We’ve all seen the new-age tie dye that’s been hitting our clothes, throw pillows, and Instagram feeds lately. This just in: It’s called Shibori and it’s a super beautiful Japanese dyeing technique.

The retro-twisted technique is created by folding, twisting or bunching cloth, binding it, and dyeing it in indigo. Known as a manual resist dyeing technique, whatever is used to bind the fabric - whether it’s rubber bands, wood blocks, or thread - will resist the dye. This results in a blue and white pattern depending on where the resistance lays.

Often done on natural fabrics such as silk, hemp or cotton, every Shibori technique is different depending on the method and fabric. There are many methods involved in Shibori, and every pattern can be slightly different. A pattern can change drastically due to even the difference in size of the thread used.

Our latest Shibori Tie Dye Scarves and Diamond Dip-Dye Scarf from the Artisans Association of Cambodia are chic indigo prints perfect for layering in transitional weather. The blues and purples will make any outfit pop, but best of all, your fair trade purchase will go towards helping disadvantaged and disabled women in Cambodia maintain independence through employment. There's no better time to get on board this Shibori trend!

Image credits: Design*Sponge, Handimania

Friends Handicrafts

As well as celebrating Fair Trade Month this October, we’re also welcoming fall in all its earthy-toned glory. If you haven’t doted over our felt flowers before, let this be your opportunity. Don’t forget to thank our artisan partner Friends Handicrafts while you’re at it!

Friends Handicrafts provides employment for women in Nepal and sustains the ancient technique of felting. They use this method to create unique and vibrantly colored animal bags, holiday ornaments, puppets and mobiles. Based in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friends Handicrafts’ mission is to combat urban poverty.

While vastly rich in culture, Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world, with 25.2% of its 27.47 million people living below the poverty line, placing it 157th out of 187 countries listed in the Human Development Report released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). While urbanization filters out local employment opportunities, Friends Handicrafts is committed to supporting skills-training and income-generation programs for 80 female heads-of-households living in and around the capital. By doing this, they provide local employment opportunities as well as access to education for their children, fostering a sense of independence in an otherwise marginalized population.

In Nepal, it is far more difficult for women to gain access to health care, nutrition, education and participation, than it is for men. Most of these women come from a background of low income, abuse, discrimination, family problems, and illiteracy. Through Friends Handicrafts, they’re given skills, independence, and a new lease on life.

Friends Handicrafts employee, Savitri Kardel, says it best: “I believe women and girls should be given the opportunity to do something – to better themselves. Before, men were more independent and girls were bound to the rules of their family. Now, women are able to make their families understand that they can do the same work as men.”

International Day of Peace

Peace is the freedom from disturbance; it’s the refuge of quiet and tranquility. The act of peace comes with the freedom from violence, the lack of conflict, both in spirit and action.

The International Day of Peace falls on Wednesday, September 21st, in the middle of Peace Week, and provides an opportunity for all humanity to come together, to forward the ideals of, and conditions for, peace. The Day’s theme for 2016 is “The Sustainable Development Goals: Building Blocks for Peace.”

Celebrate!

Don't let Peace Day pass you by, there's plenty of ways to join the cause and make an impact today and this week.

Minute of Silence

Started in 1984, this moment of peace was designed to take place at noon in each time zone, resulting in a “Peace Wave” around the world.

Wear a Peacemaker Bracelet

Our artisan partners, Kiej de los Bosques, handcraft these Peacemaker Bracelets to gain a path out of poverty for themselves and their communities. Make your impact, support peacemaking and spread love as you purchase bracelets for freedom. They're perfect as a gift, too!

Lunch or Dinner Party

Join your colleagues or classmates for a lunch of peace, sharing international dishes that broaden horizons and bridge gaps with diversity. Likewise, a dinner party with family and friends acts as a quazi-Thanksgiving, sharing life over a peace-filled meal.

