Ethical Fashion Blog

Have you ever tried wearing a sari? It’s a little more elaborate than a typical American outfit (shirt and jeans or a simple dress, for example). First, the blouse is worn (blouses vary in styles and embellishments). Then a floor-length petticoat is tied at the waist, while the upper part of the sari is tucked into the petticoat and wrapped around the body. The rest is draped over the left shoulder, often fastened with a safety pin to prevent it from falling off. While a bit challenging for beginners to learn, mastering the process of dressing in a sari brings a lot of elegance and pride to the women that wear them.

Hi Guys! I’m Hyunmin, a Mata Traders intern from Korea, and I’m back on the blog to celebrate World Fair Trade Day. Yay!

Give a gift that gives back. This year we asked our very own employees to make a holiday gift list filled with gifts from companies with heart.

Give a gift that gives back. This year we asked our very own employees to make a Christmas list filled with gifts from companies with heart.

Give a gift that gives back. This year we asked our very own employees to make a Christmas list filled with gifts from companies with heart.

At one point or another we have all asked or been asked the question, “Who do you want to be when you grow up?” Typically this question directed towards a toddler or young child. The toddler’s response of “an astronaut” or “a movie star” is always seemingly outlandish to us wise adults. But maybe these kids are smarter than we think. Maybe they have the right idea about dreaming big and shooting for the stars. Jim Collins, a successful businessman and renowned author, teaches about the power of setting Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs). He says, the way you know whether or not you are truly setting BHAGs in your life is if you’re achieving only 50% of those goals. If you are achieving more than that, well then you are not dreaming big enough. If you shoot for the moon, even if you miss you will land among the stars.

It was a year ago yesterday that my grandma, Harriet, passed away at age 98. The last 3 years of her life I was lucky enough to spend a great deal of time with her in my hometown of San Diego. At that time my family realized that she was unable to live on her own anymore, but instead of moving her into an assisted living facility, we decided it would be best if we took turns living with her in her own apartment. Thank goodness Mata Traders offered me the flexibility of working from home (my grandma’s home).

Simply put, grandmas are the best.

What do Mata Traders and West Elm have in common? Our good friend and fair trade advocate Jenny Gootman! We met Jenny through her previous position as the Executive Director for Global Goods Partners; she has been a part of the fair trade community for quite a while now. Nowadays, Jenny works as the Director of Social Consciousness and Innovation at West Elm. We think she’s a rockstar, so we interviewed her about her current position and her thoughts on fair trade.

When planning our nuptials, we knew we wanted something small and personal. And since we decided to have the wedding at my in-laws’ Montana home, the small part was taken care of – the guest list could only get to 60 in order for everyone to fit on the patio and eat dinner (that’s 30 a piece for each of our families – yikes!). I also wanted to incorporate as many fair trade elements as I could, starting with the dress.

I’ve been counting down the days of winter and now that the snow has cleared (in most places, sorry Chicago), I’m ready for spring fashion! Here are some of the top trends for spring that I’ll be incorporating into my looks:

Yesterday Forbes posted an article on the importance of women in the future of ethical fashion. The author writes about women as power players in the effort to make the garment industry more transparent, suggesting that an increase of female leaders would directly impact this goal.