Ethical Fashion Blog

If you are in the Chicago area, head over to Daley Plaza on Friday, May 6th to celebrate World Fair Trade Day!

Yesterday was Michelle’s wedding shower, and as you can see, Mata Traders was very well represented! Here we are all decked out in our Mata fashions. One of the co-ops we work with is making the bridesmaids’ dresses, which will be a similar design to the Gold Coast dress – seen below on Michelle and Andrea (Michelle’s sister and maid of honor).

Spot a Mata (Online Edition)

San Francisco fashion blogger Modelina Michelle found us in local boutique Marmalade, and if you’re in the Bay area, you can, too! Entitled “Sweet Bohemia,” Michelle’s post features the Edgewater dress, Lakeshore dress, Skylark skirt, and Symphony skirt from our new Spring line. She notes Mata’s bright colors, bold patterns, and laid back bohemian vibe, but she’s just as impressed with the line’s social impact – empowering Indian women. She asks, “How often can you buy a dress for yourself and help empower other women at the same time?” Thanks for the shout out, Michelle!

Our Skirt is Famous!

Well, maybe not THAT famous, but we are so proud of our little Arbor skirt for making it on a TV show! She was just a little fair trade skirt, and now she’s hit the big time. It was only by chance that we found out our skirt is a star. Our designer Kristin spotted it when she just happened to be watching her guilty pleasure, the show Pretty Little Liars. She was amazed to discover that our Arbor skirt from Winter 2010 is featured on one of the actresses!

Social Purpose is the New Black

The global marketing firm Edelman conducted their 4th annual good purpose study to explore consumer attitudes around social purpose and their social expectations of companies. The study surveyed more than 7,000 adults in 13 countries (1,000 in the U.S.) and some noteworthy data has emerged.

Happy Holidays from the Mata Team

9 Ways to Transform our Communities and our World

9. Sign up for newsletters from organizations in the Fair Trade movement – You can get regular updates from the Fair Trade Federation and the Fair Trade Resource Network.

Frohliche Weinachten

Selecting Chennai – India’s fourth-ish largest city – as our port of entry into India is comparable to the average European deciding to launch their American tour from Detroit. It is a city one would normally not visit unless, well, unless you had to… We’ve crossed the peninsula from east to west via the Cardamom Hills in the Western Ghats, and our arrival in Kochi, Kerala was much anticipated. Kochi is a seaside town full of travelers (imagine even the western men wearing colorful head scarves to hide the dirty hair days) w/ a Jewish quarter, two churches, and a semi-posh coffee shop to hideout in.

Focus Group Fun

It’s early November… time to place orders with our producer groups for Spring/Summer 2011. To help us determine what to order, we hosted a focus group on Friday, November 5th at our office/warehouse space. The samples we worked on in India this summer were on display, and our focus group participants completed surveys rating each item’s style and color variations.

106-year-old new voter

Wednesday I witnessed 106-year-old Ignacia Garibay de Moya request an absentee ballot to vote for the first time in this election. She became a citizen just months ago on July 19th, 2010. When asked why she wanted to vote, she said, “I’m a citizen now. My children are all citizens. That’s what citizens do.”

In India There Is No Place To Buy Toilet Paper

Most Indian women decorate their face, be it w/ yellow facial dye or a multitude of multi-colored dots. We’ve visited enough temples to recognize that the process of getting dotted is much like taking communion in the Methodist church, where everyone is invited. A shirtless Brahmin w/ exposed chest hair and three wide white lines painted on his forehead holds a tray supporting a flaming oil lamp of sorts. The Hindus stand in line, and when it is their turn run their hands lightly through the flame, take a bit of colored dust (rice powder) from the Brahmin’s hand into their own and place a mark on the middle of their forehead, on the bridge of their nose, and also on their neck/throat.