The term “eco-fashion” might seem a little oxymoronic if one thinks about the more wasteful aspects of this high-turnover industry. However, we at Mayu and the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) know that this does not have to be true. Whether it involves hand-knitting Peruvian alpaca garments, producing vegan leather purses, or repurposing vintage clothing, several measures can be taken to contradict the excesses of “Fast Fashion.”
Read about the new exhibit at the FIT…
This week marks the second United States Social Forum, a gathering of activists, organizers, working people, poor people, and indigenous people from across the country. The aim of the Social Forum is to provide community leaders with the tools and knowledge to affect change in their cities, states, and countries. Known as the “Unconference,” the forum features a series of workshops, plenaries, work projects and arts & culture events. The workshops will discuss issues as diverse as race, social justice, sustainability, international relations, history, worker’s rights, and Fair Trade.
This year’s Social Forum will be held June 22-26 in Detroit, Michigan. Mayu will be attending the event, with a special focus on the events related to Fair Trade and the idea of a “solidarity economy”, of which Fair Trade practices form a part. Mayu is very excited to be a part of the Social Forum, for us it forms an important precursor to the landmark Fair Trade Futures Conference in September. For a follow-up on the U.S. Social Forum, stay tuned to Mayu’s blog, Twitter, and Facebook for more on human rights, fair trade, and development news!
Are you stumped for something to give to your father this coming Sunday? For those of you who’ve forgotten, Sunday June 20th is “‘Preciate Your Papa Day,” otherwise known as “Father’s Day“! Mayu has the perfect suggestion! Our Alpaca Throw Blanket is a wonderful addition to your dad’s lap while he watches the World Cup in his favorite Lazyboy! Measuring at 83 x 45 inches, this gift is certainly one-of-a-kind, and will last your family for many a year. To the right you can see Mari, one of our artisans, enjoying the alpaca throw with her two sons and husband. For cool summer nights, and for cold-blooded people (not to mention fall & winter), our throw is the way to go! And for a limited time, Mayu is offering FREE SHIPPING!
More On the War Against the Snuggies…
As members of Chicago Fair Trade, Mayu would like to wish Happy Birthday to this wonderful organization that is doing so much to promote Fair Trade in the Midwest. Their birthday celebration will feature talks from their members, stories of hope from their producers, and of course, Fair Trade beverages and treats! If you are a local Chicagoan, you are welcome to attend this event. If not, you can participate in other ways! Read more about donating to Chicago Fair Trade…
If you are a Chicagoan, we’ve got the perfect activity for you this weekend. The Green Festival! There will be tons of local and national Fair Trade (and eco-friendly too) companies and goodies to browse and you will have an excellent opportunity to expand your knowledge of Fair Trade in a domestic and international context. Chicago Fair Trade will be present as well as various industry experts! It is a really fun event so take a few hours this weekend, bike down to Navy Pier and check it out.
Visit the Fair Trade Pavilion at Green Fest
Do you wonder how fair trade fits into the green movement? Find out about fair trade’s commitment to the environment at this year’s Green Fest on May 22 and 23 at Navy Pier. Download free tickets on our website and view a schedule of workshops at the Fair Trade Pavilion on our website. And our own Fair Trade Ambassador, Carol Moseley Braun will be featured on the main stage. Once you’ve gotten your fair trade fix, wander around the rest of the event to see over 150 guest speakers or enjoy how-to workshops, an organic food and gardening pavilion, a green careers and community action pavilion, lots of great food and wine, among of the many other exciting and informative activities.
Green Fest
Navy Pier
May 22 10AM- 7PM
May 23, 11AM – 6PM
For more exciting news and community events related to Fair Trade, Sustainability, Alpaca, Peru and much more, subscribe to our blog via RSS feed, see us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!
Mayu is back with another story for our Guest Blogger series! As a refresher for our new readers (thanks for adding us to your RSS/Feed Burner!), each week, through the month of April, we are profiling women artisans abroad. We have reached out to some incredible friends and asked them to share their experiences working with women artisans and producers. The stories that came back are amazing and we hope you find them just as heartwarming and inspiring.
Our next Guest Blogger is Megy Karydes. Megy is the founder of World Shoppe , a fair trade jewelry and women’s accessories importing business that works with artisans in South Africa. World Shoppe is a proud and active member of the Fair Trade Federation and Megy was also a founding board member of Chicago Fair Trade, working to promote fair trade in her hometown.
After being invited to visit South Africa by the South African Consulate, I knew my life would change. After working to support fair trade as an e-boutique for the past 6 years, this was my opportunity to work directly with artisans which was the initial goal when I launched World Shoppe (www.World-Shoppe.com) six years ago.
I was among 19 international delegates who were invited to visit the country in the hopes that we would meet artisans and form a working relationship by importing their handmade items to our respective countries. Only 5 were from the United States and each of us came to the trip with different backgrounds, experience and interests.
