We love finding out about organizations using fashion to fight human trafficking!  The Blind Project of NYC is launching a new fashion line called Biographe, an open source fashion brand.  Their vision is right in line with Stop Traffick Fashion and we hope to carry their line one day in the future.  Find our more below about how you can contribute your designs to their new line.  What a fun way to get involved!

The Blind Project Launches A Crowdsourcing Design Challenge Called ‘Be A Biographer’ To Help Victims And Survivors Of The Commercial Sex Trade

Do you imagine a world where profit comes from moral purpose? Where every purchase is a vote? Where creativity challenges the world’s perception of what is possible?

The social enterprise - a sustainable business that combines non-profit social purposes with for-profit market strategies - is no longer a niche idea. The Blind Project is proudly leading the charge with the launch of Be A Biographer, a crowdsourcing design challenge for a new sustainable style brand called Biographe.

So here’s the challenge. We’re inviting designers, artists and creative-minded people to help tell the stories of victims and survivors of the commercial sex trade through their designs. “We want to connect your talents with her needs. For freedom, love, hope, dignity and protection. Our role is simple. To tell her story. To be her biographer,” said Anthony Dodero, co-founder of The Blind Project.

Right now millions of women and children are being enslaved and exploited in the multi-billion dollar commercial sex trade. “Sexual slavery can seem so dark and foreign, but our hope for Be A Biographer is to present a more human, more expressive face to this problem,” said Jessica Sturman, The Blind Project’s lead fashion designer.

Biographe is unique in its method of connecting victims and consumers together to bring attention to, and provide solutions for, sexual slavery. Fashion products are inspired by victim’s stories, designed with the public at large through our crowdsourcing design process, and then made by women who have been rescued from the commercial sex trade. Proceeds from sales are then reinvested back into the women’s lives creating a virtuous sustainable cycle.

“Biographe matters not solely because of what we are creating, but how we are creating it,” said Kyle Westaway, The Blind Project’s business development lead. “What makes Biographe truly unique, is the creation of a more personal 1-to-1 connection between two distinct populations - victims and consumers - and moving them both toward a better tomorrow.”

Participants have until September 15th to submit a design on www.beabiographer.com. Then from September 16th to October 7th, public voting begins to determine the 15 semi-finalists (5 for each of the 3 stories) based on the highest number of votes. On October 21st three Grand Finalists will be selected by our panel of notable judges. The winning designs will be incorporated into fashion items, printed for gallery exhibitions and shown in advertising campaigns.

We are honored to have Alex Bogusky - Co-Chairman of Crispin Porter + Bogusky and Chief Creative Insurgent of MDC Partners, Somaly Mam - Anti-Human Trafficking Advocate and Founder of AFESIP, and AnnaLynne McCord - The Blind Project Ambassador, join the judging panel with The Blind Project fashion team.

“The power of problem-solving creativity, the survivor’s voice for victims, and the influence of youth activism is what makes collaboration with Alex, Somaly and AnnaLynne so amazing,” said Kevin Kim, The Blind Project’s marketing lead. “Every person has that something special - a talent, a gift - to make this cause stronger, more influential, and more personal. Join us.”

The Blind Project - Final from Putra Roeung on Vimeo.

I read about trafficking every day. Sometimes the barrage of information from blogs and newspapers and government documents is overwhelming. I find myself thinking I know, I know. There are so many atrocities around the world. I get it. I’m trying to help, but I just can’t read one more sad/depressing/frustrating story. Sometimes it feels too far away and I loose touch with the urgency of the situation. Over time it can be tempting to ignore the problem and go on with life.

But then I read articles like these. Lives are changing. Survivors are thriving. Not only on other continents, but here in my home country and my home state.

• Human Trafficking Victim Graduates High School as Valedictorian
• Slavery Survivor Honored for Work at Statue of Liberty

So be encouraged. Change is happening—and keep your eyes open so you can be a partner for healing and freedom where you live and wherever you go.

I’m sure I’m going to be processing everything I’ve learned on my trip to visit Hagar in Cambodia for awhile. What should I do with all of this new knowledge and experience? Maybe you are wondering the same thing. Maybe you’ve read what I’ve written and are interested in doing more. I hope that is the case! If so, here are some ideas for ways to learn more and get involved. If you’re interested in talking more please contact me at hello(at)stoptraffickfashion(dot)com.

