Fair Trade Friday: Box #7

"FTF exists as an avenue for women to empower women. We are tackling poverty through job opportunity and empowerment rather than enablement. 100% of the proceeds support the artisans, 

more than 500 women and their children from all over the world. FTF is a ministry of Mercy House Kenya, a non-profit organization." 

-Fair Trade Friday 

If you are interested in signing up for a fair trade Friday you can do that here. They also have a new earring of the month you should check out!

"Your box employed approximately 7 women this month."

{I still love seeing that part each month!}

This scarf is from JOYN! They're really pretty! You find one for yourself here! JOYN takes artisans living in poverty and joins them with the thriving fashion world. Each step of our process is done by hand—creating more jobs, bringing more joy, and connecting more artisans with YOU.

Organic English Breakfast tea from Equal Exchange. Their Fair Trade and organic teas come from their small farmer partners in India, Sri Lanka and South Africa. Most teas on the shelf - even Fair Trade teas - come from plantations, where tea workers have little say. Join them in supporting a tea model in which farmers control their futures.

This crotched flower Mother's Day card is from The Refugee Project in Houston, Texas. All the items are handmade by refugee women of Burma, Bhutan and Nepal who have been relocated to Houston, Texas by the United Nations for religious and ethnic persecution. By purchasing an item, you are empowering women by helping them meet some of their basic needs.

This is the "Foldover Clutch" from Tukula. Tukula (meaning "we grow") is an accessories line based in Jinja, Uganda. We hire young women who are trained as seamstresses but aren't able to find consistent work.

Elegantees

When we first came home from Africa we got a call from someone in our church to go and minister to a possible sex trafficking victim. I had heard of sex trafficking before and friends had even done a couple fashion shows to raise awareness, but I never realized how big the problem was. Since that day, I became more involved in my own area.

Then, one day scrolling through Instagram I came across a company called Elegantees. Have you ever heard of them? They provide a bright future to victims of sex trafficking through sewing work. It's a positive source of income that reinforces independence, healthy self-image, and restores confidence one elegant tee at a time!

Elegantees has their design center in New York. However, their sewing center is in Nepal where they employ survivors of sex trafficking. Nepal is a kingdom between China and India that ranks high for sex trafficking. The best ways to reduce vulnerability is with opportunity. Right now there are less than 10 sewers on the sewing team appropriately dubbed "Kingdom Hope". The sewing center in Nepal is where Elegantees aims to employ hundreds of sewers. All the sewers are paid well and fairly for their work.

Some of the sewers love the designs SO much that they also wear Elegantees themselves. Which is taken as a huge compliment! 

Everyone who works for Elegantees in the US is so passionate about what they do that they all volunteer. You heard me. No one gets paid except the sewing team. That way all the profits are invested back into the company so that the sewers have consistent employment. Elegantees have low prices for what they do, and any profits are used to start the next line of clothing. 

Elegantees gives a positive source of income that gives hope and freedom and reinforces independence and confidence.

Do you want to see some of the things they make?

Take a look at these tops!

 

 

 

Okay so, I had a little bit of a hard time picking out just a few favorite tops...

They also have dresses and skirts!

 

 

Gorgeous right? So where do you come in? I want to help Elegantees hire more women who are waiting to have employment and earn a fair wage. If you check out their website, you can use my code "HOPE" to receive free shipping when you order. It won't expire so you can use that code every time!

So what are you waiting for? Go check them out! Then come back and tell me what your favorite is!