Harts in Durham

Congratulations, Amanda! You won the Trades of Hope Christmas ornaments! I will email you to get your mailing address.

Today I have something super exciting to share with you. About a month ago, I joined a company called Trades of Hope that fair trade and ethically sourced jewelry and home goods. This company started with a vision to create sustainable income to help women out of poverty. It now gives women all over the world, including here in the US, an opportunity to support their families. Each artisan that makes goods for Trades of Hope makes six times more than they normally would in their country. With this money, they are able to provide food, safe living conditions, education, and healthcare for their families. All the artisans are paid 100% of their asking price for the pieces they make. Trades of Hope also partners with ministries in the artisans’ countries that are ensuring fair trade practices as well as providing wells with clean drinking water and schools for children. Trades of Hope is not just helping individual women, it is helping communities at large and breaking the cycle of poverty!

I became interested in Trades of Hope after seeing the factory collapse in Bangladesh in the news last year. When I realized these women, and countless others like them, were working in factories making good for stores that I frequented, it gave me pause. You see, our money speaks. When we shop for a “good deal” at stores that do not pay their workers a fair wage, we are perpetuating the cycle of poverty. On the other hand, if we instead put our money toward companies that pay their workers a fair wage, we are saying that these workers and their families are valuable. To change how workers around the world are treated, we have to put our money where our mouths are.

I have been buying and wearing Trades of Hope items for several years. All of the products I own have held up really well. I got my very favorite scarf from Trades of Hope and some of my favorite pieces of jewelry. The earrings I’m wearing in this picture are hands-down my very favorite.

There are two ways to shop Trades of Hope. You can simply go to their website Trades of Hope, and click on the blue “shop” link in the upper right corner. Add things you want to your cart, add your credit card and shipping info at the end, and you’re done. So simple! I think they usually say that it takes two weeks to ship, but I’ve found that most times I get my things within 3-5 days. (I’m also putting the link to the Trades of Hope site on the right sidebar, right below the “About Me” section.)

The second is to host (or attend) a party. One of my good friends just hosted a party a couple weeks ago and it was so much fun! We got together for some food and drinks, talked about Trades of Hope, and everyone did some Christmas shopping. The best part is, the host ended up getting saving $57 on her order! Parties can be done in-person or online. If you’re interested in hosting a party in your home (or mine) or online, let me know and I can set everything up for you.

Ok, now for the best part! I have a set of the Shining Silver Ornaments available to give away. These would look great on a tree with a mix of other ornaments. Or you could tie one on to the top of a Christmas gift with some ribbon. All you need to do is leave a comment in the comment section below, and I’ll choose a winner at random. I’ll leave the giveaway open for 5 days. Make sure you leave your email address when you comment so I can contact you! I will ship the ornaments anywhere in the US.

If you have any questions about Trades of Hope or any of their products, let me know, I’d be happy to talk more about them!

(Giveaway closes Sunday!)