Fair Sustainable Fashion Empowering Women Through Wellness
World Fair Trade Day is celebrated every May around the world. It's a day to honor the fair trade and social enterprises which help elevate communities and impact livelihoods, many of whom are women and artisans.
Every year at this time I reflect on my 'Why?' I started Mala and Mantra seven years ago. I always go back in time to when I was around 10 years old and realized how fortunate I was to be born in the US to parents who immigrated from the Philippines for higher education in pursuit of the American dream.
I knew I was blessed and fortunate to have parents who studied and worked hard to become medical professionals and start their family in the US. Being born a first generation Filipino American provided me with a unique perspective of my heritage, one of gratitude and curiosity.
My parents provided me and my siblings with the invaluable gift of higher education since I was in kindergarten. My father proclaimed the two legacies he would leave his children would be higher education and faith. I attended private catholic schools from grade school until college and respected my parents journey to prepare their children for life. I also knew from a young age I was privileged and that some of my relatives back in the Philippines did not have the same privileges and opportunities as I was given. This was the spark which ignited the flame inside of me to find a way some day to give back to my Filipino heritage, honoring and elevating the culture.
So this year I asked myself a bigger broader question, "What is the why behind my why I started Mala and Mantra?"
- To create meaningful products to help women artisans around the world by providing them with sustainable income, a safe working environment, and opportunity for growth and education
- To give back to humanity through consciously creating fair sustainable fashion
- To spread the messages behind mala beads of mindfulness and wellness to help achieve personal enlightenment
- To promote the practice of mindfulness
- To use my gifts to inspire, motivate, elevate, and empower others to live their truth
- To provide tools to help individuals achieve mental well-being
It is my hope and dream to be able to continue pursuing my 'why' and along the way continue to promote fair trade and help #buildbackfairer
Join Mala and Mantra in celebrating World Fair Trade Day with this year's #BuildBackFairer theme.
For more information about World Fair Trade Day please visit the World Fair Trade Organization website:
https://wfto.com/fairtradeday2021/
Wishing wellness,
JPC
