We're so excited to announce the release of our Resort 2019 jewelry collection. This new collection is a reflection of our wanderlust dreams, transporting us to a vacation state of mind among palm trees and breezy dresses.
Ethical Fashion Blog
Summer is finally upon us! And lucky for us, there is no shortage of fun things to do in Chicago during these next few hot weather months. If you ever find yourself at a loss for what to do, check out one (or all) of the things below! And, of course, we’ve provided you with some cute styling suggestions. Whatever you decide to do this summer, do it in style.
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As we get ready to launch our Spring ’17 Collection (coming soon to stores and our website!), we’re excited to share a little sneak peek of the catalog photo shoot, which took place in September 2016. From the time we start designing a collection to when it hits stores takes more than a year, and the spring 2017 fashion shoot happens before the goods even go into production in India and Nepal!
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As a fair trade brand, Mata Traders is passionate about ethical fashion and using our power as consumers to bring about change in the industry. So, we were thrilled to engage with other like-minded individuals at our blogger event hosted by Life+Style+Justice writer Hannah Theisen! Hannah invited local fashion bloggers along with a few Chicago-based social enterprises to come together as a conscious-minded community here at Mata headquarters.
Retailers and Factories Fail to Live Up to Promises to Improve Worker Conditions
Three years after the infamous Rana Plaza factory collapse killed over 1,100 garment factory workers in Bangladesh, reports show there are many significant safety hazards that remain in the country’s garment factories, as demonstrated by the recent Bangladesh factory fire this past February.
Spring ’17 samples are here, which means we need your help! We have to whittle this collection down to a lean, mean, stylish, fair trade fashion machine, and your opinions matter!
![RED, WHITE, & BLUE GIVEAWAY 2016 [GIVEAWAY CLOSED]](http://matatraders.com/cdn/shop/articles/dress_lisbon_red_m.jpg?v=1509032140&width=1)
Update: Four winners have been chosen (@lindseyll2, @emmekamalei, Melissa S., and Lizzay Grrasherr) and notified!
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If you are in the Chicago area, join us for the biggest fair trade event in the USA! Chicago Fair Trade’s annual 2-day World Fair Trade festival and market will take place at Daley Plaza from 9am to 6pm on Wednesday, May 4, and Thursday, May 5. Come visit Mata at our booth, where we will be selling a large selection of clothing and jewelry, including sale items and one-of-a-kind samples!
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On April 24, 2013, 1,124 people were killed and over 2,500 injured when the Rana Plaza garment factory collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Fashion Revolution Day was started to honor the memory of the workers who lost their lives and to advocate for brands to ensure the safety of the people who make their clothes. At Mata Traders, we share the core belief central to Fashion Revolution: that fashion can and should be made in a safe, clean, and beautiful way, where the people who make our clothing are valued and paid a fair wage.
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After the turn out for our Autumn/Winter 2016 Focus Group in early January, two things are certain:
Fall ’16 samples are here, which can only mean one thing – we need your help! We have to whittle this collection down to a lean, mean, stylish fair trade machine, and your opinions matter!
What are you planning to wear this holiday season? A few of our employees have already picked a theme for this month: Dresses! Why? Because we’re participating in the annual Dressember event, hosted by the Dressember Foundation, to bring an end to modern day slavery and human trafficking. By committing to wear a dress everyday in December, and encouraging friends and family to donate, our employees will help raise money to assist victims of slavery, sexual exploitation, and violence. In 2014, Dressember raised over $465,000, and we’re excited to see how much is raised this year!
From our coverage of the Earthquake in Nepal in April, you know that members of our partner cooperative in Kathmandu were safe, although many suffered family losses and damage to their homes. Now relief efforts are underway and are slowly providing assistance in rebuilding communities. Life goes on, and despite the setbacks that the earthquake caused, we are happy to report that our Nepali cooperative has had many successful accomplishments this year.
If you read our blog regularly, you know that one of the perks of being a member of a fair trade cooperative is the opportunity to take classes and attend workshops. One of our artisan cooperatives recently updated us on what they’ve been doing– they’ve been celebrating and learning quite a bit!A
If you’ve ever read up on how Mata Traders was started, you know we have a giant soft spot for travel. Giant.