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Fair Trade Jewelry and Ethical Fashion

Three Ways You Can Empower Women Through Shopping

by | Founders

CLICK ON THE VIDEO ABOVE TO WATCH Trades of Hope founder, Elisabeth shares three ways you can empower women through shopping! Sit back, relax, and enjoy discovering how you can empower women and families out of poverty and human trafficking by shopping fashion as a force for good! You can make an impact doing what you love from home! Follow along with the FULL VIDEO TRANSCRIPTS BELOW! (Read Time: 7 min.)

Hello, everyone!

I’m Elisabeth, the CCO and one of the Founders of Trades of Hope.

Welcome to our conversation where you’ll discover 3 Ways Women Can Be Empowered Through Shopping. Sound too good to be true? Join me for the next 15 minutes, and you will leave in awe! I promise you that.

First off, let me know in the chat if you can hear me okay — I want to make sure I’m coming through on your end alright. And if you can hear me, drop where you are tuning in from in the chat box! I want to see where you all are!

I’m in Florida at the Trades of Hope headquarters.

And I don’t know about you, but I love shopping and I love seeing women rise to be all that they can be. I have dedicated my life to creating opportunities for women — in developing communities around the world and also here in the United States. The obstacles that women face around the world are overwhelming, and I’m sure you have had your share of difficulties as well.

We all have stories of overcoming what life has thrown at us. Which is why I’m passionate about helping women who were born into much harder circumstances than I rise triumphantly as well.

Do you have a heart for women like that? Don’t let me feel alone in this! Let me know in the chat if you do too.

Today we’re going to explore how YOU can:

 

1. Empower women (and their families) out of poverty.
2. Empower women out of human trafficking.
3. Empower women like yourself and your family with a flexible side income that you can do from anywhere.

You can do this as a Trades of Hope Partner. A TOH Partner is a woman just like you — with a full life and responsibilities, who just wants to make the world a better place. She earns an income from sharing our exclusive line of fair-trade accessories and the stories of the strong women around the world who made them. THAT IS IT. You can bring LIGHT to some of the DARKEST places of the world just by people SHOPPING through you, a TOH Partner.

PLEASE feel free to drop any questions in the (comment section below). I will circle back and answer them at the end. Let’s make this a true conversation, so don’t hesitate to ask any questions! That being said:

Here are 3 Ways Women Are Empowering Women Through SHOPPING!

1.) Shopping Can Empower Women out of Poverty.

It IS — right now. I have seen it work over the 10 years we have been in business.

There is a reason why creating opportunities for women is my life’s purpose. It is woven into my DNA. It’s engrained into me because of my VERY unique childhood traveling to Haiti since I was 8 years old. My family started and ran an Orphanage in Port au Prince Haiti, and I fell in love with traveling there multiple times a year throughout my childhood.

By the time I was a teenager, I had seen some very moving and heart-breaking moments: babies no larger than skeletons pass away, grown men begging me — a child — for money just because I was American, and mothers handing over their babies to our orphanage — their bodies shaking from sobbing as they said goodbye forever.

At the orphanage, we had countless days like this. Most of the children living at the orphanage and being adopted out to the United States had living relatives who simply could not afford to feed them. And after almost a decade, my mother and I wanted to do something to help these mothers keep their children. Something more than just offering to adopt them out. Surely, there was a way to keep mothers and babies together.

So, we started Trades of Hope!

We offer an exclusive line of ethically made fair trade fashion and home accessories to increase the demand of products made my women in need around the world. By shopping their styles and giving them a platform to use their voice, we increase job opportunities for thousands around the world. And we couldn’t do it without or amazing customers, hostesses, and partners — who are women just like you!

Statistically, when a woman has a job, she brings — not only herself — but 4 other people out of poverty with her. This can be her kids, extended family, or other members of her community!

2.) Shopping can also fight human trafficking!

Again, I have seen first-hand accounts of this in our (almost 11 years, actually) that we have been partnering with women around the world!

