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From Guatemala to Tampa Bay: environmentally friendly kids clothes

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By LEIGH SPANN

lspann@wfla.com

Published: October 8, 2009

TAMPA - It all started three years ago in Guatemala.

That's when Bay area moms Danielle O'Connor and Shari Feldman decided to go into the eco-clothing business.

"We just met the right people at the right time," said Danielle O'Connor.

Working with individual artisans in Guatemala, the two moms design the Chi Chi Amor clothing line. The clothes are all hand-made and are meant to be environmentally friendly and globally conscious.
They start with repurposed used clothes from the Mayan people. The brightly-colored, hand-woven huipils (shirts) and cortes (skirts) serve as material for the kids clothes.

"The colors just lend so much to kids clothes and to children in general," said Shari Feldman.

These two moms also use their background in anthropology to recognize they are doing more than just recycling clothes. They are bringing awareness to a weaving tradition that is being lost in Central America due to the availability of mainstream clothing.

"Not only are we reusing these fabrics, but we're trying to preserve cultural tradition," said O'Connor.
In their most recent trip back to Guatemala to meet with the producers of Chi Chi Amor clothes,

O'Connor and Feldman saw the natural dying process for the clothes. The dyes are made from plants like aloe vera and St. Johns wort. Plants that are grown in one woman's backyard.

"Her garden is a few plants," said Feldman "but she's able to resourcefully use each part of the plant to come up with different colors."

A few Bay area stores offer Chi Chi Amor clothes, like Yogani yoga studio and Tampa Street Market. The moms also sell the clothes online and at the St. Pete Farmer's Market.

The most rewarding part for these two anthropologists is the conversation each article of clothing can spark about Mayan people in general and the individual artisans who create the pieces.

"Our clothes really deserve and in some ways need the conversation," said Feldman.

Most of the clothes are unisex and range in size from newborn to five toddler. They also offer rattles, purses and other accessories that are made from the repurposed shirts and skirts.

"The textiles just speak for themselves," said Feldman. "They're incredibly beautiful."

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