Ever since I was little kid, my brothers and I have found a way to play. From making up a game for 2-base baseball from corner-to-corner in the hallway on a rainy day, to perfecting the art of "dunk ball" in the driveway. My experience with sports is empowerment, brothership (it's totally a word), inclusion, and just plain having fun. But as I grew up, I realized -- that's not everyone's experienc
e. For a lot of people, sports is twisted up with their self-worth, identity, purpose, or lack thereof. Another thing I've learned as I grow up.. There are some serious problems in the world today. There is still so much exploitation that continues to exist. It truly breaks my heart. I created Matano to play a part in dealing with these two problems. This is how we came up with our tagline for Matano: "fairly made. fairly played." We are "fairly made", because our sports apparel will be made by a Fair Trade clothing supplier. This Fair Trade status makes sure that the skilled workers who make our clothing are treated fairly, and that there is no child labor or slave labor in the production of clothing. We have partnered with Fair Trade USA to make this happen. Unfortunately, there is still a ton of exploitation in the clothing industry today. We want to change that. We want to provide you, the world-changer, with an opportunity to change the world -- yes, even in the clothing you wear when you play. We are also "fairly played." Meaning our goal is to fuel a change in sports culture today. We want to bring back the purity of play. So many amazing stories happen in sports, stories that a scoreboard could never summarize. We want to hear them. We want to know what actually makes sports great. I'm not talking about professional athletes, I'm talking about you. The twice a week noon-baller at the YMCA. The coach of the 2nd grade volleyball team with a 1-5 record going into "playoffs". The guy who plans "Turkey Bowl" the day after Thanksgiving every year, no matter how cold it is. We want you to be our highlights. We really appreciate you following us on Facebook. You've joined a great team. We will keep you updated on Matano's development, as well as on all the great stories we hear about the awesomeness of sports. Let's keep sports awesome.
- Toby Kriwiel
Founder of Matano
