Ethical Fashion Blog

There are two very cool events coming up this weekend in Chicago.

The first is STOP TRAFFICK’s annual fundraiser on Saturday evening at the beautiful Intuit Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, at 756 N. Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago.

The other awesome event is Old St. Pat’s Solidarity Market, happening Sunday from 9am – 1pm at 700 West Adams Street in Chicago.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT THE CO-OP?

Mata Traders’ fair trade clothing is made in India and Nepal by women’s cooperatives. Last summer I got the chance to visit three of them. I had a great time meeting all the women and getting to know their stories. I even interviewed several women on video with the translation help of social worker, Sampada, who took me on a tour of her co-op.

VISITING THE BLOCKPRINTERS

Maureen and Kristin are in India at the moment working with the co-ops on next Spring’s collection and even getting started on Fall 2012. This past weekend they visited one of the block printers where we source our fabric. Maureen said they got a lot of great photos and video, and it motivated me to finally get these pictures up from last summer when Michelle and I visited another block printer we use.

PETITION FOR JUSTICE

If you’re a fan of Mata Traders, you probably care about how your clothes were made. It’s true that all over the world, people are being exploited – or worse – making the clothing that we wear everyday.

INDIAN TIME

In the past month, I have had a palm reader tell me that I was fit, and a yoga instructor tell me I would NEVER get fat. The palm reader worked inside the 16th century Jodhpur fort and with bifocals hanging on to the end of his nose resembled a university professor. Using more gracious phrasing, he called me a cheap indecisive double-checker who had the most “fit” health he’d read in years. The robust young yoga instructor suffered from attention deficit disorder and assured me that w/ my long and lean body type I could eat as I pleased. Good news from strangers, when every face is unfamiliar, is so believable.

FAIR TRADE FOR TEENS!

Grab yourself a copy of the back-to-school edition of Justine Magazine on newsstands now. Justine is a national magazine filled with fun, positive, and empowering content for teenage girls. This month the mag features fair trade clothing from our Fall 2011 line, out this September.

IT’S AUGUST ALREADY?

This summer has been scorching. Also, this summer has been the busiest. Lots of exciting projects! I’ve pretty much resorted to wearing dresses only. This slightly cuts my prep time in the morning – dresses are no-brainers because it’s like an instant outfit.

MATA MEETS INSPIRATION

Here’s a pic of me and my friend Rian out to lunch at the new Inspiration Kitchens that opened up 2 months ago in Garfield Park. The restaurant is the newest social enterprise of Inspiration Corporation, a non-profit homeless service organization. The delicious “contemporary American cuisine” is prepared and served by students and graduates of their food service training program. Of course, there is an obvious connection between Inspiration Kitchens and Mata Traders as organizations with a double bottom line: a sustainable, self-generating income and a social mission of being a vehicle providing people a way out of poverty.

FAIR TRADE PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS ANNOUNCED

And Mata Traders wins!! …along with 11 other amazing photographs that will be featured in the 2012 Fair Trade Calendar. Of the 3 producer photos we submitted, our image of the rural woman hand block printing was chosen by voters. Thank you to everyone who voted for us!

FAIR TRADE PHOTO CONTEST

We have to admit, the competition is stiff. The photographs in this year’s Fair Trade Photo Contest are amazing and inspiring. Will our entries be amongst the top 12 that make it into the 2012 Fair Trade Calendar? With your help, we hope so!!!

AMERICA!

The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. Three day weekends, fireworks, bar-b-ques, freedom. Mata’s Prairie Top was the perfect top to show my patriotism. It is such a good summer top – practically all of Mata’s pieces are 100% cotton. I also wore this earlier in the day. I get so many compliments on that dress, and I love the chambray.

FAIR TRADE FEDERATION CONFERENCE

Michelle and I drove up to the very cool city of Milwaukee in May to attend the Fair Trade Federation’s annual conference. Michelle is an old hat with FTF conferences, but it was my first. I really enjoyed meeting other folks involved in the fair trade movement, people who dedicate everyday of their lives to providing a way out of poverty to hundreds of farmers, artisans, and skilled workers all over the world.

In the Garden

Hello, everyone! Here I am guest blogging for Mata! I have always been a fan of this brand, and have a sizable Mata collection in my closet. I am such a blog junkie, so it’s neat to be writing instead of reading.

Lakshmi Bathing Suit Makes a Splash in India

Back in May, label Lisa Blue sent a line of swimsuits down the runway at Australian Fashion Week. One particular suit in the collection had an image of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi on the front and across the rear end. This caused outrage among some devout Hindus in India, who took to the streets to protest. They ripped up photocopies of the Lakshmi suit and burned the Australian flag.

Fair Trade Lingerie is Not Easy to Find

Michelle got married on Saturday! It turned out to be a fabulous event and all of us bridesmaids were looking great in our fair trade bridesmaids dresses. We’ll be sure to post lots of pics as soon as we get them from the photographer.

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