Maggie’s Organics recently celebrated its 20th birthday, a celebration that isn’t only exclusive as a milestone for Maggie’s Organics, but one which the organic fashion and apparel industry can celebrate with as a whole.
Established in 1992, the brand is heralded to be the “oldest US-based apparel company which offers organic fiber products” to customers, with its long line of Maggie’s Organics staples.
From its Tie Dye Crew Socks line, to its original “Phish Food” organic cotton shirt products, Maggie’s Organics is the brainchild of Bena Bura, whose extensive experience in the organic food industry helped in the foundation of Maggie’s Organics eco-friendly and environmentally sustainable inclinations.
The drive behind Maggie’s Organics was quite simple: since organic food items proved to be successful, the availability of an organic apparel option was hoped to facilitate a crossover for organic food item followers to include fashion and apparel as alternative options.
The setup worked, a testament which says a lot about how much people really do care about sustainability and the benefits of eco-friendly production practices.
When stories related to the inhumane conditions imposed on workers of apparel factories broke out, Maggie’s Organics took decisive action, genuinely affected by how much damage “sweatshops” can damage the lives of less privileged workers.
“I began to ask how we could call ourselves a sustainable enterprise when we could not sustain the lives of the workers who made our products”, shared Burda, who then followed her inquiry by adding social criteria into the brand’s overall mission.
Since the, Maggie’s Organics has helped set up three worker-owned cooperatives providing yarn and garments, each 100% worker owned. Burda, with her team, have worked hard in developing supply chains which provide equal opportunities for growth and profit for workers in different aspects of the apparel production process.
Now financing over 2000 farmers based in areas in Central America, Maggie’s Organics’ birthday is an actual manifestation of how much of an impact eco-friendly and humanitarian advocacies can bring to a brand, propelling it to a 20 year history which rivals the existence of other, non-organic brand counterparts.