Interviews
Eco-friendly clothing Co crusades to create worker-cooperatives
20 Dec '08
3 min read
Bena (rhymes with Rene ) Burda, the founder of Maggie's Organics - the leader in manufacturing Fair Trade clothing and accessories made with Certified Organic Fibers is championing a crusade to create worker-owned cooperatives to energize local economies and empower workers.
Having already revolutionized the organic clothing industry, Bena and the team at Maggie's Organics is once again setting a new bar by working exclusively with business partners who guarantee livable working conditions and independence for their workers.
Maggie's is one of the few businesses that supports and creates worker-owned cooperatives, including starting a NEW 100% worker-owned cooperative located in North Carolina. This cooperative is responsible for creating Maggie's new line of adorable, eco-friendly Sock Monkey toy animals made with extra Maggie's crew socks and recycled polyester mill scraps.
"Working with the cooperative has created US jobs in an economic sector that has been losing jobs for decades. This has been very powerful to the consumers who purchase Maggie's Sock Monkeys," Bena says. "When consumers make simple day-to-day choices that center on supporting local markets, demanding the ethical treatment of workers, and opting for sustainable, high-quality goods - they make a difference."
Cooperatives not only give workers more control over their lives, but Maggie's has also found that they inspire workers to produce superior and competitively-priced products because they are invested in the company and the results of their labor. The commitment to promoting worker independence coincides with Maggie's longstanding mission to protect the environment. To this end, Bena has long since been an advocate of setting industry standards for organic clothing.
Bena was instrumental in formulating the industry-led North American Organic Fiber Processing Standards which have since been incorporated into the Global Organic Textile Standard - an international, non-governmental collaboration that allows for a world-wide organic-textile certification mark. Having been honored with numerous awards, Bena was named by New Hope Natural Media as one of the "25 people who most influenced the Organics Industry."
About Maggie's Organics:
Maggie's Organics was founded in 1992 with a mission to convert cotton production from conventional to organic, manufacture high-quality and timeless clothing and accessories, and support socially and environmentally responsible business practices.
Maggie's line of organic and Fair Trade clothing includes socks, scarves, tights, loungewear, legwarmers, tees, baby clothes, new toy sock monkeys and fashionable tops. Each item in the Maggie's family of products is functional, beautiful and affordable, constructed of environment-sustaining materials and made by workers who are treated ethically.
Having already revolutionized the organic clothing industry, Bena and the team at Maggie's Organics is once again setting a new bar by working exclusively with business partners who guarantee livable working conditions and independence for their workers.
Maggie's is one of the few businesses that supports and creates worker-owned cooperatives, including starting a NEW 100% worker-owned cooperative located in North Carolina. This cooperative is responsible for creating Maggie's new line of adorable, eco-friendly Sock Monkey toy animals made with extra Maggie's crew socks and recycled polyester mill scraps.
"Working with the cooperative has created US jobs in an economic sector that has been losing jobs for decades. This has been very powerful to the consumers who purchase Maggie's Sock Monkeys," Bena says. "When consumers make simple day-to-day choices that center on supporting local markets, demanding the ethical treatment of workers, and opting for sustainable, high-quality goods - they make a difference."
Cooperatives not only give workers more control over their lives, but Maggie's has also found that they inspire workers to produce superior and competitively-priced products because they are invested in the company and the results of their labor. The commitment to promoting worker independence coincides with Maggie's longstanding mission to protect the environment. To this end, Bena has long since been an advocate of setting industry standards for organic clothing.
Bena was instrumental in formulating the industry-led North American Organic Fiber Processing Standards which have since been incorporated into the Global Organic Textile Standard - an international, non-governmental collaboration that allows for a world-wide organic-textile certification mark. Having been honored with numerous awards, Bena was named by New Hope Natural Media as one of the "25 people who most influenced the Organics Industry."
About Maggie's Organics:
Maggie's Organics was founded in 1992 with a mission to convert cotton production from conventional to organic, manufacture high-quality and timeless clothing and accessories, and support socially and environmentally responsible business practices.
Maggie's line of organic and Fair Trade clothing includes socks, scarves, tights, loungewear, legwarmers, tees, baby clothes, new toy sock monkeys and fashionable tops. Each item in the Maggie's family of products is functional, beautiful and affordable, constructed of environment-sustaining materials and made by workers who are treated ethically.
Maggie's Organics
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