• Learn more about the Khmer Rouge and the implications that has for the Cambodian people. It’s unfortunate that Americans don’t have a better understanding of such a recent genocide and it’s affect on the people. You can watch the 1984 movie, The Killing Fields or read one of the many books on the topic such as, First They Killed My Father by Luong Ung.
• Educate yourself about the situation of human trafficking in Cambodia by visiting the Chab Dai website.
• Pray for Cambodia, it’s people, Hagar staff and the staff of other NGOs working here.
• Blog, Facebook or Tweet about Hagar
• Become a fan of Hagar on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, or sign up for their newsletter.
• Host a Dining for Hagar event to tell your friends about Hagar and help raise money.
• Set up an online fundraising page to help raise funds for a new playground at the Hagar Catch Up School in Phnom Penh.
• Become a monthly donor to Hagar. Your monthly gift is extremely important in paying the salaries of Hagar counselors, teachers and other staff that enable the great work Hagar does. Without funding they cannot continue to restore broken lives.

Hagar’s ultimate goal is to restore their clients to life in all it’s fullness.  They do not want clients to be in intensive care forever, but to be fully re-integrated into society.  For those that come to them as children they focus on getting them the best and highest education possible to set them up for success in life.  For those women that come at an older age, they focus on job skills training in a program called Career Pathways.

Their job skills training begins with 3 months of soft skills so that the women can learn how to be punctual, resolve conflict and understand what employers are looking for in employees.  After that, they are exposed to various types of vocational opportunities.  Hagar has their own social enterprise - Hagar catering, and they also partner with around 40-50 other private enterprises in Phnom Penh who employ Hagar clients.  In fact, their clients are well known because they receive such thorough training in soft skills.

While I was in Phnom Penh we visited 2 of the Hagar catering locations and the food was excellent!  They also have contracts with 18 different companies where they run cafeterias for the workers at lunch.  We also visited the StopStart factory - one of the organizations that Hagar has a close relationship with and that employs many women from Hagar.  It was great to see the women at work and to see where some of the fabulous bags we sell are produced.

Here are a few pictures from my visit.  I hope to post some more pictures on Facebook soon!

The highlight of our visit was definitely Wednesday afternoon.  We spent the afternoon at the Women’s Recovery Shelter making jewelry with many survivors of trafficking and other domestic abuse! (Although visiting House of Smiles was a close second.)  The women were absolutely beautiful and had such a great time making some fun, beaded jewelry.  They were absolutely beaming and so was I.  It was great to see how happy they were and how much fun they were having.  Hagar is definitely making a difference in their lives!  I definitely recommend reading the hopeful stories they have posted on their website.

Hagar has several types of recovery centers.  The first is a women’s shelter for survivors of trafficking, rape or other violent, domestic abuse.  The second is a girls recovery center for girls 4-16 rescued from sex trafficking, the third is a children’s recovery center for both boys and girls who have suffered abuse, and the last is for children with mental and physical disabilities.  The recovery centers include constant care with a house mother, education, counseling and medical care.

However, their ultimate goal is to reintegrate all of their clients into society so they can create sustainable, independent and fulfilling lives.  After they have recovered sufficiently in the shelters they are moved to foster families and then given training to enable them to be fully independent.  Hagar wants everyone to be confident and resilient on their own!

Speaking of reintegration - I’ll cover their career training and reintegration programs in the next blog post!

I have finally started to read Half the Sky, a book by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn.  I was able to watch the movie event based on it but am finally making the time to read it!  Kristof and Wudunn show how small things can help transform the lives of women and girls being oppressed in the developing world and the impact that it can have on global poverty.  I am already excited just by reading the introduction!  Here are a few paragraphs to inspire you:

Honor killings, sexual slavery, and genital cutting may seem to Western readers to be tragic but inevitable in a world far, far away.  In much the same way, slavery was once widely viewed by many decent Europeans and Americans as regrettable but ineluctable feature of human life.  It was just one more horror that had existed for thousands of years.  But then in the 1780s a few indignant Britons, led by William Wilberforce, decided that slavery was so offensive that they had to abolish it.  And they did.  Today we see the seed of something similar: a global movement to emancipate women and girls.

