Designer's Journal

The Greeting Card Association reports that we purchase around 6.5 billion greeting cards annually in the United States. There are so many special occasions that are even better with a card, but that’s a lot of cards and a lot of paper. Did you know that recycling just one ton of paper can save 31 trees and 3.5 cubic meters of landfill space? According to the Southern Waste Information Exchange, that’s not only true, but we’re also not making enough efforts toward embracing recycling. Not enough places offer recycled cards. Although they’re often harder to find than they should be, rest assured that you can always buy a recycled card from Passion Lilie for your next special occasion!

A Recycled Card for a Good Cause

When you buy a recycled card from Passion Lilie, you support a good cause. Our cards not only help you support recycling, but support elephants in Sri Lanka, too. Each card is made from elephant dung, which is a free resource in Sri Lanka and makes great recycled paper once it’s cleaned and processed. It may sound odd, but you would never know from looking at (or smelling) any of these cards! Sri Lankans have long neglected elephants as an economic resource and killed them off, but by turning their dung into paper, we are helping to shift how Sri Lankans view and treat elephants.

While it already feels great to buy a recycled card to support elephants, the good that comes from your purchase doesn’t stop there. Each recycled card is hand block printed by a young adult in India who has autism or handicap disabilities. These individuals are part of a training program for those with special needs, and each recycled card’s proceeds contribute to their education and training.

Learn more about the story behind Passion Lilie’s recycled cards on our website.

A Recycled Card for Every Occasion

Can’t wait to start purchasing our recycled greeting cards? Here are a few perfect occasions with a recycled card to match.

Back-to-School Teacher Welcome Card: Butterfly

If you’re a parent sending your child back to school this fall, send a greeting card with your student. You can introduce yourself and thank them in advance for guiding your child through the next step in their education. It’s a lovely way to show your appreciation. The recycled Butterfly Greeting Card is great for this occasion, because butterflies are often associated with growth, and the hand block design is eye catching and beautiful.

Good Luck Card: Bird

A greeting card is one of the most meaningful ways to wish someone good luck. No matter if it’s for the first day of school, a big interview, or another significant event, the recycled Bird Greeting Card from Passion Lilie is sure to bring a smile to their face. Birds are brave and soar high, and seeing one is an excellent inspiration for anyone preparing for something big or intimidating.

Shop Passion Lilie

For all your recycled card and ethical fashion needs, check out Passion Lilie’s selection of products today. If you like this post, read about why we’re proudly made in India and any other posts on our blog. Shop now or contact Passion Lilie with any questions.

Passion Lilie partners with producer groups throughout India in Bangalore, Jaipur, Tirupur, and Hyderabad. These highly skilled artisans work to produce our fabrics, apparel, totes, napkins, and more. Passion Lilie’s products are proudly made in India, and we’re happy to support our artisans each day with fair wages, safe working conditions, and the promise of long-term employment. We choose to make our fair trade products in India for many reasons, but here are just a few of our favorite reasons to support fair trade products made in India.

Why We’re Proud Our Clothes Are Made in India

Our artisans are as central to our business as our mission, which includes empowering artisans around the world. These skillful workers create everything from the hand block prints on our cotton fabrics to the stitches in each article of clothing. Their hard work makes all of Passion Lilie’s products the high-quality, authentic, stylish pieces our customers love. We appreciate the work our artisans put into each product, and it’s one of many reasons we’re so proud to label our work, “Made in India.”

Hardworking Artisans

Passion Lilie’s artisans have proven themselves to be incredibly hardworking people. They want to better themselves and provide for their families. If you’ve been following our blog posts, you might remember Ammu. Ammu started going back to school while working for Passion Lilie after having to drop out at a young age due to health conditions. Or you might remember Padmini, the manager of our block printing unit. Padmini partnered with the State Government Women's Welfare Board in order to provide free training in block printing to underprivileged women. These artisans embody our mission of providing dignified employment opportunities across the world, and we are proud to work with them.

