Guatemalan Mayan Weavers Fighting Protection

Guatemalan Mayan Weavers Fighting Protection is made up of “The Feminine Association for the Development of Sacatepéquez”, is a group of women textile producers from the Sacatepéquez department. Currently, the laws of Guatemala do not protect the intellectual property rights of the designs of Indigenous clothing.

The Guatemalan Mayan Weavers Fighting Protection in Guatemala are looking for a reform of the Copyright and Related Rights Law, the Industrial Property Law, the Craft Protection and Development Law, and the Penal Code. If approved, indigenous peoples will record their collective creations according to their forms of organization and will be governed by their own institutions, norms, principles, and customs.

This has left traditional Guatemalan Mayan Weavers Fighting Protection open to theft by transnational companies looking to exploit and appropriate Mayan identity. When published in various materials in the Guatemalan tourism ministry, INGUAT, they are objectifying the real significance of our weavings.

At the time of this writing the 25 groups of women weavers who formed the Mayan Weavers Movement in Guatemala, to raise national awareness that all textiles creations are works of art and deserve to be protected as such, failed to find protection in the Courts of Guatemala.

Guatemalan Mayan Weavers Fighting Protection

“Design Theft”.

Guatemalan Mayan Weavers Fighting Protection

Who or how are these designs being stolen? If you Google, Mayan Handmade, Textiles, Bags, Backpacks, etc, etc., etc you will find hundreds if not thousands of websites selling Mayan Textile Designs, with most making suggesting claims of supporting the local Weavers and Textile Producers of Guatemala.

If the statement of supporting the local Weavers were true by these online websites, then why do you find a Handmade Huipile Design Woman’s Tote Bag selling for $356.00 online from a US online store and the oldest Weaving Co-Operative in Lake Atitlan Guatemala being Lema can only sell her similar Tote for Q450 or $62.00 from her shop?

Lack of Assess to the Internet, Skills needed for the development of a website to sell the products, and the costs to maintain and market the website are but a few of the limiting factors or reasons Mayan Weavers need support.

Considering the difference in profits from $356.00 for the US online stores selling Mayan hand Made Products, versus $62.00 from the Shop in San Juan La Laguna, the US online store makes all the profit.

Guatemalan Mayan Weavers Fighting Protection

“Costs of Goods”

Guatemalan Mayan Weavers Fighting Protection

The Online Stores selling Mayan Textiles will offer this answer of why these Handmade products are high priced. Shipping is one excuse, Ethical Fashion Guatemala has found that numerous online stores in the US offering Mayan Weavers Products ship the goods as gifts to the end customer in the United States to avoid US Duty and Retail Sales Tax.

Guatemalan Mayan Weavers Fighting Protection

“Fair Trade Fake News”

Guatemalan Mayan Weavers Fighting Protection

Fair Trade at one time was considered the word that represented Trade between parties. Fairtrade was a social movement whose stated goal is to help producers in developing countries achieve better trading conditions. Today for a few thousand dollars one can pay “Fair Trade” a fee to use the trademark of Fair Trade in marketing materials stating that the company now is Trading Fair. Is there a monitoring, accounting reporting, transparency? Self-monitoring would best describe the process.

Guatemalan Mayan Weavers Fighting Protection

“Ethical Fashion”

Ethical Fashion is a Marketing Strategy that some of the Top Fashion Designers around the world have offered support in 2016. The 35 Fashion Designers that made headlines in Fashion News stated that now they would source materials from small producers that supported Renewable and Sustainable means of producing the Designers final products or materials used in the production of.

Ethical Fashion Guatemala contacted many of the Fashion Designers and ask one simple question: What % of the products produced are from the small producers featured on the designer’s websites? Those that did respond claimed this information was confidential or trade secrets and not part of Transparency.

Guatemalan Mayan Weavers Fighting Protection

“What you can do as a consumer?”

Buy direct from the Weavers and Artisans of Guatemala. If you find a website that claims to be a direct supporter of Guatemalan Weavers, asks before you buy how they are supported? We can all make a change and help the Weavers of Guatemala maintain the heritage they are attempting to protect.