 

The jobs that shopping Trades of Hope accessories creates is wildly impactful in battling human trafficking! Yes! SHOPPING can battle human trafficking! Does anyone here have a passion for fighting human trafficking? If so, drop an “I do!” Or a ❤️ in the (comment) box!

When a woman in a developing community has a job, she is less likely to fall prey to human trafficking. Also, it is fairly common in some regions of the world for parents to sell their children into slavery for money. If those families had jobs with fair wages, this would be far less likely. This is how your jewelry can PREVENT human trafficking. But did you know it can actually also help trafficking survivors HEAL after being rescued?

The trafficking survivors that we work with in the Dominican Republic, Nepal, North Asia, and even the US have all said that creating something beautiful, and repetitively creating a high volume of the same pieces is therapeutic and helpful for recovery. Not only so but having a job where they are treated with respect and earning their own money — many for the first time — miraculously transforms their self-esteem, confidence, and renews their sense of purpose in life!

(Photo: Baby Andy rescued with his teen mother from human traffickers in the D.R.)

Currently, we offer 3 products made by trafficking survivors in the Dominican Republic, which also supports children in a shelter rescued from trafficking. We recently heard from Nicole, a 16-year-old mother who was rescued from human trafficking who is supported by the shelter and donations through Trades of Hope purchase. She told us through tears, “Since I got here, I’ve learned that nothing is impossible. I have changed who I am as a person. I’ve learned that I have a lot of value.”

She also told us that she is studying in school so that she can create a better life for her son. In Nicole’s case, this has come about by people supporting her and her Artisan community by shopping.

3.) Shopping even empowers YOU and women like YOU to receive some extra income for yourself and your family.

Not only so, but you will flourish in self-development and a sense of purpose.

Thousands of women just like you are earning 25% back on every Trades of Hope style they sell. These are our Partners. They literally partner with our Artisan partners around the world to create a higher demand for their fair-trade products. Partners make an impact on major global issues around the world like poverty, human trafficking, girls’ education, etc. And they aren’t experts on these issues! All they do is wear and share our truly irresistible line of accessories!

They are moms, students, retirees, career women who sell Trades of Hope on their own terms, wherever they want to slip it into their schedule. Some women some monthly side cash to help with bills, and some women have replaced their salaries as teachers. But what we love the most about it is the beautiful partnership it creates between women around the world. Our Artisan partners know about our Partners in the US, some of them have even met face to face! It’s women supporting women in its truest form.

The biggest surprise of Trades of Hope is how our jewelry has developed women personally — the women who make it and the women who sell it. Our partners often start off wanting to make an impact in the world, but not knowing how – among their daily responsibilities!

Have you ever felt that way?

Before Trades of Hope, I sure did! I knew of these issues around the world but had no clue how I could tangibly help. But our partners transform from feeling a little lost, restless, or helpless into confident women who KNOW they are touching lives around the world. But the transformation happens for our Artisan partners as well.

Mosmeen, an Artisan from India whom I met a couple years ago, said,

“I was married off as a child, but my husband left me and our three children.
 Trades of Hope is helping us by giving us valuable work to achieve our hopes and dreams.
It’s important that women become empowered and independent. It gives us strength.
We’ve learned to speak what we believe in!”
 – Mosmeen, Artisan in India

(Photo: Mosmeen (Left), Trades of Hope Founder, Elisabeth (Center), Asha (Right))

Do YOU believe in anything we talked about today?

If you do, even just a little, I know you will not regret asking for more information from the partner who invited you here or reading more about being a partner on our website. CLICK HERE.

I have met the women and seen the obstacles they are facing, so I’m not going to sugar coat it:
You are the woman we have been waiting for.

Partner with us today!

We have been waiting for you to enter into this partnership. Because the more partners we have, the more work we can provide for more women. And after a pandemic and turbulent year, you – wearing and sharing your favorite Trades of Hope pieces – has never been more impactful or purposeful!

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Elisabeth Huijskens

Elisabeth Huijskens

Elisabeth is a founder of Trades of Hope and is passionate about empowering women to boldly reach their dreams, here at home and around the world. She loves meeting our artisan partners, traveling to new cultures, and binging Downton Abbey episodes with her matching redhead puppy.