• Home
  • Meet Me
  • About the Blog
  • Contact

Minimally RachelMarie

Minimally RachelMarie| Conscious & Ethical Living

  • Ethical Living
  • Lifestyle
  • Marriage
  • Medical School
  • Pregnancy and Motherhood
  • Wellness
Ethical Living

On the Mend

May 4, 2014

A brand that I adore for not only how beautiful each piece is but also for the time and commitment the organization put into creating a brand that changes lives with each purchase is Mend.  I have been purchasing Mend bags since they had been released back in 2010 and I have never been disappointed in either the style, construction, durability and impact each bag has.

image[1]
logo big

mend bag photo

“Mend is a social enterprise geared toward improving the quality of life for women in Gulu, Uganda who were directly affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) conflict. These women produce high-quality bags designed to seam a personal connection between products, their makers and consumers… Mend is built to have both sustainable social and financial impact. By providing the seamstresses of Mend more marketable and economically beneficial outlets for their skills, Mend has helped reduce poverty, truly improving the livelihoods of some of the most vulnerable women in northern Uganda… Through education and counseling, Mend emphasizes building a life for the seamstresses outside of work as well and provides a local, highly-trained professional, full-time Social Worker. Experienced in post-conflict trauma, Mend’s Social Worker works to provide psychosocial support to the seamstresses and their families… Every bag made at Mend has a story. Each product carries the name of the seamstress who made it. The seamstresses name links to her online profile, providing a window into her life. Through personal video bios and photos, each woman is able to share how she is “on the Mend” because of a simple purchase.” (Mend.co)

  mend irene

I make an effort to purchase a majority of my bags or purses from Mend because I believe that Mend is creating a sustainable change in the lives of survivors of the LRA conflict.  One aspect of Mend that is different from other companies is that I know the story of the woman who created my bag.  I have been lucky enough that each bag that I have purchased (which is about 9 bags) was created by the same woman, her name is Lamunu Irene.  When you order, they grab you your bag randomly, so I was very lucky to have all mine created by the same person.  I was able to go online and type in her name and I found a short bio and video of Lamunu Irene.  She has a contagious laugh by the way. While getting to know her story, it made me want to continue to support these women by not only making purchases from Mend but donating money towards the Invisible Children mission.  I’ll write another post about Invisible Children another day because that will take me ages because of how incredible the organization truly is.  Just so you know, Mend is a program and product created by Invisible Children.

tumblr_mgpygnJTX61qgngowo1_400

Not only do I love Mend because of the incredible amount of good they’re doing but the product is handcrafted with skill.  I tend to stuff my bags with tons of books, electronics, makeup and other crazy things.  Think Hermione’s bottomless purse.  So I need durable bags that can carry a lot of items but also withstand the weight that comes with it.  I try to take care of my bags but I will admit they go on quite a few adventures so again, I need a very reliable and durable bag.  I could carry a backpack around but I’m too picky about matching my outfits and looking cute.  Mend meets these two necessary requirements for me.  I use my bags every day and some of them I have had for 3-4 years and they are still in like new condition.  Usually on purses or bags I buy from a normal store, the straps will begin pulling out of their seams or they’ll somehow stretch out; my Mend bags don’t do this.  They have been incredibly durable, and maintained their appearance. They always look brand new and I rarely clean my bags.  My favorite bag so far has been the Mend messenger, it fits all of my school books and has plenty of pockets for me.  It is a little bulky for me and I think it’s because I’m short and a little more on the petite side.  I bought my fiance one and he loves it and it fits his body size very well.  If you’re worried about this concern I would suggest comparing the measurements of the Messenger to the Mini Messenger.  I bought the messenger before the Mini came out however, a friend of mine bought the Mini one and it was great size to use for everyday errands rather than school books.  I will always recommend Mend to anyone I speak to, they are sustainable, ethical and made with care.  Visit WWW.Mend.co to look at all the collections available and to learn more.

tag

Logo and last three images from www.mend.co

Ethical Fair Fashion Handcrafted Handmade Invisible Children Kony LRA Mend Purse Uganda
by Choosing Human 
2 Comments

About Choosing Human

View all posts by Choosing Human

Related Posts

  • Eco-Friendly and Sustainable Parenting
  • A Sustainable Lifestyle with a baby expectationsSustainable Lifestyle with a Baby: My Expectations
  • 10 Ways to cut plastic10 Ways to cut plastic that you didn’t think about before
  • The impact of fast fashion and how you can changeHow Fast Fashion is Destroying the World and How YOU Can Stop It

I'm RachelMarie, the lady behind the blog. Feel free to call me Rachel. I am a wife to a medical student and a mom to a little baby girl named Cecilia. We are both originally from Long Island, New York, but currently live in Philadelphia.

I believe in living your life intentionally and ethically which means being intently aware of how your actions and decisions impact others. When I say others, I'm talking about people, animals, and the earth. I am an active advocate for many causes and I work at a local nonprofit organization.

Search

Instagram did not return a 200.

Get the newsletter!

Stay up to date Darling!

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Find us on Facebook

Archives

Disclaimer for

Disclaimer for

Welcome to Minimally RachelMarie We are a for profit lifestyle blog. Any companies that I work with or collaborate with were hand selected by me, additionally I will always give you an honest post concerning any company or product. On top of a sponsored post here and there, you may also find a few posts that include affiliate links. I will always disclose to you when these are present and when you're reading a sponsored post. Finally, everything that is shared here is purely from me, none of this reflects the stances or values of any company or organization that I support or work with.

Trending

  • Conversations to Have Before You Get Married Part 2
    Conversations to Have Before You Get Married Part 2
  • Conversations to Have Before you Get Married | Part 1
    Conversations to Have Before you Get Married | Part 1

Subscribe to the Blog via Email

Instagram did not return a 200.

@RachelMarieAsaro

Copyright © 2021 · Prima Donna theme by Georgia Lou Studios

Copyright © 2021 · Prima Donna on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in