TOMS Launches Bag Collection!

- Posted by to Fair Trade News Fashion General

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Happy Monday!

I’ve always been a big fan of TOMS shoes, as I’m sure many of you are. That’s why I was so excited when I heard they just launched a brand-new bag collection! From bright purses to striped travel bags to free-spirited backpacks, there’s something for everyone in the bunch.

The travel bug always hits me hard in the Spring, so it’s not easy to resist shopping online for new fun ways to cart my stuff around airports (and hopefully on to sandy beaches!)

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The best part about the collection is, of course, the lives it changes. This is why I love TOMS and it’s great to see them getting even more creative with their giving! When you purchase a bag from the new collection, you’re helping to support a safe birth and delivery for mothers and babies across the world. From the TOMS Website:

Safe Births

Infection is a leading cause of death for mothers and newborns worldwide. By providing clean birth conditions and skilled attendants, nearly half a million of lives can be saved. TOMS Bags purchases support our Giving Partners in delivering the vital materials and training needed to help provide a safer birth, regardless of the facility.

(Source: UNFPA & Every Newborn Action Plan, 2014)

What your purchase supports:

  1. Delivery of safe birth kits
  2. Training for skilled birth attendants
  3. Healthy delivery for new born baby and mom

With the training and proper materials to provide a safe delivery, mothers are up to 80% less likely to develop an infection and almost half of newborn deaths can be prevented. (Source: UNFPA, 2015)

It’s wonderful to see a huge company like TOMS highlighting the simple fixes that can be made to make birthing conditions safer around the world. So often, I know I personally take healthcare for granted and wish everyone could say the same.

Let’s get a glimpse of the gorgeous designs!

TOMS3Saffron Ikat Travel Duffel

TOMS4Chili Chevron Canvas Reef Drawstring

TOMS5Natural Chevron Straw Islander Tote

Are you excited about the new TOMS collection? You can check out the rest of the bags here!

XO,

Casey

Batik Boutique {Product Spotlight}

- Posted by to General Product Spotlight

Searching for some fresh new Spring products to brighten up your closet? Look no further than our new Batik Boutique!

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This gorgeous new line is hand crafted in Malaysia and features items ranging from passport holders to nursing covers to diaper bags! The vibrant prints and bold colors make each item perfect for sunny days ahead.

Here’s a little bit about our Malaysian partners:

About the Project:

This social enterprise empowers women and impacts the community through hand-dyed textiles. In addition to providing training and fair wages for women, an additional 20% of the profits from these goods go to charities in Malaysia. With your support, we have helped facilitate a financial literacy program in the government-subsidized housing, have provided healthcare for refugees, and supported an English learning center. Now, we are opening a sewing center to teach new women sewing and business skills.

Check out some of my faves from the line below:

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1. Batik Nursing Covers
2. Batik Diaper Bag
3. Batik Passport Holders
4. Batik iPhone 5 Cases
5. Batik By the Sea Infinity Scarf

Check out the whole line here.

And don’t forget! Our Pin It to Win It contest is still going on, featuring a way to win a clothing item of your choice from our new line of Passion Lilie tops, scarves, and bottoms! Check out the details here. You can enter through the end of February, which is approaching quickly!  (We’re ready for you, Spring!)

XO!

Casey

 

Passion Lilie Collaboration {Fair Trade Clothing!}

- Posted by to Fair Trade News Fashion General Product Spotlight

I have some really exciting news to share with you today!

Even though the fair trade movement has gained so much steam over the past few years, it’s still been a little difficult to find fun, fashionable fair trade clothing items. They haven’t seemed to be as plentiful as fair trade jewelry and accessories. But happily, that is no longer the case—introducing our brand new collaboration with ethical clothing company Passion Lilie!

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We will begin carrying items from this fair trade, high-quality clothing line this month. From the ladies at Passion Lilie themselves:

Passion Lilie began with a desire to change the fashion industry, so that ethical fashion is affordable and accessible for everyone. We are a New Orleans based women’s fair trade clothing line that gives individuals, mainly women, in remote villages a unique opportunity to live a dignified life.

Mission: 

Our mission is to empower artisans across the world by creating dignified employment opportunities that give fair wages and safe and healthy working conditions. We believe that these positive job opportunities lead to sustainable societies and a better world. 

By purchasing fair trade garments, you are helping to reverse the cycle of poverty and to improve the world you live in. And the best part is that neither Passion Lilie nor our artisans are asking for a penny of your charity. We just want you to make a conscious purchase when you go to buy your next outfit.

Our product is for those who want to make a global impact while looking fashionable!

