Shelly Vella in the green room with Meghan Markle-approved Mayamiko Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Sign in Welcome!Log into your account Forgot your password? Password recovery Recover your password Search Sign in Welcome! Log into your account Forgot your password? Get help Password recovery Recover your password A password will be e-mailed to you. YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Home Fashion Fashion director Shelly Vella in the green room with Mayamiko By You Magazine - July 22, 2021 Each week I celebrate a brand committed to creating clean, green collections that won’t cost the earth whilst never compromising on quality or style. This week I’m pouring over the rails of one of my favourite ethical companies – Mayamiko. Founded by Paola Masperi in 2015, the label first came to my attention when Meghan Markle wore the Dalitso dress during the 2019 tour of Africa with Prince Harry. With ethics and sustainability firmly at its core, it’s no surprise that Mayamiko caught Meghan’s attention. Getty Images Central to the brand’s being is The Mayamiko Trust, (formed by Paola in 2008) created to bring opportunities to disadvantaged women by providing artisanal tailoring training and living wage employment. The Trust reinvests into the local Malawi community and was set up to offer women a recognised qualification, along with continuous mentoring, guidance and access to a micro-finance scheme. By enabling them to start their own businesses or continue working for the brand, Mayamiko is able to lift women out of poverty and towards a better future. Also benefitting the local community, the brand creates ‘Positive Pads’ with ‘waste’ material – which are donated to girls in the Malawi community and refugee camps, to help fight period poverty. Of course, alongside ticking all the above boxes, they simply make beautiful clothes, stunningly crafted from African chitenje fabrics into chic, modern cuts. Everything from the fair price points to the happy-making prints will brighten your day. I’m smitten. Mayamiko Aretha Frills Bodice Dress in Blue Foliage, £119 Three words that sum up Mayamiko? Joyful, Celebratory, Storied Mayamiko Victoria Sleeveless Shirt Dress in Purple Flora, £99 What does sustainability mean to you? Contributing to the wellbeing of people and the planet by acting in harmony with the environment. Creating a sustainable future and telling stories about people and materials. Mayamiko Precious Milkmaid Mini Dress in Golden Leaf, £89 What eco-conscious processes do you have in place? We are proud of the many processes we have in place throughout the production of our pieces. From design (zero waste, cross-seasonal, multi-way); to material selection (locally sourced, deadstock, reclaimed, certified); to the production processes (solar energy, water recycling, upcycling of cutting room waste); and packaging (no plastic, working with a social impact warehouse, options to plant trees to offset) and finally, treating people well. It’s also important to us to be a seasonless and zero greenwashing company and our next step is to promote circularity with rent partnership, repair and alterations on the table too. Mayamiko Ester Tie Up Peplum Top in Turquoise Cells, £44 Do you have any highlights from this past year? Really just surviving COVID, keeping people safe and protected, strengthening the team and our community of supporters. We’ve also been working on some partnerships with new artisans to bring their products to our community. Mayamiko Cynthia Peplum Top in Blue Reptilian, £39 What’s your bestselling piece? The Dalitso dress (worn by Meghan Markle) variations are always in demand, so too is the milkmaid dress, the oversized Bermudas and our jewellery. Shop Shelly s favourite pieces Mayamiko Precious Milkmaid Mini Dress in Blue Foliage, £89 Mayamiko Loveness Frilly Shirt in Oatmeal Linen, £89 Mayamiko Zikomo One Shoulder Bodycon Dress in Golden Leaf Print, £79 Mayamiko Matilda Milkmaid Top in Yellow Linen, £59 Mayamiko Amanda Flared Maxi Skirt in Golden Leaf, £79 Mayamiko Regina Robe in Blue Peacock, £79 Mayamiko Hamba Glass Beads Earrings, £44 Shop Mayamiko online here and read the brand’s ethical promise here RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR Rochelle Humes has launched a gorgeous new edit with Next Shop the YOU Magazine Instagram YOU picks the best new-in buys from M& S Popular in Fashion Laura Jackson has teamed up with Next for the chicest knitwear January 22, 2020 Holly Willoughby’ s birthday dress is another Zara bargain February 10, 2020 The Instagram-famous & Other Stories wool blazer is back in stock August 31, 2022 Lorraine just wore Emma Willis’ Next collection from head to toe March 17, 2020 The prettiest spring dresses under £100 March 1, 2022 Everyone is buying Holly’ s gorgeous gingham Oasis dress May 14, 2020 13 bargain dresses to buy in ASOS’ s extra 20 per cent June 10, 2020 This £20 H& M dress is set to be the social media June 26, 2020 Stacey Solomon x Primark is back for a third collection with July 20, 2020 Searches for this perfect heatwave summer top style are up 5000% August 10, 2020 Popular CategoriesFood2704Life2496Fashion2240Beauty1738Celebrity1261Interiors684 Sign up for YOUMail Thanks for subscribing Please check your email to confirm (If you don't see the email, check the spam box) Fashion Beauty Celebrity Life Food Privacy & Cookies T&C Copyright 2022 - YOU Magazine. 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