Posts Tagged ‘Alpaca Clothing’

« Older Entries

FAIR TRADE MOVEMENT GROWS

Monday, March 21st, 2011

2010, despite a slow recovery from global economic crisis, was very successful for the Fair Trade industry. Fair Trade USA found Fair Trade product sales growing fast in mainstream supermarkets, not just at specialty and natural grocery stores. Sales of Fair Trade Certified products like Mayu’s hand-knit alpaca hats, alpaca throws and alpaca scarves grew 24% overall during 2010, breaking down as 26% growth in mainstream channels, 22% at specialty grocers and 16% at natural grocers.

Some of the biggest growth was in coffee, which grew 33%. Ready-to-drink tea and coffee was up 39%, which is a result of a new commitment from tea producers. Wouldn’t you like to drink some Fair Trade tea under your Fair Trade alpaca throw? I do it all the time!

More than 700 companies now offer Fair Trade certified products. We are big Fair Trade fans here at Mayu. Visit our online boutique for high-quality, one-of-a-kind, hand-knit alpaca accessories, made from a eco-friendly alpaca fiber. We provide work to women in rural Peru who can practically knit with their eyes closed!

For more on Mayu, find us on Twitter, and Facebook, and hear more stories from the field on our Blog!

Share

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Fair Trade | No Comments »

ALPACA YARN & ALPACA WOOL — SOUTH AMERICA’S FINEST!

Sunday, March 13th, 2011

My parents are in Ecuador! My dad recently sent me this picture that he had taken at a high-end artisan shop in Quito. Check out the Alpaca, straight from the source — the Andes Mountains. Note the high price of this eco-friendly, uber warm, super soft alpaca yarn.  This is what we use in all of Mayu’s alpaca accessories. Along with Peru, Ecuador is one of the main alpaca yarn producers in the world. Fair Trade work is also taking place in Ecuador to provide work for talented artisans.

In the case for Mayu, our Alpaca yarn then travels a very long way until it reaches our customers in the form of  hats, scarves, shawls, wraps and throws. Learn more also about Mayu’s work in Peru, by meeting our knitters and discovering our stories from the Mayu blog.

For more on Mayu, find us on Twitter, and Facebook, and hear more stories from the field on our Blog!

Share

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Stuff Mayu Loves | No Comments »

CELEBRATIONS IN PERU! LOTS OF KNITTING TO BE DONE.

Monday, November 22nd, 2010

Wow, it is very busy at Mayu! Holidays are just around the corner and our knitters (read more about them here) are working away in the Peruvian Andes. Unfortunately, the rainy season is approaching so no more afternoon knitting on the corner. The party has to move inside.

I recently got wind of these photos from the last celebration I had with the artisans, who are dancing away to Huayno music (I know, I know, I love Huayno — browse our blog for more Huayno entries) and knitting along. As soon as Christmas passes, they will surely be dancing again to celebrate the hard-work and money made knitting our beautiful alpaca hats, scarves, shawls, wraps, hoodies and throws! Thank you to our lovely customers.

For more on Mayu, find us on Twitter, see us on Facebook and to hear more stories from the field, subscribe to our e-news and follow our Blog!

Share

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Mayu News!, Peru | No Comments »

ONE WEEK UNTIL “SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY” — SHOP LOCAL ALPACA CLOTHING FROM MAYU

Saturday, November 20th, 2010


Mayu recently learned about the first annual “Small Business Saturday” which was created to bring awareness to our country’s small businesses and local entrepreneurs. We LOVE this idea since we are indeed one of the small guys. Instead of the infamous black Friday, think about Small Business Saturday and start your holiday shopping right (and, don’t forget about Mayu’s hand-knit alpaca accessories). One-of-a-kind gifts from local small businesses are so much more meaningful than those from the mass-produced, big box retailers! Try it out this year & guaranteed you will be the best gift-giver in town. Buying for yourself is OK too. Everyone needs a couple of new winter fashion accessories. Hint, hint… hand-knit, one-of-a-kind, eco-friendly, fair trade alpaca hoodies, alpaca hats, alpaca scarves.

For more on Mayu, find us on Twitter, see us on Facebook and to hear more stories from the field, subscribe to our e-news and follow our Blog!

Share

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Community Events, Stuff Mayu Loves, Sustainability News | No Comments »

THE MAYU TEAM SHOWING OUR ALPACA ACCESSORIES

Friday, November 12th, 2010

We’ve been swamped since our Daily Candy Deals mention on Tuesday and we couldn’t be happier. I wanted to post this picture of the Mayu team. Although not everyone is in the shot, I wanted to share this and remind our customers that we wouldn’t be selling and buying our beautiful alpaca accessories without these skilled, hard-working Peruvian mothers. Yes, that is me, the tall “gringa” modeling my charocal flap hat with beige trim (which, we can’t keep in stock). Learn more about our artisans here.