Preserving the Land

Passion Lilie might not be in the farming industry, but our sustainable and eco-friendly practices help preserve the area around us and reduce our overall carbon footprint. We use natural ingredients to make our products, avoiding any dangerous chemicals that would harm the environment or our artisans. India has experienced issues with GMO farming and failed harvests, as well as dangerous factory conditions and explosions. Too much land and too many people have suffered the consequences of bad business practices and unsafe conditions in India, and we’re happy to be a part of the shift away from these destructive business practices. Our sustainable business practices and ethical treatment of workers set a precedent for other companies to do the same and continually strive to do better.

Passion Lilie: Designed in New Orleans, Made in India

While each Passion Lilie design is made in New Orleans by our founder and designer, Katie Schmidt, all of our products are made in India. Katie works with our artisans to ensure product quality and positive working conditions across continents. This means you can feel good about your purchase no matter what you buy. Here are just a few of our favorite items you can purchase today.

White & Black Diamond Scarf

This diamond print is a subtle statement piece. The hand block print is bold and trendy, while its use of black and white makes it easy to match with a variety of outfits. Reach for this scarf whenever you want a little extra texture or flair in an outfit.

Skylar Shift Dress

The Skylar Shift Dress is flattering, fashionable, and ethical all in one! Front and side darts create a fitted silhouette, and the optional matching fabric belt can be used to accentuate your waist. Meanwhile, the ikat print is a fun and eye-catching component that expresses your confidence and style.

Shop Our Fair Trade Products Made in India

These and many more fashionable products made in India are available online from Passion Lilie today. Shop now or contact Passion Lilie with any questions.

These days, more and more women are establishing themselves in amazing careers that are shaping our future. Fortunately, as women continue to work hard and see success in their careers, they aren’t limited to wearing pantsuits. Stylish work outfits empower women, and Passion Lilie is proud to offer ethical fashion you can wear to the office (and even out afterwards!).

Women in the Workforce

At Passion Lilie, we get so excited about all the incredible things women are doing in the workforce, because empowering women and artisans around the world has been part of our mission from the very beginning. In the U.S., women make up about 47% of workers, and they own nearly 10 million businesses! Although women continue to be underpaid and need more representation in C-suite positions (and executive positions overall), things are looking up for women regarding education and employment opportunities. While there need to be major changes for women in the workforce, we know there are so many accomplished and hardworking women out there who we’re proud to support. Check out our blog post on 5 Female Entrepreneurs Who Inspire Us if you’d like to read more about a few of our favorite inspirational women. These women certainly wear stylish work outfits, and there’s no reason you can’t too!

Stylish Work Outfits from Passion Lilie

It’s easy to find stylish work outfits and embrace ethical fashion when you shop at Passion Lilie! You don’t just look amazing in our carefully tailored ethical fashion—you also help artisans in India support their families and work in safe, healthy environments. Here are some of our favorite pieces that you can use to create a variety of stylish work outfits.

Mao Black Dress

This sophisticated dress is great for a busy day in the office. Easy to throw on in the morning and comfortable all day long, it’s quick to become one of your work outfit staples. The dress features a flattering cut-out neckline and two pockets, making it not just one of your stylish work outfits, but also a utilitarian option when running from meeting to meeting.

Navy Stars Midi Skirt

This versatile skirt is a great piece of ethical fashion to add to your collection of stylish work outfits. The rich navy color is a workplace classic, and it works well with a range of other colors and patterns. Featuring a vintage cut, this skirt creates a trendy, sophisticated look that can easily be worn with a button-down shirt and blazer.

Clear Skies Button Shirt

With its soft blue color and standout details, this top is an excellent choice for anyone looking to raise the bar on her office wardrobe. The stylish ikat design, stand-up collar, and cap sleeves are small features that make a big impact and bring charm to this versatile piece. Best of all, it fits so many different looks, whether you want to dress it down with jeans for casual Friday or tuck it into a skirt or slacks. The blue color is also a great neutral buy, so you can mix and match it with many different looks.

