Back bent for hours, hands curled to guide the material.
Seam after seams after seams.

Hidden invisible hands, their pain concealed by the watch of greedy business man.
Helplessly caught under the wrath of the insatiable thirst for bargains.

Tables were lined in long rows, edges by edges,
it was built for efficiency, not so much humanity.

PX:One of the my favourite bit about the label its collaboration with craftsmen and artisans for ethical production and support of a craft neglected after the inception of machines in the textile printing industry. Has it been difficult? 
R:Difficulty is a relative measure. It was actually easier than we had expected, the response we received was really good but it was definitely difficult in terms of production.

PX: I noticed that through the visits you've done for Matter, you've met many interesting people and artisans. Could you share some of these stories and how you started?
Ren: I came across a fundraiser event run by a charity working with artisans during one of my travels. Through this charity organisation, we came across an ethical supply chain supplier who paired us up with partners, artisans and craftsman. Through them, we visited and sampled with the artisans. I'm personally very interested in stories and culture; fabric in itself has a lot of symbolism and meaning and this came together when I met two girls in Vietnam selling bookmarks. The bookmarks were handcrafted by themselves after learning it from their mom. The girls told me that if they sold enough, they would be able to fund their education. This encounter got me thinking about how I could combine craft and my passion to make an impact from a business based on stories. 

PX: The brand has evolved since its beginnings with block prints to include other traditional techniques. What is the process like in deciding the type of techniques to utilise for the different motifs? 
R:For our collaboration last year, we worked with four different designers from Indonesia, India, Singapore and Philippines to create a motif from their country. With this design, we work with our artisans to make adjustments and this is then finalised by the designer before we sample the motif and eventually send them for production. We have to plan our process around the printing method and the choice of technique depends very much on its prevalence. Block printing and Ikat forms the foundation of our technique and are in use in many parts of the world including India, Japan and China. Although the technique is similar, the craft can be quite different in the different country. The technique determines the outcome of the motif so it's important to work closely with the artisans as they know best.  

PX: Lastly, despite the rising concerns over the working conditions of the garment workers, there are still stories of fashion labels who turn a blind eye to their predicament. What do you think an individual could do to help change this? 
R:One of the questions we receive the most is how expensive our garments are in comparison to H&M and other fast fashion labels. We take this chance to explain our process to the consumers and start conversations about why other garments might be so cheap. Sometimes these customers come back after a few weeks, sometimes they don't but it's a chance for us to educate people about the situation. The consumer holds a vote for change and where they decide to spend their money has a huge impact. After all, more sustainable and ethical labels are forming only because there are more people interested and concern about ethical fashion. 

Singapore-based ethical fashion label, Matter runs on a ethical business model that produces ‘travel pants of textiles made with traditional techniques. They often creates content that showcases the crafat of Ikat, block-printing and other textile printing methods. Pixie spoke to their founder Renyung Ho to find out more about the label and the relationship between the brand and it’s makers.