Fabric Of Society: The Luxury Linen Brand Is Driving Change For Disadvantaged Women In Egypt
Here’s what Malaika Linens is doing to give back while handcrafting luxurious fabrics…
Egyptian cotton and linen is recognised around the globe for its luxury feel and high thread count. But one Egyptian textile maker, Malaika Linens, is more than just handcrafting fabrics for the wealthy – it is on a mission to help underprivileged women and refugees in Egypt with its sister company, Threads of Hope.
“Women are the pillars of society,” says Margarita Andrade, co-founder of the charitable organisation founded in 2004. “If the pillars are broken, so [is] society. We have been training women for 20 years, which has subsequently led to self-employment and financial independence, but we soon became aware it wasn’t enough.”
She adds, “A lot of these women carry a huge burden on their shoulders, with families, and living under the poverty line. So we started a nutrition programme to learn about food and health and to hold cooking lessons. We also have a nursery where mothers can drop off their children while they work and soon we will work with trauma therapists and hold breast cancer awareness and financial planning workshops.”
With sustainability a hot topic in the textile industry, it’s now become more important than ever to look beyond the beauty of an item and see how it was made. Margarita says, “It’s critical for consumers to know how the item was produced but also to recognise the importance of hand-made products as a source of development for societies, on an individual level as a sustainable source of income and equally on a national level, to fuel economic growth.” @threadsofhopecairo
Lead image courtesy of Instagram/@madu_cairo and @threadsofhopecairo
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s June 2021 issue.