Shop Passion Lilie’s Ethical Fashion Today

Passion Lilie has these stylish work outfit options and more for sale online today. Shop now or contact Passion Lilie with any of your questions!

Ethical clothing doesn’t have to break the bank. Affordable ethical clothing exists, and your money ends up going a lot further, both in terms of its benefits to you and to others. Although there will always be cheaper options out there, the unethical brands that produce them achieve such low prices by harming the environment and their workers. Learn more about the benefits and affordable prices you can find when you shop ethically.

Benefits of Affordable Ethical Clothing

Affordable ethical clothing is something to wear proudly, and you’ll truly benefit from buying it!

You Invest in Pieces You’ll Have for a Long Time

Unlike fast fashion pieces, which are designed for a quick turnaround with little attention to durability, the artisans who make ethical clothing put time and attention into their craftsmanship. At Passion Lilie, our artisans handle everything from the creating the fabric prints to sewing the clothes, many times employing ancient traditions alongside contemporary practices for best results. These beautifully made pieces will last for years to come with proper care. Read more about how to fight fast fashion.

You Help Pay Fair Wages to Artisans

You might be able to find a cheaper option for a shirt or pair of pants than even the most affordable ethical clothing brand can offer, but when you choose the latter, you’re ensuring that the artisans who produced it can support themselves and their families. Part of your purchase involves making sure that the hard work that goes into producing your goods gets fairly rewarded. Passion Lilie is a certified fair trade brand that proudly supports our artisans. Discover more reasons why you should buy fair trade clothing.

You Preserve the Environment

It’s easy to ignore how much harm a factory or sweatshop can have on the environment and just think about yourself when purchasing a piece of clothing. However, the negative effects these factories produce add up over time as more and more factories open. They create disasters that are hard to fix and hurt the environment as well as the local economy. So many unfortunate disasters have occured in the past that were caused by human development, so it’s crucial we become aware of how our work impacts the environment. Passion Lilie uses eco-friendly and sustainable practices to do our part to protect the environment for generations to come.

Buy Affordable Ethical Clothing from Passion Lilie

Passion Lilie produces affordable ethical clothing that makes you look and feel great!

Boho Blue Dress ($49.00)

This dress is trendy and flattering. The Boho Blue Dress features a whimsical print, eye-catching cut-out collar, and two pockets, which are always a plus!

Red Sweetheart Dress ($49.00)

Looking for a romantic dress to wear on your next date night? The Red Sweetheart Dress is it! The halter neckline adds a sweet, feminine touch to the dress, while the flattering empire waistline and soft cotton offer you unbeatable comfort.

Buy Our Ethical Apparel Today

Passion Lilie is an ethical fashion brand dedicated to empowering artisans around the world. Designed in New Orleans and made in India, we are an eco-friendly and fair trade company. Learn more about our mission and shop more of our fabulous products today.

Ethical brands around the country are staging a fight against fast fashion. Fast fashion is a movement among fashion retailers that prioritizes quick turnaround for inexpensive products that capitalize on current trends. These clothes are cheap—both in price and quality—and result in high levels of pollution and waste. The men, women, and children in developing countries who make these garments are often underpaid and work in unsafe conditions. While ethical brands care about the working conditions, wages, and livelihoods of their workers and the state of our environment, fast fashion ignores all of that.

Why Are Ethical Brands Fighting Fast Fashion?

There are many reasons why ethical brands and shoppers alike have joined the fight against fast fashion.

Lead and Hazardous Chemicals on Clothing

The Center for Environmental Health found that many fast fashion brands, including Forever 21 and Charlotte Russe, are selling purses, shoes, and other accessories that are contaminated by lead. Even low levels of lead can cause major health issues, such as nervous system damage and issues during pregnancy.