BeThePeace

The one hour virtual BeThePeace event is a global broadcast aimed at uplifting consciousness and uniting humanity. The broadcast will take place this Saturday September 24th. Register here to be involved! 

The Great Silence

Be part of the largest social consciousness experiment in history, with the synchronized meditation of The Great Silence. Sign up for this Saturday September 24th and check locations here. 

Share This Post

Tweet, post, email, fist bump, telepathy, carrier pigeon - whatever you need to get the message across. All we are saying is give peace a chance!

Global Goods Partners has the privilege of partnering with some of the most talented and inspirational women in the world, and now we have some extra exciting news: We have recently joined forces with the crowdfunding experts at GlobalGiving to work on a special project with our artisan partner, Kandahar Treasure.

Our aim is to empower these Afghan widow artisans associated with our partner group in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Our goal is to aim $20,000 and continue a long-term impact providing material and operational support to 400 women artisans in the group. We aim to develop Kandahar Treasures’ in-house capacity to design collections of products for the international marketplace.

This project will strengthen Kandahar Treasure’s internal capacity and ensure fair living wages for women artisans for years to come. Together, we can make an impact by empowering the one issue, the one group, and the one woman. We look to Zia Jaan, one of the artisan women associated with Kandahar Treasure.

Zia Jaan is a mother of three and is known in the Kandahar Treasure family as the “gold-teeth tailor.” She’s always smiling and has the ability to cheer the women around her even when they’re sad. She is a hard worker and regrets not being educated. She wishes she had daughters so that she could give them the opportunity to study. She says that she wants to work now so that her sons can be educated, and she wants to save enough money so that when she gets old she will not have to depend on them financially! Zia Jaan often jokes with the other women in the program at Kandahar Treasure that they should all save up and open a senior citizen home, so they’ll have somewhere to go when they’re too old to work.

Giving Options

$15 Provides 1 month of mid-day meals (6 days/week) for a Kandahar Treasure staff person

$35 Provides 1 support staff salary for 1 week (and in turn supports 9 family members)

$65 Provides transportation to and from work for 5 female staff/month (saving them from physical and verbal harassment on the streets)

$150 Funds the purchase of textiles, thread and related embroidery supplies for 40 of artisans/month

$300 Funds the purchase of gas for office generator/month

$350 Will fund the purchase of an overlock sewing machine

Now, you can be involved in this amazing project, too! Head over to our GlobalGiving page to read more and change lives!

It’s time to admit the awful truth that summer’s gone. It’s sailing away and we’re left at the dock, waving it goodbye until next year. It takes some time, but now we can sigh a collective sigh and make way for a very welcomed fall. Don’t just leave it to pumpkin spice lattes to make your autumn complete, we’ve made it easy for you to bring your neutral palette home and make your fall a little more fair trade.

Add a Sparkle

Cream and brown hues are perfect for this season, and jewelry and accessories are the ideal way to glam up any earthy combo. Pair one of our fair trade wrap bracelets with a chunky sweater and printed purse. Our Ikat Wallet has been spun, dyed and woven by Mayan women in Guatemala, using locally sourced cotton, while our bracelets are made from Czech glass beads, leather and brass, supporting and empowering deaf artisans in Kenya.

Wrap It Round

Stock up on the perfect transitional piece with our lightweight silk and cotton scarves. It’s easy to amp up the neutral tones of your outfit with warm burgundy, and muted colors in a range of styles. Cambodian and Guatemalan artisans have crafted these shawls, and they make a sweet gift for a special friend or relative, or feel free to treat yourself.

Little Luxuries

Speaking of treating yourself, sometimes a small gift from you to you is all that’s needed for a quick pick-me-up. Indulge in any number of our dyed cotton journals, hammered tin candles, or beautiful market totes. Grab one for a friend while you’re at it.

Bring It Home

Now that the long, beachy days of summer are a distant memory, you can curl up and start to enjoy being indoors again. Make your home your oasis with little luxuries. Our collections of homewares include our patterned pillows, handwoven baskets and gorgeous felt flowers.