experience it. It also robs them of the liberties of what it means to be human and instead crushes them into the mold of a dehumanized commodity. We believe that every person is of exceptional worth, should never be the property of another, and has the right to choose their own adventure. Eradicating sex slavery is not simply a benefit to freed individuals, but beneficial to cultures corporately as well.

Our USA operations are headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, while our India operations are headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

While sex trafficking is present in every country around the world, certain systemic factors coalesce in South Asia that have drawn our attention there. For example, young women in poverty there are subject to exceptionally higher risks of being trafficked for sex. The U.S. State Department’s annual TIP report, Walk Free Foundation’s Global Slavery Index, and Global Fund to End Modern Day Slavery all highlight South Asia with high rates of sex trafficking. When Aruna founders, Ryan and April Berg, first learned of the broader reality in South Asia, then spent time in Mumbai and learned about the specific sex trafficking issues within the city, they set out to create an option to help provide a solution in a local context that also helps to create sustained freedom for survivors in the US as well.

In our work in Mumbai, India, we specifically serve women who have been forced, coerced, or deceived into sexually exploitation. While we are in relationship with those that seek to rescue minors (under 18 years of age), we focus primarily on adults and will only employ those over the age of 18. Some Aruna Artisans were rescued as minors and, after turning 18 and receiving help in an aftercare home, are now employed by Aruna. 

We also employ survivors of human trafficking in the US in our US headquarters. We serve as the safe, stable, accessibly employment opportunity to ensure continued freedom here in the US.

The USA entity has diverse revenue streams. Grants, Donors, Aruna Runs, Sales Revenue from products, all go to fund the effort of creating lifelong freedom. Some of those funds are considered as ‘designated funds,’ which means they are designated for specific purposes within the mission of Aruna. Aruna Runs, for example, serve to fund both the Training Centers (which accelerates the freedom process for those in the brothels) and holistic care aspects within the Freedom Business (which employs and empowers those already set free).

We work alongside a number of other entities in the day-to-day operations. Some we are permitted to share about, like International Justice Mission and Salvation Army. Others we can not publicly disclose because of the sensitivity of the work. 

Since we own the Freedom Business we are able to select the location, establish the company culture, and determine the quality of the labor conditions for the Aruna Artisans. Our production facility is not found in the typical manufacturing areas, but instead is located in a much safer and desirable area of the city near public transportation for easy travel and access. The building is secured and our floor is filled with natural light, high ceilings, open floor plan, and clean work space. It has a break area, counseling area, and specific production departments. Our normal work week is 5 days. A typical work day consists of 8 hours, with ½ hour lunch and tea breaks in the morning and afternoon. In addition, we have on-going counseling, Artisan development, financial assistance, and fun events designed to benefit the Artisans. 

Our US office is similar to our India location in that it is an open floor plan, lots of natural light, high ceilings, and clean work space. Survivors are not distinguished from non-survivor team members, except for help in facilitating additional direct services outside of the work day hours. We all work in the same space, eat together, laugh together and work hard together. 

As employees of the Freedom Business in India, each Artisan has a base salary that exceeds the living-wage standards for how the Indian government defines skilled or unskilled laborers. In addition, an Artisan receives retirement savings, health care savings, access to a company community fund in cases of medical emergencies, an annual bonus, and an annual raise. Each Artisan earns this salary and these benefits as an employee of the company and is paid as a result of the revenue generated by the company through the sales of products produced by the company. 

In the US, survivors are paid just as any other employee in the organization. 

Aruna is an International Human Rights US 501(c)(3), not a religious organization, and owns both the Freedom Business and Training Centers. In each of these places, women are served regardless of their faith tradition and/or beliefs.  While Aruna is not a religious organization, founders Ryan and April Berg, are both compelled by their Christian faith.