Globally Green Get-Ups
Toque de Pasion

Today I visited an adorable South American boutique just right on Broadway called Toque de Pasion. Having been in its location for just a year, Toque de Pasion prides itself on its use of earth-friendly materials. Along with using all organic cotton for the clothing, Toque de Pasion also carries necklaces and bracelets made out of various types of South American seeds such as acai, tento, jupati, patua, and many others as well as pieces of coconut shells and bright Brazilian gemstones.

The owner of Toque de Pasion, Cesar Zegarra, is originally from Peru and landed in Tucson permanently after traveling for some time throughout the states. His family still resides in Peru, but Zegarra lives here in Tucson with his young son and has decided to stay in America to raise him. Zegarra was originally a mechanic, but said that he always wanted to have his own business. Selling hand-crafted, fair trade items was not a question for him because it is very common for South Americans to work with organic materials.

The co-owner of Toque de Pasion, Melissa McCormick, is also a researcher at the UA Mexican American Studies & Research Center and eco-friendly fashion and companies are very important to her. She mentioned to me that Toque de Pasion carries their own line of Peruvian organic cotton tops, skirts and dresses as well as designs from a new fair trade company in Paraguay.

Along with the South America-based items, Toque de Pasion carries clothes (mainly jackets and vests) created by local designer Cindy Cook-Keller. Cook-Keller uses indigenous materials that she finds all over the globe, including Shipibo cotton, made by the indigenous Shipibo women's group, based out of the Peruvian Amazon.

Toque de Pasion carries clothing, jewelry and handbags created in various countries, from Brazil to Peru, Paraguay to Ecuador. The handbag collections include organic canvas-cotton styles with intricately placed and styled gems, as well as distressed-looking synthetic leather bags. The bangle-style bracelets on the right were hand painted with organic materials by Columbian children. Talented kids!


After my trip to Toque de Pasion, I felt sure that it would not be my last. Not only are the chunky necklaces, Brazilian-gem bracelets and brightly-colored dresses stylish, but they are good for the earth and support small, cultural groups all over the world. If you are interested in checking out more of Toque de Pasion's global designs, they will be attending the "Girl's Night Out Shopping Extravaganza" in the Kiva Ballroom & Patio at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort on October 11th, from 2pm-9pm. You can purchase tickets to the event at The Girls Night Out Website

Thanks for reading and you will hear from me again in a week!

Amy