While studying marketing and communications in London with an interest in fashion, he did an internship during the summer at Wildlife Works in Kenya, a wildlife conservation business that uses market based solutions to support its conservation work that protects highly threatened elephants and more than 300 species of other wildlife. They developed an eco-factory as one of the community income generation activities and he was given the opportunity to work in the factory and then see firsthand how this enterprise made an important difference to the local community.
I was inspired by what Wildlife Works was doing and in planning out my future career I thought that a social enterprise would be a rewarding path to pursue. So after graduation, I returned to Kenya several times and while in Nairobi became aware of Kibera, Africa’s largest slum. I visited Kibera and was stunned by the sadly dreadful conditions that people are living in. People there are stuck and with little to no opportunity to change their status.
For the few Kibera residents who can find a job they have to travel outside of Kibera need to take Matatu (local public shared taxi) that costs them money and go to a job site where they typically earn extremely low wages $1.00- $3.00 per day.
He saw the opportunity to establish a production facility right next to Kibera so that our staff would not have to incur an expense to go to and from work and they could conveniently walk to the factory and earn fare wages in order to have a chance for a better future for themselves and their families.
The fabrics “MOT” utilizes are cruelty free (no animal products), and or 100% Certified Organic and Fair Trade cotton. The cotton for example is sourced from Rajlakshmi Mills in Kolkata India that buys its cotton from the Chetna Organic Farmers Association a collective of more than 6,000 organic cotton farmers. The farmers growing the cotton are paid a fair price for their crop, are not exposed to harmful pesticides, and the organic farming methods do not contaminate the earth.
Responsible commerce is our way of doing business. Our products are produced with respect for the earth and humankind. We closely examine the supply chain at each step of production and amp up the goodness associated with the raw materials that go into our products and for the people who make them. Therefore, social and environmental activism is woven into the fabric of our products.
