First of all PAZ which is pronounced 'pah-zh' comes from the Brazilian Portuguese word meaning 'PEACE' hence 'Fashion Peace'.

A while back my husband Dan and I were headed for a remote resort in the Bahia region of Brazil. Our first full day there we decided to go out on one of the local fishing boats.

That morning thinking that we would get in dingy and go out to a fairly accommodating fishing boat, we find this tattered green boat and seaman waiting for us…..the scene from “Jaws” when “Orca” comes puffing smoke into shore immediately came to mind.

Maybe we had too many Caparhini’s the night before but we thought, “how bad can it be” so we hopped in.

Well, the sun gets pretty hot by 11AM (when you're ON the equator) and our little boat didn’t have any protection from the sun….no canopy, no inside, nope….just a couple of folding chairs and fishing wire (which worked as both fishing pole and line).

Debra and Dominique (our wonderful friends and local guides) reach into their bags and come out with these incredibly cool and funky hats. “Where did you find that hat?” – “that’s so cool” ……our journey to find out more about these incredible canvas hats begins…. And so PAZ was born.

I've been a licensed customs broker specializing in fashion for the good part of my career but I've always wanted to find something to compliment my deep passion for animals and the environment into a meaningful new direction that would be sustainable and fulfilling.

Well, I absolutely love working with our new friends in Brazil where we fashion really terrific pieces out of recycled canvas and a sustainable vegetable based vegan leather material. I hope you love them as much as we do!

And please feel free to share your thoughts with us and let us know how we are doing by communicating to us via our blog fashionpeaceblog.com! And thank you for taking the time to read more about us!!

PAZ Is . . .

• pronounced ‘pä – zh’, meaning “peace” in Brazilian Portugese.
• a line of rugged, utilitarian-chic, universally flattering and ethically produced vegan accessories.
• where fresh fashion meets genuine integrity.
• the product of one couple’s love of travel, culture, design, nature and animals and their deep and abiding respect for resources and the planet.
• truly a labor of love.
• hats and bags, hand-fashioned from recycled canvas – previously used by truckers throughout Brazil to protect precious cargo – and a fascinating, new vegan leather made by Amazonian natives from sustainable plant matter.
• a collection of one-of-a-kind pieces.  Purchased from the truckers at the end of its “life cycle,” each piece of canvas comes with unique patches and markings that imbue it with character and echoes of past lives and stories.  These are organically incorporated into PAZ designs.

PAZ Is Proud To . . .

• repurpose existing materials for continued use beyond their expected lifespan.
• bring increased income to factory workers who are treated fairly and paid well.
• help create a sustainable income source for the Amazonian people, who make the vegan leather without clear-cutting any land.
• give a percentage of proceeds from each sale to charitable partners, including Rainforest Alliance and PETA.
• provide people everywhere with high-quality accessories that they can feel and look great in.

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