“Have you ever put something on and felt it was made just for you?” asks fair trade fashionista Shannon, ’cause that’s how she felt in our Rain or Shine dress!
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Ethical Fashion Blog
You may have noticed from the (ware)housewarming party invites that we recently moved into a new space! It’s more than double the size of our old office/warehouse so we’ve been itching to fill it with people and celebrate!
Did you know we’re on Instagram? Stay up to date and get behind the scenes by following us there!
Travel expert Kendra Thornton has a challenge a lot of us can relate to; day-to-day a busy lady and mom of three, she needs the perfect outfit for a night of fun on a trip to New York City! We put together two style boards that would work perfectly for a night out with her friends. Most importantly, both outfits are from fair trade, ethical, and eco-friendly brands. Conscious spending is the best spending!
As most of you already know, our garments are all individually stitched in small workshops, with one seamstress creating an entire garment rather than repeating the same small action over and over again like in a factory production line. Many styles are then carefully finished with hand embroidery in the women’s own homes. They put a lot of time and care into the pieces they make.
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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:
Here at Mata we are firm believers in fair trade and advocates of human rights, which is why we wanted to spend a little time talking about one of the most important issues of 2014, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The TPP is an international trade agreement in negotiations between the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim countries. It is known as “NAFTA on steroids,” and if it passes the TPP will be the biggest trade agreement ever.
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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.
The Moonrise dress must be a blogger fave because Hannah from Lifestyle Justice is styling it, too. She has been a long-time Mata fan and promotes lots of fair trade on her blog – everything from food to her wedding (where her bridesmaids wore our Colaba bracelet and Palaise earrings).
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Hello again!
Today’s blogger style post is brought to you by Marisa from Shades of Monet, who decided to take our Sailor Moon dress through sun, leaves, snow and blooms. With some simple but edgy styling, she jazzed it up with serious pops of color and seasonal accessories.
So how many of you out there have shown up at work one day to find a mobile eye clinic has been set up in the accounting office and they’re ready to check your vision? Well, that’s the kind of thing that happens when you work at a fair trade cooperative. Fair trade groups exist not just to make a profit (although maintaining a stable income for its members is a clear goal), but also to ensure the health, safety, and empowerment of its members. Eye testing falls into the latter category.
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Yup, time for me. I originally hadn’t planned on doing a wish list, but after sorting through everyone else’s I realized there are things! And I should point them out on the off-chance you, dear reader, knows someone who might also like these things.
We know, we know. Lotttts of October Rebel this season. But we can’t get enough of her, can you? Today she incorporates elements of nature and some holiday cheer while styling the Meet Me in the Meadow dress.
To be honest, it’s been quite fun seeing what everyone here wants for Christmas. And yeah, time’s ticking, but we’re going to keep posting our wish lists anyway. Because we haven’t had our Secret Santa yet. And someone has Alex, though I don’t know who. The smiley face of the office has a pretty great ethically-minded wish list. Straight from Alex herself, take a look:
October Rebel is back, working her magic on the Sylvia blouse from our fall collection. To her the blouse says, “I’m little fairy tale, I’m a touch Little House on the Prairie, but I also fit perfectly in a modern wardrobe,” so she showcased the floral print by pairing it with several solid basics, playing off the romance of the tiny floral print and voluminous sleeves.