Ethical Fashion Blog

SPRING 2014 TRENDS

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:

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DERAIL THE TPP OFF THE FAST TRACK
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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Spring ’14 Sneak Peek

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m already over the cold! Ever since our Spring 2014 catalog shoot back in October I couldn’t wait to show you a little sneak peek of the collection.  I’m already daydreaming of warmer weather.

 

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SPOT-A-MATA: STONE’S THROW NECKLACE ON TV!
One of the best parts of being the company we are is that our customers are the bomb. Dot com. Sometimes it feels like we have a team of people scavenging the world, reporting back when they see our products anywhere (like on ABC’s The Middle, for example), and today we had a lovely lady point out that she’d spotted our yellow Stone’s Throw necklace in a TV commercial for Web.com!
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BEHIND THE DESIGN: TOOLS OF THE TRADE
I have really enjoyed telling the stories and processes behind some of the prints in the Mata Traders Fall ’13 collection and decided I should go back and do the same for prints created for Spring ’13. The great part is that these next couple prints I will write about are now on sale, and let’s be honest, who doesn’t love a good sale?
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HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE MATA TEAM!

We may not have posted a holiday picture on our blog since 2010, but those of you who have been getting our emails will notice that we’re growing! There are two new faces in the bunch. AJ and I both started earlier this year and are thrilled to be valuable members of the Mata crew.

 

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EYE CLINIC DAY AT THE CO-OP
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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YOU CAN LEAVE YOUR HAT ON!

You know that old saying that we lose most of our body heat through our heads?  Well, it’s just. not. true.  The head loses as much heat as any other part of the body when left exposed in cold weather.  “If you don’t have a hat on, you lose heat through your head, just as you would lose heat through your legs if you were wearing shorts,”  says Richard Ingebretsen, MD, PhD, an adjunct instructor in the department of internal medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine.

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KATIE’S WISH LIST

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.

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