| Written by Linda Palacios, on 12-08-2009 07:20 |
Accessorizing Against Modern-Day Slavery
You've seen car-stopping couture before, but can fashion stop a different kind of traffic — human trafficking? One local woman says it can, and she has the plan to make it happen.
As the beautiful women that we are, naturally we are attracted to other beauties — whether it's a handbag, a necklace or a brilliant sunset. Cincinnatian Emily Hill decided to take her admiration for beauty a step further by creating the beautiful out of the downright ugly — the human trafficking industry. This disturbing industry made more than Google, Nike and Starbucks combined last year alone, according to the film CALL+RESPONSE . In June, Hill launched Stop Traffick Fashion, an online boutique geared toward raising awareness of human trafficking while supporting victims of the tragic reality as well as the organizations that help the victims.
"Rescuing [the victims] is only part of the picture because most of them become lured or sold into trafficking because they are very poor, so if you want to stay out of that, you need to have a sustainable income and feel like you're a valuable person again," Hill says. "So part of that is giving them job skills, training so that they are economically empowered and can provide for their families." Therefore, the boutique features the fashionable creations of survivors of the human trafficking industry so that they can make a fair wage in hopes to become self-supporting.
One of Hill's main goals for the boutique is to cater to both activists and non-activists with a boutique that makes people want to buy the products because they like them, not just because they want to support a cause. "Basically, I'm trying to take those existing products and commercialize them in a new way to reach a new target audience. Basically that fashion-conscious, socially-conscious woman, and hopefully, in doing that, raise awareness to a new set of people who will become a new set of activists for the cause," Hill says.
Stop Traffick Fashion sells merchandise from several other organizations. Each of these existing groups works directly with the survivors to train them in some sort of craft, and the organization helps market and sell the products. These
organizations include Freeset and NightLight, which sell bags and jewelry made by escapees of the sex trade of Calcutta, India and Bangkok.
While many of the products are made in Asia, Hill recently started buying lotions and soaps from Not for Sale, a global organization that supports modern-day abolitionists. Handmade by modern-day American slavery survivors, the lotions and soaps are products of Thistle Farms, whose tagline includes "Freedom starts with healing, and love can change lives."
Hill wanted to work with this particular organization to reinforce the idea that slavery is not just an international problem. Human trafficking is happening right here in the land of the free. In fact, both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children have cited Toledo, Ohio, as one of the top cities in the  United States for trafficking children into the sex industry.
Beyond the online store, Hill maintains a blog on the site to help raise awareness and give readers some guidance as to how they can help work toward a solution. Also, Hill gives trunk shows upon request. Generally, the trunk shows include around 15 women, but she is open to nearly any size group, she says. The trunk shows feature various facts to get people's attention as well as a video and stories of survivors. Hill also brings some products through which guests can browse or buy.
To learn more about Hill, her efforts and how you can help, visit StopTraffickFashion.com.
PHOTO CREDITS
Photographer: Amy Storer-Scalia
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