Miami may be known for its high-priced nightlife and high-fashion boutiques. But take a stroll down Purdy Avenue, and you’ll find a refreshing little shop with a conscience.
It’s the type of place where you’ll find eco-friendly tees and artisan-made bags, all peddled by a friendly staff that will make you feel right at ease. It’s also the type of place where you’ll find inspirational quotes hanging on the walls and framed on shelves, reminding you to breathe, seize the day, simply let go all at once.
It's Metta Loving Kindness.
Brightly colored tops and inspirational signs are just some of the items you'll find at Metta Loving Kindness — Photo courtesy of Metta Loving Kindness
Metta Loving Kindness is a concept store that proves that shopping doesn’t need to be a self-indulgent habit. In fact, their name says it all. Metta literally stands for loving and kindness in Pali, a long-lost language of India that's often used in ancient Buddhist writings.
And this is what Metta is all about: fostering a shopping experience in which one gives back in a number of ways.
Walk inside the cozy store, and you’ll find a variety of items, from crocheted blankets and embroidered dresses to children’s books and pajamas, home décor like small plants and sweet-scented soy candles, statues of Buddha . . . the list goes on.
As you peruse the tables and racks, you’ll also discover large, brown tags on all the items, their “Metta tags,” which fill you in on the conscious practices of each brand or artisan.
Metta's wonderful children's selection — Photo courtesy of Metta Loving Kindness
The T-shirts with the Farofa Nation tag, for example, will please your eye: the designs are unique, modern and created by a number of artists worldwide. More than that, part of the proceeds go toward TASK Brasil, an organization that helps homeless children in Brazil get off the streets and into safe homes.
And by wearing these T-shirts, you can share the message of Farofa Nation and TASK Brasil whenever someone asks you where you got that stylish, printed tee.
Anything with a Live Worldly tag – maybe a pair of intricately embroidered Thai slippers or a colorful, handmade Indian wallet – will go on to benefit a particular nonprofit within the country of the product’s origin, such as the Thai Elephant Conservation Center or TAABAR, a foundation providing programs to runaway kids in India.
Hand-crafted jewelry designed to inspire at Metta — Photo courtesy of Metta Loving Kindness
Other tags you’ll find at Metta include Puro Papel (who donates $1 of your purchase to the Azul Wasi orphanage in Cuzco, Peru); Project 7 (who sells simple everyday products like chewing gum to benefit a number of charities like Splash, which provides clean drinking water in areas in need); and the ever-popular TOMS (who provides one new pair of shoes to someone in need for every pair of shoes purchased).
Additionally, Metta has partnered with a number of artisans in countries like Bali, Morocco, Kenya and Mexico to provide products with their own Metta Label. Ten percent of the proceeds on these items go directly to helping children in Africa through the nonprofit organization World Vision.
Many of the items you’ll discover at Metta are also created to inspire a sense of happiness and goodwill. There are stunning pieces of jewelry with symbols of peace, comfortable throw pillows with the word Love stitched onto them, organic teas with positive messages and more gifts to inspire the soul.
Metta Loving Kindness has two locations: one in the Sunset Harbour neighborhood of South Beach and another on Key Biscayne.
