Sunita was an artisan, making jewelry by hand, with a horrible boss who would often pay her less than what she was owed or would delay payment or wouldn’t pay her at all. If she tried to contest, he would shoot her down with his “abusive manner of talking,” as she puts it. She dealt with it for a long time because she was poor and needed the money. She had no education and didn’t think she had any other options. Then, six years ago, she found out about our jewelry partner, a 40-year-old advocacy organization supporting artisans in their efforts to secure labor rights through fair trade.
Ethical Fashion Blog
The first half of our Fall collection has arrived, which includes the full and flouncyApplique Plume skirt. It’s a great skirt for a girl on the go; pair it with a bright blouse as you dash out the door.
Today is World Day Against Child Labor. India has more child laborers than any other country in the world (somewhere between 12 to 45 million between the ages of 5 and 14), and trafficking or kidnapping is often part of the equation (32,000 children were reported missing in 2011).
Although their characteristics vary between geographic regions, slums are usually areas of cities inhabited by the very poor or socially disadvantaged. Slum buildings vary from simple shacks to permanent and well-maintained structures. Most slums lack clean water, electricity, sanitation and other basic services. (Source)
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Hettal married Suraj in the traditional manner of an Indian bride – bedazzled in an embroidered pink wedding sari, forearm to fingertip decorated with intricate henna designs. But their love story is anything but traditional. In a society where arranged marriage is the norm, Hettal and Suraj chose each other. And, like the plot of a Bollywood movie, Hettal’s parents didn’t approve. You see, Hettal is Hindu and Suraj is Buddhist.
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About a month ago I had the pleasure of posing for Mata’s Spring/Summer 2012 catalog shoot. It was on location in New Buffalo, MI which I had never visited before, and it was absolutely perfect. The sun shining, the sand between my toes, and the clothes…the clothes! Mata is showing bright colors for the spring and summer, and it makes me happy.
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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.
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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.
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Mata means mother in Hindi, and we are always inspired by the strength and dedication of the mothers we meet in India.
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Everywhere we went, we noticed women wearing colorful, embroidered outfits that had a long skirt and a hooded waist-length cape. Rather than a fashion craze, it was clear these outfits were designed to function as a modest cover-up worn in public. Who were these ladies? We asked a few times, only to be given the wrong information: they were Jain, they were Parsi. When we arrived at our new co-op in Maheshwar we were pleased to meet some of these ladies in person and find out their real identities. They are Dawoodi Bohra women, a community that is a subsect of Islam.
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We want to thank Hannah Warren, founder and Executive Director of Jhoole, for being such a fabulous host! We spent two lovely days designing in the peaceful town of Maheshwar – best known for the talent of its handloom weavers – in Madhya Pradesh (central India) where Jhoole is located. It was a true relief to escape the chaos of big-city India for a moment; Maheshwar, with a population of just over 20,000, actually feels chill, like a village! We ate home cooked meals and got to know the townspeople a bit.
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For me – up at 7 AM to watch the sun rise like a ball of fury over the lake. For the first time in years the lakes are full here — rain, rain and more rain has turned this town lush with beautiful shades of green. Breakfast while e-mailing (yes, our dear, dear guest house owner installed wifi for which I am ever so thankful) consists of “egg cheese toast” and a Starbucks coffee travel packet necessary to wake me up. Off to the co-op by 9 AM, running various errands along the way.
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I arrived on Wednesday morning at our co-op in Rajasthan to find our Spring 2011 collection well on its way toward completion, since Maureen was here two weeks prior and did a spectacular job getting things started!
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My second day here at the cooperative in Mumbai were were eating lunch with some of the ladies and the topic of shorts came up. You see, shorts are the new hot fashion item here. All the ladies had a pair. But India is quite a modest country, and showing too much skin is taboo. Shorts are too revealing to wear in public, except in the upscale districts of Mumbai where the rich and famous reside. So while all the ladies had a new pair of shorts, they all admitted to only wearing them in their own homes. They never actually wear them out of the house.
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