We are committed to:

  • Supporting fair wages, and safe and healthy working condition
  • Preserving the environment through the use of natural dyes and energy and water reduction in the production process
  • Creating stylish and affordable women’s clothing
  • Revitalizing ancient artisanal dyeing techniques
  • Providing new opportunities for community development

Not only does the company have a wonderful mission and focus, but the designs and patterns of their items are whimsical and beautiful. Check out a few of my favorite pieces below:

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That’s the Bahia Dress, Fleur de Lis Scarf in White, and Breton Shirt in Blue. Aren’t they perfect for Spring?

You can purchase the full line of products from our Website here, but before you go on a buying spree, why not try to win your fave item? Over the course of this month, Seven Hopes is doing a Pin It to Win It contest with our Passion Lilie products, and you’re invited!

PassionLilie1During the entire month of February, pin on Pinterest as many Passion Lilie products from 7 Hopes as you would like with the hashtags #7hopesunited, #pinittowinit, and #ethicalfashion. We will choose one winner on March 1st, 2015, to receive the Passion Lilie product of their choice!

Are you excited about our new collaboration? Good luck pinning! :)

XO,

Casey

Buy a Lady a Drink Campaign

- Posted by to General

If your work week has been as chilly as mine (thinking of all of you stuck inside during the blizzard!), chances are you’ve checked out some of the pics from the Sundance Film Festival that’s going on in Utah. If it’s going to be snowy, might as well embrace the view, right? Along with scrolling through the gorgeous landscape pics and the fun outfits (always a good lunch-break activity), have you read about how Water.org launched the Buy a Lady a Drink campaign this year during the festival?

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This campaign is super inspiring! From the Buy a Lady a Drink Website:

“Today, 750 million people around the world live without access to clean water. This crisis disproportionately affects women, who walk a combined 200 million hours a day to collect clean water for their families. Stella Artois has partnered with Water.org and donated $1.2 million USD to help stop these journeys, so women can start new ones of their own. Show your support with these specially designed chalices inspired by the cultural heritage of India, Ethiopia, and Honduras. Every chalice purchased will provide 5 years of clean water for one person in the developing world.”

Think about that for a minute—purchasing one fun beer mug to add to your collection provides FIVE YEARS of clean drinking water for a person who walks miles each day currently just to collect the same water that flows freely from our faucets! You might be thinking, “I bet this chalice is like $100, which is pretty steep for a mug.” (The thought entered my mind.) But nope—it’s only $12! And they are lovely:

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I know that I, for one, take clean water for granted every single day, multiple times a day. As I’m brushing my teeth, flushing the toilet, heating up water for my coffee, filling my ice cube trays … the list goes on. Anything I can do to help other women have this easy access to clean water so they can spend more time with their families and developing their careers, I’m all for it!

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Have you heard about this campaign yet? Way to go, Water.org and Stella Artois!

XO,
Casey

 

 

Coffee Date

- Posted by to coffee date General

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Hello and Happy weekend! How about a little catch-up session “coffee date” today? (Decaf for me and my 8 months pregnant belly!)

Isn’t that a beautiful quote above? I’ve heard it before, but something about it struck me in a new way recently. As many of us are struggling through a long, cold Winter, just waiting for Spring, I try to remind myself that seasons don’t have to be looked on as something to endure. Seasons—in weather or in life—-are inevitable, and resenting the inevitable is as pointless and frustrating as tapping on a brick wall and expecting it to give way. Maybe the way to view seasons is that they hold a treasure of their own, lessons to be learned, if we’re just willing to be students for a little while.

I’ve been (semi!) patiently waiting for my little girl to arrive in March, and already I find myself worrying about how fast she’ll grow, how her birth will be, how our family will cope with a brand new little person in our world. But every time I allow myself to dwell on these thoughts, I know I’m missing out on the excitement of rubbing my belly here and now, and appreciating who she already is right at this moment. I don’t want to miss the fun of reading stories to her as she’s snug in my belly while I’m busy worrying about how safe she’ll be in her crib later.

I often find myself getting restless to move to a bigger house—new baby! We need more room!, to a different city—surely somewhere Winter doesn’t exist!, to somehow vaguely try to control all of my surroundings and circumstances so they will match my version of what the American Dream should look like. But then I remember that every moment we’re given is a gift, and none of us are “owed” anything—especially not the perfect house, the perfect city, or the perfect possessions. And that “perfect” is a man-made concept that doesn’t exist.

When I find myself in these type of “wanting” moods, the best way I know how to fix it is to remind myself of how blessed I really am, then go out and bless someone else! Just picking out a gift to brighten a friend’s home instead of my own just feels right sometimes.

What about you? Are you going through a “season” of your own and just waiting for Spring? The good thing is, even though it’s often not as soon as we’d like, it always comes!

XO,

Casey