What Equality Looks Like in Handmade Fashion 

What Equality Looks Like in Handmade Fashion (This Women’s Equality Day)

August 26 marks Women’s Equality Day, a moment to reflect on how far we’ve come and how much work is still ahead. But we don’t want this to feel like a history lesson. At Lumily, we see equality not just as a date on the calendar, but as something our artisan partners live and breathe every single day.

Equality shows up in the way women gather to create, how they get paid fairly for their work, and how traditions are preserved through handmade craft. It’s in the bags, coin purses, and hacky sacks that carry more than color — they carry the power of women’s hands.

From Votes to Voices: Why Equality Still Matters

Yes, this day honors the right to vote. But for many women across the globe, equality isn’t about the ballot box. It’s about opportunity. Opportunity to earn, to lead, and to create without limits.

Our artisan partners aren’t just making accessories. They’re shaping futures. Every stitch they tie is also a voice that says: I deserve to be seen. I deserve to be paid fairly. I deserve equality.

What Equality Looks Like in Handmade Fashion

There’s a word for activism through craft: craftivism. And our artisans embody it beautifully. Every handmade bag, every crochet hacky sack, every coin purse is a statement. A statement that women’s work has value, that creativity can fuel independence, and that tradition is power.

Unlike mass-produced fashion, these pieces can’t be stamped by machines. Crochet can only be made by hand. That means when you choose handmade, you’re choosing women’s labor, women’s wages, and women’s stories.  

Stories from Our Artisan Partners

Equality is more than a concept. It’s personal. For the women we partner with in Guatemala, Mexico, and Thailand, fair trade wages mean:

✨ Putting food on the table every day
✨ Sending children to school
✨ Investing in their homes and futures

When asked what equality means to Juana, one of our artisans in Guatemala and she said: “For me, it’s being able to support my family with my own work. I never thought my crochet could do that.”  See her collection HERE.

Why Handmade = Equality in Action

Equality isn’t abstract. It’s in the coin purse you carry, the hacky sack you toss around with friends, or the crossbody you wear to the market. Each one was crafted by a woman who deserves recognition, independence, and a fair paycheck.

So when we celebrate Women’s Equality Day, we’re not just talking about the past. We’re living it in the present. And you are part of that story.

Women’s Equality Day Is Every Day Here

At Lumily, supporting women is not a campaign, it’s a commitment. This is woven into everything we do, from who makes our products to how they’re paid to how their stories are shared.

This Women’s Equality Day, we invite you to celebrate not just with words, but with choices. Choices that support women supporting women, fair pay, and handmade traditions that keep equality alive every day.

Every handmade piece begins with a woman’s story. When you meet our artisans, you’ll see the mothers, daughters, and community leaders behind every stitch. Their creativity isn’t just craft - it’s independence, tradition, and the living proof that equality is built by hand.