Scott Leonard & Matt Reynolds

INDIGENOUS Fair Trade+Organic Fashion

Scott Leonard and Matt Reynolds, co-founders of INDIGENOUS are leading the transformation of the apparel industry. The company was founded in 1994 with a promise of producing clothing that honors both people and planet. They envisioned a business model based on social and economic fairness and responsibility. At the time, organic, fair trade, and sustainability were phrases just emerging in the market. Today, in collaboration with SVN members such as Eileen Fisher, INDIGENOUS continues to elevate industry standards and consumer consciousness in the fashion marketplace.

INDIGENOUS exists to deliver a promise of honoring people and planet by how its works with artisans and sources supply chain materials. All INDIGENOUS apparel is handmade with fair trade values by skilled artisans. They are empowered participants, their cultural traditions are supported, and they get help elevating their knitting skills and business acumen. Fibers are sourced through organic farmers and local herders, and only eco-friendly dyes are used. This approach ensures greater sustainable local economic impact and thereby helps preserve and protect community, culture and the environment.

INDIGENOUS’ foremost goal is to create fashion that is worth wearing, worth buying and worth supporting. It provides beautiful, premium value style and fosters a lasting connection between consumers and the artisans who create their clothing. INDIGENOUS’ new Fair TraceTool™ created with RSF Finance PRI, lets consumers scan a hang tag QR code and meet the artisans and see the social impact of their purchase.

The INDIGENOUS team promotes sustainable and socially responsible business. They have assisted in setting industry standards for how USDA, the Organic Fiber Council and the Organic Trade Association define Organic fiber. They have helped create educational platforms like Green Steps, which converted the largest US Outdoor Industry trade show to wind power. They also have fostered groundbreaking, lending model in partnership with Root Capital, and were one of the very first founding B Corporations.

At the grassroots level, INDIGENOUS works with Fair Trade knitting groups and cooperatives throughout Central and South America and employs thousands of artisans in the most remote and impoverished regions of the world. They continue to be on the frontier of work surrounding supply chain transparency and fair trade certification standards for the global apparel industry.

Learn more at www.indigenousdesigns.com.