Disempowerment of Women

According to the World Fair Trade Organization, Asia (WFTO Asia), as much as 80% of the workers producing fast fashion in Asia in 2016 were women ages 18 to 24. Many of these women are impoverished and underpaid, and they often face sexual harassment. For example, the Asia Floor Wage Alliance found 11 out of 12 factories fired women for becoming pregnant.

Clothing That Falls Apart

Fast fashion is made as quickly and inexpensively as possible. Fast fashion brands make hundreds of millions of garments per year, bringing new looks into stores every single week. It goes so quickly, you feel out of style after only one wear! Unfortunately, those pieces don’t last longer than a week anyway. These companies make low-quality pieces so they can keep up with the high volume demanded and entice customers with low prices. Why keep spending money on pieces that don’t last when you can invest in ethical, high-quality clothing instead?

Harm to the Environment

Given how quickly these fast fashions fall out of favor (or just fall apart), many of these clothes end up in landfills. In the United States, only 10% of donated clothes get resold. The rest get put into landfills, which can become contaminated from the chemicals found in fast fashion clothing. Furthermore, since fast fashion clothing tends to be made of synthetic, petroleum-based fibers, it will sit there for decades before it decomposes.

How Can I Join the Fight Against Fast Fashion?

One of the best ways to fight against fast fashion is by buying your clothes from ethical brands. Ethical brands consider your health as well as the health of our workers and the environment. At Passion Lilie, we provide shoppers with stylish, well-crafted, ethical attire. We avoid any harsh chemicals that would harm you or the environment. Furthermore, Passion Lilie requires safe, healthy working environments for our artisans. We are a member of the Fair Trade Federation, and we ensure our artisans receive fair wages so they can support themselves and their families. Read more about Passion Lilie’s ethical practices here. Consider shopping for some of our fashionable pieces to join the fight against fast fashion!

Peach Flowers Top

This floral peach print has a warm, summery feel. The shirt is cute, comfortable, and lightweight, making it an ideal choice for nearly any outdoor occasion.

Spinnaker Zig Zag Pants

How fun and flowy are these pants? They’re great for the summer and fall seasons, whether you’re headed to work or for a night out with friends.

Shop Passion Lilie Today

Sarongs are very versatile fashion pieces that can be worn on the beach, by the pool, or wherever your summer plans take you. However, learning how to wrap a sarong can be a bit overwhelming, because there are so many options! Here are a few quick tips on how to wrap a sarong.

How to Wrap a Sarong Three Different Ways

Halter Cover Up

Hold the top two corners of your sarong behind you and reach your arms out wide, as if to form a “T.” Then bring your arms straight out in front of you and switch which hand is holding which corner. Finally, tie them together behind your neck, and you’ve got a fantastic beach cover up.

Grecian Style Dress

Hold the top two corners of your sarong behind you and reach your arms out wide, as if to form a “T.” Cross your left arm over to your right side and drape a bit of the sarong over your right shoulder. Wrap the right side all around your body so that it reaches your back, below your right shoulder. Pull that corner up to meet the piece that drapes over your right shoulder and tie them together in a knot.

Sarong as a Top

Fold your sarong in half diagonally so you’re holding a triangle. Hold the two ends of the longest side of the triangle out in front of you, one end in each hand. Next, wrap the sarong around your shoulders so that the triangle’s point is down your back and pointing at the ground. Take each of the two ends you were holding in the beginning and cross them around your waist, then again around to your back. Tie the two ends together for a cute cropped top.

Passion Lilie Sarongs

Passion Lilie makes many stylish sarongs that are a fantastic addition to any wardrobe. Check out a few of the ethically made sarongs we offer that can spruce up your summer!

Secret Garden Sarong

This floral pattern truly embodies a secret garden. With its beautiful red-and-blue design and white base, this sarong pairs well with a simple top and jeans or with your stylish swimsuit on a beach.

