New Press Release about Barnyard Animals

" YPSILANTI, MI, June 22, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- After the success of their organic cotton Sock Monkeys and Penguins, Maggie's Organics has stepped up to the plate once again to provide eight new stuffed animals, the Barnyard Series, ranging from Tie-Dye Chickens to Denim-Blue Cows. All part of the "Maggie's Menagerie" series, these cuddly toys are made by the 100% worker-owned co-operative in North Carolina, "Opportunity Threads", and are carefully crafted from scrap materials created by Maggie's organic clothing and sock production. [...]"

You can see the rest of the press release here, or at dozens of other news sites!

Maggie's has a Twitter!

Come say hi to Maggie's on Twitter!

http://twitter.com/MaggiesOrganic

Eventually, we hope to offer deals exclusively to our Twitter followers :)

Free Sock Giveaway on Facebook!

Maggie's Organics is doing a free sock giveaway right now on Facebook! Join our group in order to get yourself entered:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=26986718857

You can grab yourself a free pair of our tie-dye socks (shown to the right), or any other pair you'd like.

College Class Takes Trip to Maggie's Production Facility

Students from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, have recently made a trip to the production facility in Costa Rica that makes much of Maggie's Organics' apparel. After Maggie's president Bena Burda gave a talk to the class earlier this year, they packed their bags and headed south to the family-owned and -operated sewing facility.

Aquinas College is home to the first undergraduate program in Sustainable Business in the entire US, and so the students continued their education by visiting the birthplace of some great organic, fair-trade apparel.

Seen above is the class with professor Deborah Steketee.

Barnyard Animals Featured on Inhabitots.com!

From Inhabitots.com:

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NEW! Barnyard Animal Softies from Maggie’s Functional Organics

by Jasmin Malik Chua

Maggie’s Functional Organics’ menagerie of reclaimed soft animals just got a whole lot bigger, with a new limited-edition collection of lovable barnyard critters ready to join your home on the range. These sweet farm friends are hand-stitched by a worker-owned cooperative in Morganton, North Carolina. Made with certified-organic cotton fabric leftovers and sock rejects, each machine-washable cow, pig, sheep, and funky tie-dyed chicken is stuffed with reclaimed polyester mill scrap to make it extra cuddly.

+ Barnyard Animals $15

+ Maggie’s Functional Organics

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Original Article: http://www.inhabitots.com/2009/06/09/new-limited-edition-barnyard-animal-softies-from-maggies-functional-organics/

Baby Rib Tee Dress featured on TreeHugger!

From TreeHugger.com:

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Maggie's Functional Organics Baby Rib Tee Dress

by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 06. 4.09

Photo credit: Maggie's Functional Organics

Proving that it never hurts to ask, Maggie's Functional Organics' new Baby Rib Tee Dress was coaxed into existence after a customer asked the company if it could create a basic, affordable dress for a day at the beach or a night on the town.

At $28, the 100 percent organic cotton short-sleeve, body-skimming number certainly fits the bill, offering a blank canvas for accessorizing with brilliantly patterned scarves or dramatic pieces of jewelry, so you can make it wholly your own. Available in black, light blue, and lilac.

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Original Article: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/06/maggies-organics-dress.php

Introducing the new Barnyard Animals Series!

We are expanding our line of stuffed animals – this time it's an entire series of Barnyard beauties! Each animal is made from leftover socks and apparel pieces from Maggie’s, and are stuffed with reclaimed polyester mill scrap, so the entire project is helping save apparel products and waste from gathering up in landfills!

The Barnyard Animals are all made by Opportunity Threads, the new sewing cooperative located in North Carolina that also makes our Sock Monkeys and Penguins.

Check out the adorable designs - they are the creation of the members of the co-op themselves. Our first animals, the Monkey and the Penguin, were pretty much designed by Maggie's, and then we worked with the co-op to make changes. But this time the folks at Opportunity Threads provided the creative energy behind the series. The co-op's ingenuity is amazing, especially given that they are designing around the irregular socks and materials we have available.

About Us

Maggie's Organics was founded in 1992 on the premise that all workers could be treated ethically and that clothing could be functional, beautiful and affordable and also constructed of environmentally sustainable materials. Seventeen years later, we are proud to say that our proposition has proven true: Our line of organic and fair trade socks, scarves, tights, loungewear, legwarmers, tees, baby clothes, new stuffed animals and fashionable tops continues to fulfill and strengthen our founding principles:

•	All of our products are constructed using Certified Organic Cotton or Certified Organic Wool as their main component. * We add in other fibers only when they improve the longevity, durability, and performance of our garments. All components used are fully disclosed on every product label, down to 1/10 of 1%.
•	Conscious of energy consumed by transporting products across the globe, we develop supply chains as close to home as possible. * We use minimal packaging, knowing that our products' feel and quality speak for themselves.
•	We work exclusively with business partners who guarantee livable working conditions and independence for their workers. Much of our manufacturing is done in countries with strong labor laws, like Costa Rica and the US. Alternately, when we produce in countries with poor labor and environmental laws, we either find or create worker-owned cooperatives to assure that workers have independence and control.

Maggie's is blessed with customers who have taken time to get to know and support us, and whose insights constantly challenge us to improve. We hope our products earn both your respect and trust, and we look forward to hearing from you!