I founded Cebra ethical chic 4 years ago as a purely internet based business. At the time I read up and did a lot of
The new Fetch Tote
research about consumer habits and spending but I was also trying to find out whether people were ready for sustainable accessories. In my opinion they were, so the next step was finding great quality accessories such as handbags and jewellery that were made with sustainable materials but most importantly without the use of child labour and they had to fall in line with my fair trade philosophy.
It wasn’t easy to be honest. I had high standards and I didn’t want to compromise. Many long nights were spent talking to people from the other side of the world, asking relatives living in Africa for advice, browsing on the internet, getting in touch with organisations and charities and visiting a few place myself to get an impression of what was available and what I could do to support not only the cause but also people living in desperate poverty from which there seemed no escape.
Madagascan artisans creating raffia handbags
Today I am proud to say that I have built up a great network of artisans and suppliers and that the little I can do makes a big difference to these peoples’ lives. People such as this artisan group in Madagascar that makes all our raffia handbags – by hand, with sustainable materials (raffia) and using eco friendly techniques (vegetable dyes).