Peacock Teal Sarong

This teal blue takes you straight to the ocean on a warm summer day. The peacock print is both fun and energetic—a perfect sarong print for whatever your summer plans have in store.

Shop Passion Lilie’s Sarongs Today

Now that you know how to wrap a sarong, you can shop for sarongs at Passion Lilie! If you want more summer outfit inspiration, check out our summer outfit ideas here. Feel free to contact us with any of your questions or concerns, and share how you’re wearing your sarong with us on our social media.

As you scroll through Passion Lilie’s collection of fashionable and ethical apparel, you can’t miss the ikat print. It’s both eye-catching and fun, it has a huge range, and it looks great on everything from statement pieces to entire dresses. Western cultures have been making ikat for centuries, and its creation is one we take great pride in. Ikat patterns can be found in Peru, Guatemala, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, and more. It’s a technique that has developed across the globe. Our artisans make ikat prints by hand in India, and we’d like to highlight the process for you to give new meaning to your ikat apparel.

Creating the Ikat Print

Ikat translates from Indonesian to English as “to tie” or “to bind.” Its name comes from the hands-on process of creating the pattern, described below. Although the results look like a print, ikat is actually a dyeing process rather than a printing process.

Step One

Many rows of yarn are laid out and stretched to about 10 meters, which will ultimately make 24 meters when woven. The rows of yarn will depend on how many different colors will be used in the ikat “print” creation process.

Step Two

The artisan draws lines on the yarn to indicate the final ikat print or pattern.

Step Three

Rubber bindings are placed along the lines to mark the pattern. These rubber bindings are crucial because they resist the dye. If it weren’t for these, the entire fabric would end up colored, and the pattern would not create the ikat print as expected.

Step Four

The yarn is dyed with the base or main color. All Passion Lilie products, including those with ikat prints, are made using plant and vegetable dyes, eco dyes, or organic dyes. We believe in using sustainable, environmentally responsible practices through every step of the process, so you can feel good about wearing our apparel and avoid harsh chemicals. You can learn more about ethical shopping with our ethical shopping guide.

Step Five

Next, the yarn is stretched out on poles in the sun to dry. Sun is very important to the ikat print creation process. Once the yarn has dried, the bindings are removed. If more colors are needed in the design, then steps 1–4 will be repeated until the final ikat print is complete.

Step Six

The ikat print is complete! The yarn is then placed on cones and on the loom.

Wearing the Ikat Print

Due to the care and attention to detail required by this process, each ikat print is truly one of a kind. The result of this process is fun, trendy fabrics that can be converted into a wide variety fashionable pieces. Browse several of our top ikat print items today and expand your wardrobe!

Beach Breeze Dress

This dress is perfect for the beach or even just to wear to work as a reminder of the sandy shores and ocean waves. The bright blue and white are a cheery combination, while the silhouette hugs your curves in all the right places.

Grey with Red Poncho

This poncho is a trendy way to switch things up from your usual jacket or blazer. The tie in the front is flattering yet comfortable. Embrace this ikat print anywhere from the office to your next special occasion.

Caribbean Ikat Scarf

With its bright blue hues and aquatic ikat print, this scarf can’t help but remind us of the Caribbean Sea. The tassels at the bottom add a little bit more fun to the texture as well. Wear it around your neck at dinner to accessorize your outfit, or wrap it around your shoulders to keep warm when the air conditioning is blasting.

Chevron Headband

There’s nothing quite like a stylish headband to keep your hair out of your face. Whether you’re having a bad hair day or simply want to accessorize, this ikat print headband would be a great addition to your closet.

Learn More About the Ikat Print

If you’re curious to learn more about the ikat print and its creation process, check out our Ikat Process video. Shop our collection for more ikat print apparel and accessories, and feel free to contact Passion Lilie with any questions. We love sharing the hard work of our artisans, and we know you will, too!