I’ve been involved in the fair trade movement for over a decade. I began volunteering at a fair trade shop near my home when I first learned what fair trade was all about and how it allowed women to have a voice and contribute to their family and communities. Since then, I launched by e-boutique to offer fashionable and affordable fair trade jewelry, gifts and home accessories to socially-conscious consumers. But one of my earliest goals was to work directly with artisans to make the most impact and that was one of the reasons the trip to South Africa was so important to me.
It was during this trip that I met Carol, an amazingly talented artist who employs 18 artisans in the Western Cape province. The group produces copper and brass jewelry featuring semi-precious gemstones such as hematite, onyx, jade, carnelian and tiger’s eye. As soon as I saw the pieces, I knew we would be working together. The pieces were nothing like I had seen in the United States. They were bold, high-quality and resembled jewelry I have seen in artsy galleries, shops I frequent when looking for unique gifts. And, more importantly, they were produced using fair trade principles.
Within a week of returning to the United States, I had already photographed the samples I had purchased and sent them to some retailer friends for their opinion. All of them loved the pieces. I quickly put together an order and became a wholesaler. I booked my first trade show, put together a wholesale price list and began sharing the news with retailers.
Retailers across the country are quickly responding to consumers seeking out more fair trade items by stocking more fair trade in their shops. It’s been particularly exciting and rewarding to me because I share my successes with my artisans. When we’re featured in a national magazine article, I send them a copy of the article. When I get a new retailer customer, I email them to let them know. When a customer shares a picture of her wearing one of their designs, I share it with them, too. It’s important to me that we remember the reason we support fair trade – it’s because of the people. Yes, we need to have a profitable and sustainable business in order to succeed and employ more artisans, but the fact of the matter is that what gets me up in the morning is knowing that what I’m doing every day is making a difference.
According to the World Bank, an estimated 2.7 billion people in the world exist on less than $2 a day. That’s unnecessary. It is my hope that one day we can all live with dignity and respect for one another. I feel honored and privileged to be working with my artisan partners and am looking forward to working with more women in the coming months. I hope you’ll join me for the journey!
Sincerely,
Megy Karydes, Founder
World Shoppe www.World-Shoppe.com
www.Facebook.com/worldshoppe
www.twitter.com/worldshoppe
For more information on World Shoppe, head over to their site. They have beautiful products that help out wonderful global causes. Keep checking back for more updates on artisans, sustainability and fair-trade.
Follow us via Twitter@shopmayu, our blog or Facebook!
♥Mayu♥
The winner is – Melanie B of Ramblings of a Wannabe Writer!
Melanie, send us an email (info@shopmayu.com) with your mailing address and we will make sure your chocolate brown ruffle scarf gets to you as soon as possible!
Thank you everyone for participating! Check back right here on Monday; we have another great promotion in the works. We’ll give you a hint…starting thinking about Earth Day and what you can do to help our earth and all our global friends. 
Have a great weekend,
Your friends at Mayu
Follow us via Twitter@shopmayu, our blog or Facebook!
Mayu is back with another story for our Guest Blogger series! As a refresher for our new readers (thanks for adding us to your RSS/Feed Burner!), each week, through the month of April, we are profiling women artisans abroad. We have reached out to some incredible friends and asked them to share their experiences working with women artisans and producers. The stories that came back are amazing and we hope you find them just as heartwarming and inspiring.
Our next Guest Blogger is Naomi from MayaWorks. MayaWorks markets the work of Maya artisans who otherwise have no outlet for their handiwork. As a proud member of the Fair Trade Federation, MayaWorks pays artisans at prices they set, provides technical assistance and educational opportunities and meets other Fair Trade criteria. We hope you enjoy Naomi and Vincenta’s story as much as we do!
The Power of Fair Trade: MayaWorks Helps indigenous Artisans Help Themselves
Vicenta is a MayaWorks artisan from the small mountain village of Xetonox (pronounced She-toe-nosh), in Técpan Guatemala. She is a 57 years old and has endured a very difficult life. Her parents were poor indigenous Maya farmers who could not send her to school past the third grade where she learned to read and write. Like many women in Guatemala, Vicenta is caring for a large family: 8 children, 3 of which are boys and 5 who are girls.
Vicenta has been working for MayaWorks for 12 years. A fiercely adventurous woman, Vicenta created the Xetonox group with her daughter Marcela and has been able to secure an income largely supported by the sale of her handicrafts. She is very happy to have the opportunity to work from home and care for her children instead of spending long days in the field harvesting crops. The elaboration of her products has been her main source of revenue, since it has allowed her to support her children to continue studying and to cover their primary necessities.
Vicenta has received capacity building trainings from MayaWorks so that she has learned to weave 36” width fabric, and creates a number of products including wine bags, kitchen towels and aprons, and fabric by the yard. With the trainings that she has received, she has been able to contribute to her family and to her community. The technical trainings have helped her improve her work and the quality of her products.
