Ethical Fashion Blog

The next generation of fashionistas walked the runway last week at Northside College Prep High School in Chicago.  They rocked the looks, but the coolest thing about these budding style-ophiles is that they are also the next generation of social justice advocates.  The students used their passion for fashion to teach their peers and community about fair trade and the way our purchases have an impact on global poverty.

Our delightful intern, Michelle, brings you some delights:

Do you love warm, gooey, and decadent chocolate brownies?  I do!  But sometimes all that sugary goodness can make you feel pretty bad about your life choices.  Why not decrease some of that guilt by choosing fair trade and organic ingredients!  Buying fair trade food items is surprisingly simple.  Many common baking ingredients like sugar, chocolate, and coffee are available fair trade from stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.  Just look for the fair trade seal, and you know you’ll be good to go!

My name is Ashley and I am a journalist at Columbia College Chicago.  I am currently writing a story on fair trade accessories and I was looking for some comments to add to the story.  I was wondering if you could tell me why you think fair trade is so important.  Any information you have will help.  Thank you for your time and I hope to hear from you.

Mata Traders is a fair trade fashion company, and we take both parts of that description very seriously.  Our clothes and jewelry are manufactured by women’s cooperatives and artisan groups in developing countries that pay fair wages and provide safe working conditions.  Our designs mix old-fashioned processes–such as hand loom weaving and hand block printing–with fashion-forward silhouettes and contemporary color palettes. Mata’s mission is to bring fair trade clothing to the forefront of the fashion industry–and to bring fashion to fair trade.

Our Charity of the Month for December is RefugeeOne, an organization that creates opportunities for refugees fleeing war, terror, and persecution to build new lives of safety, dignity and self-reliance.  We found out about their important work through one of our important customers (they’re all important!!).  Sarah Holtschlag works at RefugeeOne and came by our office/warehouse one day where she delighted us with stories of Mata connections.  We’ll let her retell them in her own words.

You might have noticed (here and here) that we have a thing for Project Runway.  The truth is that we have a thing for reality TV in general (Survivor, Amazing Race, Design Star, and yes, even the Bachelor/ette), but we really, really love Project Runway.

Small Business Saturday is an alternative to Black Friday when Americans are encouraged to patronize small businesses rather than big box stores.  Last year, to promote Small Business Saturday, American Express had a video competition for small businesses.  I forget what the prize was exactly, but it was good and we wanted to win it.  So we wrote up a script and practiced a bunch.  The best video camera we had was on Taylor’s iPhone, so we shot it on that.  Most of the other videos submitted only had the owner talking about the business, so we thought we stood out by including the whole staff.  To our chagrin, we didn’t get selected.

In September, Kristin and I visited the women’s cooperative in Nepal that makes many of our dresses, tops, and pants.  It was so amazing to get to know the women and see the whole process.  I hope these photos and video clips convey that.

New York Fashion Week has ended and the international shows have begun. It is just getting cold enough to get out our fall boots and sweaters, but we have already started thinking about the spring/summer favorites from the shows!

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.