The NEVA Approach


The NEVA Approach is this:

The NEVA Team -------->

Ethical Factories ------->

Skilled Female Artisans Across the Globe -------->

Thoughtful Shoppers (you)

We have 3 ways to help you shop, empowering and providing meaningful employment to our female artisans and their families across the world.

1. Hand-embroidery in South Asia.

This is how NEVA was born in 2013. After a several trips to South Asia, faced with the reality of every day life in this part of the world, we wanted to do more for the desperate living conditions of the women we met along the way. Extensively trained in the art of hand-embroidery, these women had skills that we were easily translatable to the multi-billion dollar western women’s activewear industry.

Making just $1.25 a day when we met them, we are able to pay these women nearly 10x their normal wages, empowering them to buy groceries on their own for the first time, pay electricity bills, save for their children’s education funds and even buy their own sewing machines to continue to be able to do meaningful work for the well-being of their families.

Meet Saima, one of our talented South Asian artisans.

"I'm just living my life for my children."

Saima is 33 years old, a widow and a mother of four. Saima’s dreams are modest, but beyond her reach...with her current wages she is just surviving. But with your help, that can change.

Like all South Asian artisans employed by NEVA, Saima will receive at least 10 times her typical wages—enabling her to move to a safer location, pay for electricity and send her children to school. Your purchase has the power to create new and otherwise unthinkable opportunities for Saima and her family.

Our "Act Without Exception" Capris, "Be the Change" Jackets, "Happiness is the Path" Tanks, "BREATHE" knit tees and "STRONG" knit tanks are all hand-embroidered by women like Saima in South Asia.

2. Hand-embroidery in America.

In 2015, we decided to move clothing production closer to home, creating a new line of pieces 100% made in America and hand-stitched by women right here in the US. In America, the women we employ receive fair wages and a different kind of meaningful employment than our artisans in South Asia. Some are mothers and grandmothers who are seeking work that they are able to do from home, some are students looking for extra income, and many are immigrants who have just arrived in our country, seeking wages and experience that will launch their new life in America. Many of these woman have even been able to use their new wages to open their first bank accounts. We’ve been grateful to work with a local charity organization in our hometown of Kansas City to meet many of our newest artisans and are amazed and grateful everyday that we have the opportunity to get to know these women along their journey.

Meet Shagufa, one of our American artisans.

Shagufa, 25, and her young cousin Freshta, 19, arrived in Kansas City just months before we met them. Both women speak very little English but are trying to learn fast. Shagufa is a trained chemist, who left everything behind when she moved to the United States for a better life. After spending five years studying chemistry in college, she became a high school chemistry teacher until she had the opportunity to come to the US with her father and just one of her 4 brothers and 2 sisters. Her husband, a journalist in Afghanistan, remained behind and Shagufa worries about him constantly. He has started the process to move to America, but that often takes a year, sometimes longer. Shagufa would love to get back to chemistry, but until that is a possibility, she is just grateful for the opportunity to be here in America.

Freshta is soft spoken, but an avid listener as she works on improving her very-limited English. Freshta was working on finishing her university degree when she fled from a dangerous situation in Afghanistan leaving her husband, an engineer, behind.

Our long "Enjoy the Journey" and "Balance" Tanks and our long "Shine Bright," "Gratitude," "Be Present," and "Stay True Leggings are all hand-embroidered by women like Shagufa and Freshta in America.

3. Machine-embroidery in America.

And one great thing leads to another... While employing talented hand-embroiderers in America, we met Gabriella, an art student in Kansas City looking to make ends meet while studying hand-lettering design. We were thrilled to offer her first commercial job designing various lettering phrases for new custom NEVA pieces. These designs were digitized and sent to a female-run factory in LA where they were machine-stitched onto our custom pieces.

Meet Gabriella, our hand-lettering designer.

Gabriella is 23 years old and working on her BFA in Illustration at the Kansas City Art Institute. As a first generation college student, she grew up between Ventura, California and Boise, Idaho and was taught to cross-stitch by her grandmother in junior high. She recently became interested in embroidery after seeing some cool embroidered artwork at school and jumped right on the NEVA bandwagon! Gabby enjoys traveling, exploring and seeing different parts of the country and she loves Kansas City for its vibrant history, beautiful architecture, and creative opportunities. Next up: “I’m planning on establishing my own freelance design business once I graduate!”

Our new 3/4 sleeve loose fit tees were hand-designed by Gabriella and machine stitched by women in LA!