rice love FAQS


products

What is the difference between the One of a Kind and the Recycled Backpacks?

Almost all of our backpacks are truly unique, crafted from recycled rice bags that give every piece its own distinctive look. The key difference between our Recycled Backpack line and our One-of-a-Kind collection is that the Recycled line ensures a specific color pattern, while the One-of-a-Kind backpacks are entirely unique, with no two bags alike in any way.


Shipping

Do you offer free shipping?

Yes, orders over $90 ship for free.

How long will it take until I get my item?

Please allow 3 days for processing your order, plus 3-5 days for shipping within the United States. Orders that include clothing items take an extra 3-5 days because our clothing is printed on demand. International orders may take up to 3 weeks to arrive. 

What packaging do you use for shipment?

For most orders, we ship using custom mailer bags made from recycled paper, which are fully recyclable. For larger orders, we switch to standard cardboard shipping boxes to ensure safe delivery.

Do you ship internationally?

Yes we do.

Do I have to pay import taxes or duties when I order internationally?

All orders are shipped from the USA. The cost of import fees and/or duties are NOT included in the cost of shipping. If you live outside the USA, you may be required to pay a duty before you can pick up your package. It is important to know your countries rates for duties as you will be responsible for this added cost. If you do not pay the duty, the package will be returned to us. In this case, we will contact you to ask if you would like to pay to have the package re-shipped to you or if you would like a refund on the cost of the product (excluding shipping). Most European countries have import fees, however, they are generally less than the cost of the product(s), and the fees are not charged consistently on every package. Customers have not reported any duties for Canada, Australia, or New Zealand.


Returns, Refunds, Warranty

I accidentally placed an ordered. Can I cancel it?

Of course. You may cancel an order for a full refund at any time before it is shipped by emailing hello@ricelove.com. However, the email must be received at least 48 hours before the order is shipped in order to have time to cancel the order before it is processed.

The bag I got is not what I expected. Can I return it in exchange for a different one or for a refund?

Do you offer warranty for your products?

Our products have a 6-month limited warranty. If no claim is made within 6-months of the original date of purchase, the claim will not qualify for warranty coverage. In order to make a warranty claim, please email photos of any damages of your products with the subject line "WARRANTY" to hello@ricelove.com. We will determine if the product qualifies for a replacement for the same or similar product. We do not provide refunds for warranty claims. The cost of postage to receive the new item is paid by the customer. Defective products do not need to be returned to us. Instead, we encourage customers to fix, use, or recycle defective products.


Rice Giving

We hand-deliver 1 kilo of rice for every item we make. How does it work? Glad you asked! Here are the answers to our most common questions about our giving.

How large is the hunger problem?

India alone has a population of 1.5 billion people. Real numbers are hard to get, but it is estimated that about 240 million, or 16%, are below the world poverty line. This leads to poor health, disease, and needless death. We give in India because it has more poor than any country in the world, 1/3 of the world's total poor. You can help today by buying a bag, and feeding a family. Join the movement to change the world!

Do you only give 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of rice per family at a time?

No. Giving 1 kilo of rice at a time would have little impact. Instead, we give 25 kilos of rice at a time. For every 25 items we produce, we hand-deliver a 25 kilo bag of rice. For example, if each customer only purchased 1 item, it would take 25 customers to give 25 kilos of rice to one family. 25 items made = 25 kilos delivered. The majority of our giving is managed by our partner in India Phillip Pulla. 

How does giving impact a family?

Happy you asked! From a Western perspective, it can be very difficult to imagine just how important rice is to Asia and the Pacific Islands. Westerners can easily get by without eating rice. But, in Asia, this is not the case. In India, rice is eaten three times per day. For low income families, rice is the primary source of daily calories. These families are not bombarded by packaged foods and fast food, like in the developed world. In Asia, rice is life. The amount of rice we provide lifts a tremendous burden from families who are strained in many ways beyond financial. Most families dream of sending their children to private school in India, which is the beginning of the path out of poverty. Many families use the money they save to pay an admittance fee for one of their children to get into school, which provides hope for the future.

How does giving impact the local economy?

We don't buy rice in one country and send it to another, which would negatively impact the local economy. Instead, we buy rice locally from retail stores supporting the supply chain all of the way to the lowest levels. We buy from the places that the people would be buying from if we weren't there. The income that the family saves on rice can be used towards these necessities in their local village, therefore, stimulating the local economy.

How often do you give rice?

We don't wait until our bags sell, to give. Instead, we give while we make our bags. For example, if we make 100 bags, we deliver 100 kilos of rice by the time we ship the bags from India to our warehouse in the United States. By the time our bags are stocked at our warehouse, we have already completed the giving. In most cases, we have the recipients photo and story posted to our giving blog before you buy a bag so that it is ready to read as soon as you get your bag!

How much does it cost to give 1 kilo of rice?

The cost of giving 1 kilo of rice represents 20%-40% of the cost of each product. A lot more goes into giving than you might think, especially when you make the extra effort to make sure you are giving the right way. Here is what you are giving when you buy a Rice Love product: 

1. Rice purchased from local markets rather than wholesalers 

2. Higher quality rice than average

3. Jobs for our local employees. We don't rely on volunteers or foreigners. We have a paid local giving team that travels to villages, meets with village leaders, meets with families with true needs, buys the rice locally, takes photos, gather stories, creates blog posts. This is an intensive process. 


It's not cheap or easy, but we are proud that we can accomplish so much and share the journey with you.

Do you give through outside organizations?

Generally, no. In order to ensure we help as many people as possible, we manage all of the giving ourselves. Although if an organization or relief effort has a particular need for rice, we are happy to consider it.

Where do you give?

Currently we are mostly giving in India and sometimes also in the Dominican Republic.

With the help of you all we hope to some day soon be able to give in other countries as well!

Why don't you give in the USA? We also have poor people here!

We would love to. At the moment we want to concentrate our efforts where we see the most need and where we can have the biggest impact. And for now that is India.

How do you choose to whom to give?

We have partnered with a former farmer named Pulla, who travels to villages around India (currently near Hyderabad). Pulla meets with the village leader and explains what Rice Love is and how it works. He asks permission to help families in the village based on the leaders recommendation. The leaders identify families that are struggling due to job loss or illness. Pulla interviews each family one by one. With the permission of the family, Pulla's assistant writes down their story and takes their photo. If the need is sufficient, the family is given a token which can be redeemed the following week for a 25 kilo bag of high quality rice.

Do you only give to families?

No. We give to single mothers, older women, etc. However, we focus on giving to families. There are many organizations that help children, the old, and the disabled. We focus on the family because they are mostly overlooked. Millions of families in India struggle to get by financially. By supporting the family, we support the children, and the future. 

Is Rice Love a non-profit?

Rice Love is a social enterprise, not a non-profit. This means that rather than relying on donations, the products that we sell provide the funding for the jobs that we create and the giving that we do. 

Do you accept donations or grants?

Our giving is funded through product purchases. If you're not necessarily interested in our products, but want to help, take a look at our Recycled Zipper Pouches. These are small items that still allow you to help give and receive a small gift item in return! If you don't want those either, you can always purchase 10 meals for $10.

Is there evidence that you are actually giving 1 kilo for every item?

Glad you asked! This is our favorite part! If we are going to give on your behalf, you deserve to see the proof. Every item we produce comes with a hang tag with a unique number on it. You can use that number to look up the family you fed above! Every single item is accounted for. See the proof! Read the stories. We guarantee you will not regret it!


Do you have more questions that were not answered by our FAQs? Just contact us and ask!