Kantala launches crowdfunding campaign

The Business With its mission to be global fashion house known for ethics and artisan fashion accessories, Kantala targets the fashionably conscious and responsible consumers who not only value ethical and sustainable business processes but also appreciate colourful and functional designs and high quality finishing. Having conducted extensive market research on the overall fashion industry […]

Artesan Profile: Amano Artisans, Colombia

  A conversation with founder Carolina L. Pastrana. Background I started Amano Artisans 6 years ago. “Amano” means hand-made in Spanish and so I chose a name that would represent the artisans with whom we work: hand-made by artisans. The company was born out of a pure love for jewelry and accessories, I would go […]

Wishwas: providing opportunities for low-income immigrant women in NYC

A conversation with founder Nivedita Chandrappa Wishwas came to existence in 2011 while trying to find cultural solutions to victims of domestic violence within South Asian communities. Many come from conservative families that don’t believe in educating women as result of which, many are married at young age with little formal education or skills training. […]

Shopping with purpose in a shoppers paradise – Singapore

We were curious about the market for handmade and fair trade products in what is known as the “shoppers paradise” – Singapore. Is there an appetite for ‘purchasing with a purpose’ in a city state that relies heavily on imported products? Blogger Agy at Green Issues by Agy provides us with some great insights here.   […]

Artesan Profile: Juta Shoes

Juta Shoes is a community development enterprise born out of St. Hilda’s East Community Center (St. Hilda’s) in East London. The handmade espadrilles are made by women who are socially isolated and face several barriers to work. We were intrigued to learn more about this enterprising grassroots community organization in the heart of London and […]

Friends of Basha – Supporting the women behind Basha Enterprises.

Social businesses that work within the artisan sector, often establish a separate nonprofit to support the socio-economic needs of the producers whom they employ. We recently caught up with founder, Robin Seyfert to learn more about Friends of Basha, and how it supports many of the women who work at Basha Enterprises. Basha Enterprises is […]

Understanding the Conscious Consumer

In an effort to better understand the conscious consumers and what drives their purchases, we conducted a small survey this summer, with the assistance of some of our friends and their loyal consumers in the sector. We hope that the responses below help inform you as a brand, in not only developing your marketing and […]

Artesan profile: Nokshi Crafts

We are thrilled to share a recent conversation with founder of Nokshi Crafts, Maisha Samiha, about vision for the organization and the sector. 
Background – how it all began The Rana Plaza incident was a horrible tragedy that really put into context the complexities of fast fashion and social responsibility, and personally, it motivated me to find […]

Songa Designs launches new Bohemian Handbag line!

We are excited to share the new Bohemian Handbag collection recently unveiled by our friends at Songa Designs. Offering ‘socially conscious handbags’ for their consumers, the handbags are created using the traditional Rwandan weaving techniques we’ve come to admire from Songa’s accessories and baskets. The current collection includes the Zuri Handbag (meaning “beautiful” in Swahili), […]