important that our customers are educated on how their dollars are changing the world because it makes the product more meaningful and personalizes it ."
Who Are the Artisans ?
Fashion & Compassion employs women ( and a few men ) who are battling severe injustice and oppression . Their goal is to provide dignified jobs to vulnerable people and communities that need them the most . This includes artisans who are :
• Human Trafficking Survivors ( both labor and sex trafficking )
• Domestic Abuse Victims
• Former Addicts and Inmates
• Impoverished
• Homeless
" Since 2012 , Fashion & Compassion has had the opportunity to give over $ 275,000 back to ministry partners who work domestically and abroad ."
• Refugees
• War Survivors and HIV +
The Collections
Fashion & Compassion features beautiful , handcrafted jewelry , woven baskets , and leather pieces . Here are F & C ' s featured collections and the communities and regions they serve :
• Freedom Collection ( USA ) features beautiful , handcrafted jewelry made by women overcoming poverty , injustice , and exploitation in the United States . The women in the Freedom Project are former refugees , trafficking victims , inmates , and addicts .
• Community Collection ( Mexico & Honduras ) features beautiful , hand-stamped metal jewelry made in the heart of Mexico and
ENTREPRENEURS
handcrafted leather bags from Honduras . When a purchase is made from the Community Collection , it helps to keep families and communities intact and invests in teaching a craft that will sustain generations .
• Hope Collection ( Ecuador ) features handmade jewelry using natural and local materials like acai berries , tagua nuts , and orange peels . All bracelets , necklaces , and earrings are fair trade and made by human trafficking survivors in Ecuador .
• Dignity Collection ( Uganda ) features traditional , handcrafted paper bead jewelry made by war-displaced women in Uganda . If the artisans were not working in F & C ' s project , they would be working in a stone quarry making $. 50 / day .
• Peace Collection ( Rwanda ) features beautiful , sturdy baskets that are hand-woven by members of the tribes that killed each other during the Rwandan Genocide . Since they started basket weaving , these artisans have woven together a love and understanding for each other , which has created a future of hope and peace for the next generation .
• Restore Collection ( Ethiopia ) features fair trade , up-cycled jewelry that is made from re-purposed bullet casings and vintage coins . It also includes handcrafted leather goods like coins purses and one-of-a-kind leather bags . All net proceeds are donated to Hanna ' s Home for abandoned children and to help support HIV + artisans .
Giving Back to Ministry Partners
Fashion & Compassion partners with like-minded organizations to help holistically transform their artisans by donating ALL of their net proceeds back to the partner associated with each project to help provide counseling , financial management assistance , housing , recovery services , and other needs .
Since 2012 , F & C has had the opportunity to give
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ISSUE 04 | WINTER 2017