Editor’s Note: Conscious Magazine has teamed up with Amanda Judge from Faire Collection to learn how her journey in fair trade fashion has helped eradicate poverty. Find out more about Amanda Judge in this interview here. Follow the 6-part series. For part 3 of her series, Amanda takes us on her journey in Ecuador through this photo essay.


Here, Mercedes organizes threads for a bright turquoise scarf.  Before working with Faire, Mercedes and her husband had just one loom.  With an interest free loom from Faire, they invested in 4 new looms, and have a new expanded capacity – including an extra wide loom for those special weavings.
Mercedes is showing me how to organize threads, as I delve in for some hands on practice!

Our team searching for our lost ride in the hills of the Imbabura Volcano!  We had just spent the morning working Mercedes learning about their new potential patterns and materials and we were on our way to the next workshop to play around with some new designs.


Husband and wife team here work on putting together a big order of spring necklaces.

The view from back of one of our artisan workshops inspires me to no end!
Here I am playing around with some new materials and new colors for Fall 2015 – the fashion industry makes time FLY!


It’s always hugs and laughs around here.

I have known 5 year old Huayra since she was born and her families rise out of poverty has given her a very bright future.  I just love her.


We used waxed string which can be burned to form a solid and clean knot.

The Otavalo market is one of my favorite places in the world!  Each visit mandates a walk through the market to see what new ideas are developed from within the artisan community -and of course, the requisite souvenir shopping too.  My tactic when bargaining – ask if they can give you a better price, and stop there.  Don’t keep pressuring for lower prices, but a simple, “Can you give me your best price” is a low pressure way to ensure you all leave happy.

Learn. Connect. Act.
Learn more about Faire Collection
Connect via Facebook and Twitter

From the Editor
At Conscious, we are inspired by remarkable people, and so we set out to tell stories that highlight real human interactions and human dignity. You can read more stories like this when you pick up your copy of Conscious Magazine. Subscribe today via our Conscious Shop and subscribe to Conscious Updates.