Sseko
Sseko Designs is an ethical fashion brand based in Uganda that creates handbags, accessories, and a range of totally interchangeable leather sandals, with hundreds of variations in styling.
mYak
mYak produce pashminas, scarves, throws, blankets, and accessories of the highest quality baby yak wool sourced directly from communities that support the survival of the Tibetan nomadic way of life. Born of a passion for, and commitment to the nomadic communities of the Tibetan Plateau, mYak weave the natural strength of the Tibetan Plateau with the finest Italian artisanal traditions. It is a project conceived from a deep understanding of Tibet and the will to help preserve its traditions.
All intervention requires compromise, with no easy solution. Wherever it is impossible for nomads to survive purely on their traditional economy, the only realistic approach is to raise the value of the products of traditional herding and shorten the chain between producers and consumers. This is what inspired the founding of mYak.
Founders Paola Vanzo and Andrea Dominici, had the chance to witness first hand the incredible importance of the yak to Tibetan herders. It is from the yak that herders derive all they need for their survival. Besides serving as a mount and pack animal, yaks provide milk to make yoghurt, butter and cheese, wool and leather to make clothes and tents, meat, and even fire, which is kindled from their dung. In certain areas, the women also turn the horns into jugs for milking.
Yaks have a thick, protective coat to keep them warm in the bitter cold of the plateau. The external layer is composed of long coarse hairs that protect them from the elements, while the undercoat, insulates them from the cold and keeps them warm. It is from this soft layer that the finest fiber is combed. Every year in the month of May, the yak shed their soft undercoats. As it falls off, the nomads gather the fiber.
To spin and weave the baby yak wool, mYak has partnered with a family-run mill in Italy with a strong tradition of environmental stewardship, who are able to spin and weave the highest quality textiles from even the finest fibers. Yak wool is most commonly dark brown, although it can also be dark grey, black and occasionally, white. Choosing not to dye, bleach or treat the wool with any chemicals, mYak preserve its natural color and beauty. Paying the highest price for the finest fiber on market, mYak buys directly from more than 2,500 families, to ensure that the greatest possible benefit goes to those at the source.
Website: www.myak.it