So let us be clear about this up front: We hope to recruit you to join an incipient movement to emancipate women and fight global poverty by unlocking women’s power as economic catalysts.  This is the process under way - not a drama of victimization but of empowerment, the kind that transforms bubbly teenage girls from brothel slaves into successful businesswomen.

Take your first step toward helping protect and empower women around the world.  Ask Congress to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).  This women’s treaty is used around the world to ensure women’s rights to own property, provide access to primary education and health care and protect women from domestic violence.  They have ratified similar treaties for other issues like genocide and race, but have yet to do so to protect women.

I’m in! How about you?

If you missed our fabulous T-shirt Launch & Benefit concert, you can now see the photos on our Facebook page!  It was a fun night filled with awesome music from Kristen Budde, Laura Hellebusch, Flaregun and Artists & Aughors.  There was also great live painting done by Arian and Daniel Armstrong and a poetic reading by Melissa Hill.  Plus, we raised money for Hagar International.  Hagar International helps empower survivors of trafficking and other violent domestic abuse in Cambodia, Vietnam and Afghanistan.  The money we raised will make a difference in helping them provide long term care and rehabilitation to restore their clients to life in all it’s fullest.  We hope to make this an annual event so stay tuned for the details of next year’s event.

If you happen to have missed all our posts about our new fair trade, organic cotton T-shirts made by survivors in Kolkata, India then be sure to check them out on our website.  Your purchase of a Freeset Tee from Stop Traffick Fashion helps continue a journey of freedom. In Kolkata, India, thousands of women are trapped in prostitution, forced there by poverty. The Freeset women have chosen freedom by learning new skills at the Freeset business. Their new lives include fair wages, health benefits, pension funds, literacy classes and daycare for their children. More importantly, they are no longer forced to sell their bodies and their children have new opportunities. The T-shirt was created by Freeset women for you.  Join their journey of freedom.

Check out this great article on CNN.com about Anuradha Koirala, a woman who’s made it her life’s mission to support survivors of sex trafficking in Nepal.  According to the U.S. State Department, some 10,000 to 15,000 women and girls from Nepal are trafficked to India and then sexually exploited each year.

You can help support survivors of trafficking in Nepal by purchasing the adorable felt purses in our Kid’s collection - made in Nepal.  Also, many women employed by Freeset in Calcutta, were also trafficked from Nepal.  Check out their fabulous products, too.

I have already posted a few quotes and thoughts from reading Terrify No More.  Well, I’ve finally finished the book and I have a few more quotes I’d like to touch on.

I find there are two common reactions that someone has after learning about human trafficking.  One is to be overwhelmed by the enormity of the problem and feel that nothing can be done.  The other is to ask, “Where is God in this situation?”  There are two quotes from the book which I think address these well.

The first is from Sharon Cohn of IJM:

While there are millions of girls and women victimized every day, our work will always be about the one. The one girl deceived. The one girl kidnapped. The one girl raped. The one girl infected with AIDS. The one girl needing a rescuer. To succumb to the enormity of the problem is to fail the one. And more is required of us…so when weary people say, “So you rescued one; there are millions of others. What’s the point?” I say, “I think Elisabeth [one of the women rescued by IJM] understands the point. Elisabeth is the point.”

While the size of the problem can be overwhelming we must focus on the hope that is possible and remember that each life rescued and each life restored is valuable!  I cannot save them all myself, but each one saved is worth all the effort.

On the second reaction Gary Haugen comments, “More and more I find myself asking not, ‘Where is God?’ But, ‘Where are God’s people?’”  With all the tremendous resources available to us in the world, there is no reason that we cannot eradicate slavery and restore the lives that have been broken.  However, if we sit by and wait for someone else to act then we are missing the point.  If we care about the cause we will tell our friends, we will donate money and we will act in whatever way we can.  If the public outcry over human trafficking is great enough companies and government will have to act.

On that note, here is an interesting fact: Kevin Bales’ research estimates that the money necessary to rescue and rehabilitate survivors of human trafficking is the amount that America spends on potato chips and pretzels in one year.

Take a few minutes to watch this video with some facts on modern slavery, how is different today and what can be done about it.