Tag Archives: ethical fashion

The Power of FIVE

We are proud to announce our new partnership with Smateria and Five Accessories: a social enterprise connecting people with a passion to help change their world through products that truly make a difference! You’ll find two new products from Smateria in our fair trade handbag line, the Eco-Friendly 3-Way Bag and the Oversized Flower Shoulder Bag.

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Eco-Friendly 3-Way Bag – available in blue, silver, black, and copper

Oversized Flower Shoulder Bag

Oversized Flower Shoulder Bag – available in plum, silver, and black (not shown)

Each bag is handmade from recycled netting originally used in the fishing and construction industries. Our partnership provides fair wages and safe labor conditions to over 150 employees in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The majority of the staff, mostly young mothers, are encouraged to bring their children to work, as the company provides free daycare and education for our artisans’ children.

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With every handbag purchase from our new fair trade partners, you’ll help to provide an average of five meals to children in Cambodia.

Help us to spread the word about these new fair trade products and the good work Smateria is doing in Cambodia by sharing this story on your Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.

xoxo, Ashleigh

How Fashionable it is to be Ethical!

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Fashion! I just love it.  For a brief time in my early 20s I lived in New York City, the Bronx specifically.  The year following my college graduation I volunteered as a 6th, 7th and 8th grade teacher.  Let’s just say that teaching was a remarkably difficult (did I also mention that I moved there in late August of 2001) and a remarkably profound year, but that’s a different story for for a different day.

One of my most favorite things to do while I lived in New York was to check out what the women were wearing.  I grew up not caring much about fashion or how I dressed, in large part because I wore a school uniform until I was 18.  But living in NYC changed all that.  The clothing ranged from way laid back to way high fashion and I loved every bit of it and learned a lot too. On one very long train ride from lower Manhattan to the Bronx I ended up on the train with a woman wearing the coolest laid back outfit (a colorful Mexican inspired skirt with a zipped up sweatshirt…I thought ‘how cool is that’?). I promptly tracked down a similar outfit that weekend!

Now I’m head over heels in love with fashion, though my outfits don’t always show it, and I love putting outfits together in my head.  Today, I wanted to bring you a fair trade outfit idea that comes from the jewelry of Seven Hopes United and the clothes of the UK’s People Tree.

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I like to wear black a lot, it’s flattering and elegant and always chic.  This outfit would be great for work and you could wear a colorful little cami underneath, I would wear pink, or forgo it too, the blaze doesn’t seem to be too low-cut.  The earrings are simple but lovely and the bracelet adds just enough pop of color to brighten things up.

Sterling Silver Heart Earrings

31 Bits Penelope Bracelet

Black Stripe Hannah Blazer

Brooke Ruched Pencil Skirt

Happy Tuesday & I hope you enjoy! – Dawn