As we speak, the artisans are busy, busy, busy knitting in Peru, thanks to Mayu’s loyal customers!

For more on Mayu, find us on Twitter, see us on Facebook and to hear more stories from the field, subscribe to our e-news and follow our Blog!

Share

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Mayu News! | No Comments »

MAYU LOVES “THE STORY OF STUFF”

Thursday, October 28th, 2010

Mayu has another video recommendation! No, this one is not Peruvian. It doesn’t deal with alpaca clothes or the Incas or Fair Trade like some of our past recommendations. But, it is a great short film entitled “The Story of Stuff”. If you haven’t watched this film about consumerism and the impact of society’s shopping habits, you are in for a treat and a big shocker.

Click HERE to watch the video and if you are feeling cold, wrap up in an ethically sourced, fairly traded, luxurious alpaca blanket from Mayu!

Mayu is a big movie fan! We also recommend Peruvian films, “Soy Andina“, “La Teta Asustada” and “The Gardner’s Dog”. Do you have movie recommendations for us? If so, do pass them along and we will check them out. Email us at info@shopmayu.com. We enjoy documentaries about sustainability, Peru, Fair Trade, labor practices and much more…

For more on Mayu, find us on Twitter, see us on Facebook and to hear more stories from the field, subscribe to our e-news and follow our Blog!

Share

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Stuff Mayu Loves, Sustainability News | No Comments »

ENTREPRENEURSHIP, MBA’S AND ONLINE MARKETING AT MAYU

Sunday, October 24th, 2010

Mayu was recently discussed in this article by Jeff Walters of Strategy Outfitters in Phoenix, Arizona! Listen to what he has to say about working with a small social enterprise such as Mayu.

New Gig — Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Thunderbird School of Global Management

In my first few weeks as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona, I’ve presented to four classes of graduate students and met with a handful of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs-in-the-making. It’s been rewarding to share insights with the students and I’m learning exciting things about our future entrepreneurs’ forays into international business.

Among the students I’ve met is the founder of Mayu, the online commerce business of Kate Robertson. Mayu sells 100% Alpaca wool clothing accessories, hand knitted by a few women in a tiny village in Peru’s Andes mountains. It is a small business, inspired by Kate’s Peace Corp experience in Peru and her work in the village where these knitters produce fine alpaca products sold through Mayu’s online store. (more…)

Share

Tags: , ,
Posted in Mayu News! | No Comments »

KATE’S JOURNEY TO PERU! FUN (AND TOUGH) TIMES…

Friday, September 24th, 2010

Check out Kate below! Watch her “self-taped” video during her trip to Peru in August, earlier this year.  She has just arrived to her old stopping grounds in Chiquian, Peru and looks like she is freezing! Too bad she didn’t have the Melange Scarf Hoodie. This Mayu accessory would have staved off the cold. She is a trooper!

YouTube Preview Image

For more on Mayu, find us on Twitter, see us on Facebook and to hear more stories from the field, subscribe to our Blog!

Share

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Fair Trade, Mayu News!, Peru | No Comments »

MAYU ATTENDS FAIR TRADE FUTURES CONFERENCE!

Friday, September 3rd, 2010

As some of you may know, the Fair Trade Futures Conference is being held in Boston, MA next week! This dynamic and exciting event only happens once every 5 years, and Mayu is super stoked to be in attendance this year! The conference will feature panels from producers, business owners and consumers, all to discuss and raise awareness about the Fair Trade movement. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the conference preparation:

We will be posting updates on the Fair Trade Futures Conference in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned to Mayu’s blog, Twitter, and Facebook for more!

Share

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Community Events, Fair Trade | No Comments »

DRYING OUR KNIT ALPACA CLOTHING

Sunday, August 22nd, 2010

This chapter in our Artisan Series allows you to see the drying process that all of Mayu‘s hand-knit alpaca accessories go through. Each Mayu accessory undergoes a set of preparations before it is delivered to your doorstep. This is only one of them! You were recently able to see Elvira knitting our Unisex Scarf like a fiend, and now you will see Maria precisely prepping a garment that will soon become one of our Ruffle Scarves. Enjoy!

YouTube Preview Image

For more on our artisans, keep up with our blog via RSS, Twitter and Facebook! We hope by now you’ve entered our Giveaway Contest!

Share

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Mayu News!, Peru | No Comments »

« Older Entries