I earn no affiliate commission from the links in this article nor through any purchase that results from it. These are pure, brilliant, powerful products with a story – what we should pay more attention to during the holiday season & going into 2020.
I have two new pairs of earrings in my jewelry box. One pair is from a rather popular brand, crystal clusters picked up on a Christmas shopping day. One pair is by Her Future Coalition, passionately designed and handcrafted in small artisan studio in India. One purchase solidified the financial health of a multimillion dollar company. One helped a woman build a future after escaping the grip of India’s human sex trafficking epidemic.
Which pair makes me feel more powerful when I walk out the door in the morning? The Resilience Earrings from Her Future Coalition – golden, radiant and as bespoke as the story of the woman who created them. When we consciously lift a woman into light, her lights will always find its way back to us. Sometimes, all the way to London.
From how we get our morning coffee to accessory choices, every decision has an effect on a life, place or situation other than our own. When those actions are consistently aligned with kindness, intention and awareness – no matter how seemingly small – they create a ripple effect of light in the world.
Her Future Coalition is a not only a light to survivors of gender violence, it’s a lighthouse. One which casts awareness, education and progress into the darkest, most corrupt of shadows of India’s human sex trafficking crisis. HFC offers survivors to be architects of their own futures. From providing shelter and employment to financing higher education, 100% of HFC jewelry proceeds are invested back into the healing and forever freedom of these young women.
One of the many HFC programs aimed toward building independence for survivors is training in gold smithing and jewelry design. Upon completion, women are able to earn a wage comparable to a college graduate. Education and financial freedom are key parts of a survivors future, as young women who lack these critical liberties are likely to fall back into violent, exploitative situations to simply survive. It takes only a quick Google News search of “India” or “Kolkata” to get a vivid portrait of the sexual violence saturating every corner of daily life.
India’s Sex Trafficking Epidemic at a Glance (via HFC):
- Over 5 million women and young girls in India are currently living in slavery.
- In one Indian red light area – Delhi’s GB Road – there are an estimated 144 brothels with approximately 100 girls in each – a captive population of over 14,000 girls.
- Each girl is expected to service 20 men a night at an average cost of 700 rupees ($10). Profit for the brothel keepers and traffickers adds up to, approximately, over four millions dollars a night.
- Traditional cultural practices such as the caste system, dowry, the bonded labor system, and forced early marriage (often due to incest or large family size) combined with a large and sophisticated network of sex traffickers and slave-owners contribute to the sexual violence epidemic.
In 2018, HFC served and empowered over 1,000 extremely vulnerable women and young girls with the tools needs for healing, freedom and prosperity. You can shop all the jewelry designed and handcrafted by survivors on the HFC website. Use code KORTNEYCARES during check out 20% off your purchase.
I was introduced to HFC by Development Director Amanda Cunningham whilst living in Charleston, where she is undoubtedly a philanthropic pillar in the city. Amanda’s unfiltered realness on motherhood, marriage, yoga, activism and unique political insight (her husband is a United States Congressman) make her a social media voice to follow. I’m thrilled to join this powerhouse mind in Kolkata, India next spring for her yoga retreat in support of Her Future Coalition.
As the great blogosphere and social media is inundated with “must have” gift guides and products of the season, it’s critical to consciously flip the consumer narrative and remind my readers that your purchases are power – your power. When we mix thoughtful purchases supporting causes important to us with regular patterns of retail behavior, we create a demand for products with a story. Demand for products which enrich a life on the other end of the transaction. As western women in our 20s, 30s and 40s with the jackpot of circumstances (if you’re reading this, you are in the 1%), we have a responsibility to create that demand so corporations marry production with philanthropy in the future.
Change the way you shop. Change a life. Change the world.
