I often get asked “WHY do you live in Manila?”. I get it- as a foreigner there’s a perception in others’ eyes that I have the resources to live anywhere I’d like. Taking into account Manila’s pollution, traffic, and corruption it’s a fair question.

MAD Travel has the ambitious goal of harnessing responsible tourism to reforest 3000 hectares of land (about 11 square miles). Aside from the obvious draw of visiting the Aeta community (I’m always a fan of learning and respectful cultural exchange through well-planned community tourism), that’s what piqued my interest.

I've struggled in the past year with finding the information I want about ethical brands. That's why I took down my shopping directory here on Life+Style+Justice: I just didn't know that I could guarantee that the brands I were recommending were 100% up to the standards that I want to see for wages, materials, and more. 

VYAYAMA brings something new to the ethical activewear space by seeking to provide a natural alternative to synthetic yoga wear, using wool, cashmere, and micromodal/tencel made from beech pulp.

In June 2017, I traveled to Dhaka, Bangladesh, and to the site of the Rana Plaza tragedy. The trip was entirely on my own, with no agenda other than to learn. These are the thoughts and stories that have emerged as I’ve processed that trip.

I woke up this morning to a flurry of posts on my social media feeds that made me sick to my stomach. While I slept, hundreds of white supremacist terrorists with tikki torches gathered in Charlottesville. Met by counter protestors, violence between the groups escalated and resulted in injury and even death for one demonstrator. The president of my country failed to condemn the terrorists' actions, instead issuing a statement that basically said both sides (white supremacists and peace activists alike) had behaved badly. 

veryone, meet your newest ethical fashion related obsession: Walk Sew Good. Made up of two smart and sassy women, Megan and Gab, team Walk Sew Good is currently walking across southeast Asia to gather positive stories about how your ethically-made clothes are produced and the affect that ethical business practices have on the people who make your clothes.

We often make blanket statements like "If we all changed our consumption habits, we could change the fashion industry!". But are we really asking everyone to change their consumption habits? And is that fair? For me, the answer is "no". At this point in my life, the vast majority of my friends, and the people I spend the most of my time with are not well-to-do and it seems ridiculous to encourage them to buy a $22.00 pair of organic and fair trade underwear when they are just trying to get by and cover rent and food for the month.

The longer I'm here in the beautiful Philippines, the more personally connected to the cause of "fashion revolution" I become. In just a few short months, I've befriended women in the garment industry, met local, small ethical fashion businesses and listened to their struggles to survive and "make it" without compromising on fair wages, and have even gotten the inside scoop on the big fast fashion manufacturing factories here. 

If you've caught my angsty posts on social media lately, you'll know that I'm struggling with all the feelings of betrayal after discovering that some of the ethical companies I'd loved.... well, aren't really ethical. In the midst of this activist identity crisis (who can I trust? have I wasted my time?), Today's interview with Numi Organic Tea is giving me life. 

I watched a lot of nature documentaries as a kid, so the rainforest was pretty close to how I'd pictured it before visiting Costa Rica and experiencing it for the first time in real life. 

There were a few things that I didn't expect, however. The darkness, first of all. The tree canopy overhead is so thick that even on a bright, sunny day not much light filters down to the forest floor. Second, I didn't quite expect to feel so emotional while trekking, but I found myself quite overwhelmed by the beauty of nature, awed by the sheer diversity of plants and wildlife, and sobered as I thought of all the beautiful rainforest areas that have been destroyed or are in danger of disappearing.