In 2017, Maya Mutalik met with an entrepreneur in Ghana who was using her expertise to teach young women in her community how to sew and achieve financial independence. Maya discovered that Vida, the entrepreneur and seamstress, wasn’t able to expand her business because she did not own an electric sewing machine. Upon further research, Maya learned that many seamstresses in developing countries are unable to grow their businesses due to lack of access to resources. This meeting inspired Maya to start her own fashion business that empowered women and honored artisanal garments from various cultures across the globe. This inspiration led to the creation of Hope Sews.
Hope Sews creates contemporary clothing made from artisanal fabrics from around the globe. The company partners with seamstresses in developing countries, such as Vida, to provide microfinance loans and training to expand their businesses and employ more seamstresses. This creates a sustainable ripple effect of training and employing seamstresses which provides them with financial stability. Hope Sews also works to educate young consumers on sustainable consumption of clothing and the importance of sustainable fashion and ethical production.
Maya’s decision to use her passion of fashion to create a positive social change in the industry is very inspiring. She noticed several problems regarding the use of exploitative labor and lack of sustainability in the industry and set out to offer a solution. Hope Sews is also innovative in the way that it supports women in developing countries. Rather than thinking about how she could help seamstresses on a small scale, she found a way to offer training and funding for resources so the seamstresses can expand their businesses and employ more women. This ripple effect continues to build on itself and benefits the surrounding community as a whole. Another aspect of Hope Sews that is innovative is its focus on sustainable development and the education of consumers on the ethical consumption of clothing.
You can read more about Maya’s inspiration and Hope Sews at: https://www.hopesews.com/
It was really interesting to see the ability of Maya to see the problem in these underdeveloped countries and use that to inspire a solution. I really think her cause is a great effort and can cause change in a lot of different areas in these 3rd world countries. It is truly inspiring to see how much thought and work she has put into her company to help those who are not as fortunate as her.
I really like how Maya did not create a new business per say, but she found other small businesses and found a way to expand and improve them while making a social impact. A business like hers is a prime example of teaching a man how to fish instead of just giving him a fish.
it is awesome that Maya was able to change peoples lives in other countries with such the simplest thing. Her effort to make this happen is awesome and a lot of respect for her to take the time to do this for them. I bet the people in those countries are truly happy to have Maya by their sides. Great story here!