Turn Black Friday Green

Online, November 28, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Marlandia announces launch of new website, www.marlandia.com.

Marlandia launches new website for sustainable, hand made, Brazilian eco-fashion products on Black Friday, 2013.

Marlandia.com sells handmade, fair trade, Brazilian, eco-fashion products that empower women in Rio de Janeiro's slum favela communities. The products include one-of-a-kind sandals, bags, tank tops and FlipTop interchangeable sandal accessories made from upcycled textiles discarded by Brazil's top fashion brands and otherwise headed for the landfill. Marlandia's goal is to increase the human potential of millions of people who live in Brazil's slums by creating job opportunities. Marlandia.com brings the products to the U.S. market.

Marlandia.com is doing a Black Friday 25% off event. This is an opportunity to snag one-of-a-kind products, support women in Brazil's slum favelas, and save fabric from going to the landfill.

Find detailed product information at www.marlandia.com.

The choices are few for those that live in Brazil's favela slums — drugs, prostitution or despair. Having a job is difficult, owning a business is unheard of, and working for violent drug trafficking gangs is often the only avenue for a young entrepreneur. But now, there is a beacon of hope on the horizon.

Silvinha Oliveira, born in one of Rio de Janeiro's most violent favela slums, Barreira do Vasco, worked her own way through fashion school and founded a seamstress class to empower women in her favela with opportunities for independent income. Silvinha's designs were so popular that she started selling them at markets, and Retalhos Cariocas, known as Rio Scraps, was born.

Silvinha has pioneered sustainable sourcing techniques to create beautiful one-of-a-kind pieces of apparel, footwear and accessories from discarded fabrics the global fashion industry otherwise dumps in landfills. Partners include some of the largest Brazilian brands such as Osklen, Kalimo, and Afghan.

In addition to the free sewing courses, Silvinha seeks to employ as many graduates of its classes as possible, always at a fair trade wage. By creating an environment of respect, honor, creativity and dedication,Silvinha gives people tools to improve their lives and simultaneously reduces waste from landfills.

"I started the courses because I wanted to share my knowledge and put in people's minds that even though they live in a favela and are poor, they can succeed. I think this is the real spirit of Retalhos Cariocas," commented Silvinha. She continues, "People from the favela… There's a destiny of being poor, not being able to go to university, or get a good job. We're fighting to destroy the mentality that a person from the favela doesn't have the right to be someone."

Silvinha is a beacon of hope for Brazil's slum communities. She is transforming fashion and proving it is possible for opportunity to bloom in a slum where education and skills are hard to come by.

Marlandia, exclusive U.S. distributor, shares Silvinha's belief in human potential. When we share the tools to harness this potential, we are all investing in a brighter and more just future. Every piece is unique, made at a fair trade wage, and bears the stories of its fabric and the hands crafting it.

Marlandia's collaboration with Silvinha is a socially responsible enterprise that seeks to leverage U.S. retail market power and provide opportunities for responsible consumerism. Our success is manifested in supporting sustainable economic development in Brazil's slums, which in turn impacts higher quality education, justice, and overall quality of life.

Our goal is three-fold: to provide employment for these promising women through a sustainable monthly income, while also contributing to the overall economic development of Brazil's slum communities, and upcycling materials that would otherwise increase Brazil's notorious landfills.

Contact Information:

Marlandia, LLC
marlandiashop@gmail.com
www.marlandia.com