In addition to the work provided by sales of handicrafts, she also receive small microcredit loans from MayaWorks. With her husband, Vicenta cultivates potatoes that she sells locally. The sales from these crops provided income to purchase a used car to transport supplies and tools to the field and to transport her crop to the market.
Vicenta is proud of what she has been able to achieve, especially in a country like Guatemala where being and indigenous woman can have its challenges. Vicenta has greatly benefited from the work that MayaWorks has provided her. It has provided economic development that has benefited not only her family but also her weaving group and her community.
For more information on MayWorks head over to their site. They have beautiful products that help out wonderful global causes. Check back next week for another World’s Working Women posting and don’t forget to sign up for our Ruffle Scarf Giveaway! Keep checking back for more updates on artisans, sustainability and fair-trade.
Follow us via Twitter@shopmayu, our blog or Facebook!
Happy Monday; we hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. It finally feels like Spring is here to stay!
Mayu is kicking off this week with a Guest Blogger series we are really excited about. Each week, through the month of April, we are profiling women artisans abroad. We have reached out to some incredible friends and asked them to share their experiences working with women artisans and producers. The stories that came back are amazing and we hope you find them just as heartwarming and inspiring.
Our first Guest Blogger is Holly from Fair Earth. Fair Earth is a socially conscious and earth-friendly company that produces and markets high quality fair trade merchandise from East Africa. Fair Earth features beautiful products, from baskets to stationary, so please be sure to check out their site and support the artisans. We hope you enjoy Holly and Joyce’s story as much as we do!
One of my favorite parts of the time I spend in Uganda working on product development is visiting the homes of our artisans.
Each time I visit I am flooded with a wealth of love, generosity, SPIRIT, and ALIVENESS that makes my heart glow.
A few days ago I visited Joyce and her three sons – Paul, Mark, and Solomon. Joyce is one of Fair Earth’s paper beaders. Incidentally, we are neighbors in Uganda, as their home is just a short walk from where I stay in Luzira.
I was greeted warmly and served a delicious lunch of matoke, pumpkin, rice, and soup upon arriving. I immediately noticed the incredibly creative Christmas decorations in their home – Paul, Joyce’s eldest son, had cut his old school papers into triangular shapes and strung them along the ceiling to create a festive holiday atmosphere. The breeze coming through the door made the papers flutter and cast sparkling shadows throughout the room – it was absolutely delightful.
We spent the afternoon looking through photos, exchanging stories, and then working on new products.
“My mom is a good mom,” Paul told me proudly as we looked through their family photo album. “She takes very good care of us.”
All three boys adore their mom. I gave Joyce some glass beads for her to use in supplementing her paper bead designs, and immediately the boys were looking for colors that would compliment their mother’s dress.
As the stories kept coming, I learned more about their love and respect for her—it is based upon a very real knowledge of how hard their mom works to put them through school. Joyce did not get an education, which means her opportunities for employment are limited. Yet she has worked tirelessly so that her children will have more opportunities than she does.
Her pathway to her current work – making beads from recycled newspapers and magazines – has not been easy. She worked for a year and a half with NO PAY for the current mayor of Uganda cleaning up the streets of developing neighborhoods. I was heart-broken by the story. With no money for transport, she would leave home before the sun rose to walk hours to their work destination, pushing forward upon the promise of pending money, which never came. After becoming weak and sickly from long days of work with no food, Joyce’s mom told her she would die if she continued and taught her how to make paper beads as an alternative. That was eight years ago. I asked her if she took any action to try to get the money she was promised, and she replied, “there is nothing we can do. We are poor and uneducated. We have no power over the government. We would maybe have a voice if we had a lawyer, but we have no money for lawyers. So we just move on.”
These stories of injustice fill me with frustration and ANGER. However, I am also inspired and hopeful to be a part of a fair trade movement which puts people FIRST – a movement where respect, fairness, and integrity take precedence, and where success NEVER comes at the expense of another’s exploitation.
I am also happy to be working with Joyce, and delighted to see the joy and hope not only in her face, but also in the faces of her children!
Thanks for your support,
Sincerely,
Holly Elzinga
Don’t forget to sign up for our Ruffle Scarf Giveaway! Keep checking back for more updates on artisans, sustainability and fair-trade.
Follow us via Twitter@shopmayu, our blog or Facebook!
Spread the word! Tomorrow (3/27) is the day when millions of people will come together to call for action on global climate change by turning off their lights for one hour. It is so easy to participate: flip off your lights for one hour at 8:30PM, local time. Even the Las Vegas strip is going dark for an hour!
Why not make a night of Earth Hour? Host your friends for a dinner party, or make an excuse to have a romantic candlelit dinner! Or find out if local businesses and restaurants are hosting a special event. For those of you in Chicago, head to Osteria via Stato, National 27 or the Four Seasons for dining in the dark. Friends outside of Chicago should check out local newspapers or calendars for Earth Hour events.
Have a great weekend!
Follow us via Twitter@shopmayu, our blog or Facebook!Ea
