SOAPBOX // Column // Cotton Mafia

With her Dutch roots complaining is in her genes. Every month she writes a little piece about things that keeps her busy. Things that make her wanna scream “Nooooooooooo”



While I am preparing to close up the studio and finishing up all work to end the year I am daydreaming about this year’s holiday destination. Christmas and New Year’s are the perfect time of the year to travel if you are a small business owner like me and I love traveling to Asia, it is warm, the food is delicious, the people are welcoming and it is rich of culture, that gives me a great boost of inspiration.

Black Friday mayhem
With Black Friday and Cyber Monday coming and going I have been shocked to see the immense craziness involved with buying. Consumerism is something I am guilty of as well, but I do not like spending money on unnecessary things. I consider the source before buying anything new and it frustrated me how non-transparent brands and their products are. I want to buy something honest but the past year, building up a fabric production for the studio, I learned the cotton industry is shady business.

Cheap countries
Last year I visit Cambodia and traveled around the country. Going from one place to another I noticed an enormous amount of trucks passing our car coming from the other side. I asked my guide where these trucks stashed with woman and children was coming from. “From the Chinese clothing factory.” he said. And I watched these trucks pass us for half an hour. I started counting half way through and counted over 60 trucks. Carrying people, at least 30 people per truck. My guide told me about the Chinese companies relocating into Cambodia and subcontract for large fashion brands like Zara, H&M. After witnessing this I felt physically ill. The amount of people necessary to make cheap clothes in the poorest and most desperate corners of the world.

The Certified Cotton fairy tale
Most companies I work for are certified. Source their cotton from American cotton fields but the problem with cotton and therefore the fashion industry is that there is so much money involved. getting certified is simply applying and paying for the certificate. From there it is easy to outsource to cheaper factories, leading towards higher profit and low prices for consumers that love to shop in mass production shops like Ikea, Action or Primark.

When I started Little Smilemakers Shop my mission was to produce eco conscious fabric. Sourced, manufactured and printed in proper conditions. While starting up the production I noticed how naive I was, asking questions always led me to a dead end: “We can not tell you where the cotton knit manufacturer is located”. While hiring a print factory they told us they were certified, but they outsourced the printing. When I asked OEKOTEX and GOTS, two leading certifying companies, how this could then still be a certified, checked and approved process they told me they had never heard of this issue before. Leading me to believe these certifications don’t mean anything. Companies pay for the certificate. The main factory is checked and approved but all sub contractors are off the grid. I am a critical one, I don’t want to step into something so very shady and support this exploitation.

The conscious mindset
Because I am traveling to Asia again, not for the cheap prices, I wanted to get this off my chest. Whenever I travel I see the impact the, mostly Western consumerism has on these beautiful countries. With Zara in the news, factory workers sewing in labels crying for help, this is such a relevant topic directly related to my own business. I hope for the next year things within the textile industry will get more transparent leading to honest work. I hope there will be more awareness and saving money won’t be a priority over humanity much longer. Check your labels, buy local and if you don’t need it, don’t buy it. Especially in the upcoming weeks leading to Christmas. Care a little.

New collab // Wildflowers Clothing // Colorful bohemian girls fashion // Fall 2017 collection

Early this year Samantha reached out to license some of our prints for her new Wildflowers collection. This September our Sew Happy print is released and their new fall collection was launched. We love how her colorful bohemian style is a great mix and match of patterns and just wanted to share some of the new items in her collection.

For the new collection she selected two of our designs. And one of these two hold a special place for Sam and has a fun back story. And as you might know we love to tell stories. It was inspired by this place Denise and Sam used to work together, late at night and early in the morning. It was when they knew they’d be alone, left to our devices. They could design in silence or laugh their butts off from the nonsense earlier in the day. They could fight over ‘the good scissors and hide bolts of fabric from each other – because they HAD to use it first. They would build little “maps” of designs to show the local seamstress where each print should be sewn.

While they never really sewed together, they spent a lot of time with all the elements that create a piece of clothing. From the first time Sam held “the good scissors,” she knew she had to be a part of the process of making clothes—in any capacity. And when she saw our Little Smilemakers, she knew it had to be a part of her first collection. And we are so happy to be part of this process.



“For months, each style has been dressed on mannequins, pinned and trimmed until the fit is just right – and at the photoshoot all that hard work pays off. Seeing that first twirl, jump, or skip across a field is like crossing the finish line to me.”

The print is a reminder of where Sam came from, where she truly learned to mix and match colors, playfully add trims and buttons that never really seemed to go together; to create something original and so pleasing to the eye. A reminder of those long mornings and late nights the seamstress print on the Sew Happy Top is a special piece of our Wildflowers story. if you are curious about the rest of this new girls collection take a look at their website. if you purchase a Wildflower item you also support Seeds of Hope. By supporting their Education fund, you will be able to empower children all over the world with the educational tools they need to end the vicious cycle of poverty and rise above their deplorable living conditions. A great thing to support!

Finished product // Bebè Casa new fabric collection

The past few months we have been working on a series of cool trendy new prints for Bebè Casa Fabrics. We have been working for this Polish company for over two years now and we love seeing their collection grow.

Always on trend with new pastels, gender neutrals and watercolor themes that are now available. Fun fresh and colorful fabrics suitable for your little ones wardrobe, create some cute dresses with those unicorns or fun home accessories or bedding for your kids bedroom or nursery. We licensed colorful mountains, vintage toys, retro owls, new feathers and sweet kawaii sky designs to Bebè Casa that are not for sale anywhere else.

Bebè Casa uses certified cotton and inks and the colors are vivid. If you are looking for some good quality cottons look no further. They have released their super fun collection of kids prints the past few weeks and they are now also available in their online shop or for all Dutchies: check out Ansje handmade, we manage to have some fabrics for sale in The Netherlands! Yay! Of course we are curious what beautiful creations will pop up from this new collection of designs. Don’t forget to share your finished results and tag @littlesmilemakers via Instagram.