About Us

MALA is a garland with 108 beads.

108 Mala is an eco-lifestyle company committed to fair trade, sustainable, handmade, eco-friendly, and organic products from around the world. We proudly showcase luxurious bedding and bath, decorative home accents, fashionable jewelry, and stylish personal accessories. Each product is handmade and eco-friendly, utilizing sustainable textiles, organic cotton, recyclable and lead-free materials, vegan fabrics, and natural dyes. Preserving traditional crafts of appliqué, embroidery, block printing, and weaving, each piece represents the work of fair trade artisans from around the world.

108 Mala works with indigenous artisans and craft communities to support livelihoods and income generation - while designing, developing, and producing ethically-sourced and beautifully-made products for our customers.

Modern designs and high-quality gifts with a human touch – 108 Mala products are suited for every body, your home, and our environment.

Thank you for visiting us today.

History

108 Mala's inspiration can be traced back to a village in South India. The idea for 108 Mala started some years ago, when the founder Aalap Shah was in India working with an HIV non-profit organization. It was there that he met impoverished women in sex work who had to face the difficult choice of asking their clients to use a condom or earn more money as unprotected sex garners higher income. Aalap explains, "I started asking myself: who has the right to choice? Why did it seem that people with more money have more access to rights? In India, it seemed that when one had money, one could choose to send her kids to school, choose to get proper healthcare, and choose to demand rights from her partner and community."

It was from this idea that started Aalap's work in economic development and income generation. At 108 Mala, we believe the key to helping the 4 billion people, who live on less that $2 a day, get out of poverty is by helping them to become entrepreneurs and producers. If a woman can gain regular and gainful employment – then she would never have to choose between her health and her income, or her child's education and putting food on the table. 108 Mala helps marginalized women in India design, develop, and produce crafts and sell their products to gain an income. We deepen our relationship with artisan cooperatives by offering design support, introducing them to green and eco producers and suppliers, and connecting their product to buyers in North America and Europe. For example, a female artisan collective works with 108 Mala to create a certified organic cotton bedspread that sells to boutiques throughout the U.S. The income goes back to these women directly – which they invest back into their micro-business, their families, and their communities.

Buying products that are fair trade, local, and organic is a personal choice. But it is also a very political act. The purchase of a market-driven, fair trade product helps marginalized communities gain regular income, earn self-worth and respect, and get out of poverty. Investing in women and creating green products for customers creates a chain reaction for economic development and environmental sustainability. Women often use micro-loans and daily wages to re-invest in sustainable practices (their children's education, food on the table, livestock, etc). These actions help create motivation, opportunity and growth for the people around these women – encouraging them to build their own lives to get out of poverty. Building livelihoods is a great way to incentivize communities to gain job skills, find innovation, and resist elements that increase instability and tension within communities. For example, the August 23rd, 2009 New York Times Sunday Magazine dedicated the issue to the belief that women's economic security is a vital cornerstone of peace throughout the world, its bottom-line message is that "focusing on women and girls is the most effective way to fight global poverty and extremism. Women and girls aren't the problem; they're the solution."

As a consumer, our dollars are incredibly valuable. Every time someone chooses organic milk and lead-free jewelry and handmade soaps – the world shifts slightly shifts away from unethical practices of production. 108 Mala wants each consumer to question where their clothes, their food, and their gifts comes from. How is it made? What goes into making the product? Who benefits from the sale? Does this product support workers, communities, and the environment? As Aalap states, "I was in India recently and it struck me: not every artisan around the world has caught on to the Marketable Green Bug...but their work is a handmade craft going back centuries. A woman today is creating a product in the same way it was created by her mother, and her mother before that – without electricity, big factories, pantone colors, pesticides, and plastics. To me, that is not a green fad...it's as organic as, well, organic apple pie."

Bio

108 Mala believes in hard work behind an ethical, transparent brand that will not compromise on our integrity. 108 Mala is a member of the Fair Trade Federation, contributes to 1% For the Planet, and recognized with a Business Seal of Approval from Green America's Green Business Network. As a home-grown, locally-built organization, we choose quality and people over quantity and profit every time! Our goal is for each customer to love our products and the story behind the work of art they purchased. We do not believe in cutting corners at the expense of the producer or the consumer. This is the heart of our business – connecting you to the people who make what you wear, use, and gift everyday.

Founder Aalap Shah, a native of Texas whose heart is often traveling the world, has spent years working in the livelihood and income generation space. He grew up in a household and community that dedicated itself to non-violence and peace, respecting our environment and animals, and living with less not bigger, faster, and cheaper. Along with 108 Mala, Aalap has worked with the William J. Clinton Fellowship for Service, American India Foundation, LOTUS by League of Artisans, the Corporate Executive Board's Business Banking Board, and the Women's Peace Collection – all with a focus around helping female-entrepreneurs gain access to markets and gainful employment. He graduated from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, studied at the University College London and is currently residing in Brooklyn, NY training for his next triathlon.