In the final week of January, Just Us organized a sale of bracelets to benefit the organization Threads of Hope. Colorfully woven fair trade bracelets were sold during lunch hours to raise awareness and to raise funds to combat human trafficking.

Threads of Hope is an organization that hires impoverished workers in the Philippines who make bracelets that are sold by various organizations.  TOH provides fair wages to the workers by making sure that the workers get their fair share of the profit, which is why the bracelets are labeled as “fair trade” products.   The workers lives are extremely benefited from this opportunity to earn income as well as their futures.

“Threads of Hope does more than give money to impoverished people in the Philippines,” says senior Kayla Wingert. “It saves children from entering the world of slavery.”  TOH provides an alternative that will keep poor people, especially women, from unwittingly being lured into slavery by human traffickers.  The issue of human trafficking was particularly highlighted during January, the recently-declared Human Trafficking Awareness Month.  In honor of the cause, Kassie Henrikson suggested selling the bracelets and, through group agreement and planning, the idea was put into action.   Bracelets were sold at $2 each or 3 for $5 and all of the money earned was sent directly to Threads of Hope.  Just Us was dedicated to selling these bracelets and raising awareness of the fact that contrary to popular belief, slavery continues to exist today, sometimes in concealed sex trafficking rings and sometimes on coffee or cocoa plantations.

In addition to providing a specific opportunity to buy fair trade, the members of Just Us encourage students to purchase other products with the same goal in mind.

“A street away from the Lake Theater, there’s a fair trade shop that’s really cool,” says senior Rosemary Benjamin. “You should check it out and buy fair trade gifts throughout the year!”

“Look at your grocery store,” adds senior Bridie Duffy. “[Fair trade] is all over the place, a lot of people don’t know that.”

The members of Just Us were happy to see that the sale was very successful.  Teachers, such as the Just Us club moderator, Sister Mary Jo, and students all over the school can still be seen wearing their fair trade bracelets.

“It went well,” said Benjamin,“There were so many people that wanted to be involved, and even though [the bracelets] were two dollars, there were so many people that did not care about the price”.

“I sold them Tuesday at lunch,” Duffy shared, “and I pretty much did not get to eat because so many people were buying bracelets!”

Although the sales at lunch ended, students have by no means lost their  chance to buy fair trade products. As mentioned by members of Just Us, it is easy to support fair labor practices just by shopping at stores like Ten Thousand Villages in Oak Park or by looking for fair trade labels on everyday products. Many companies, from Dunkin Donuts to Starbucks, sell fair trade coffee, and stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s sell fair trade chocolate to provide an alternative to businesses like Hershey and Nestle that buy cocoa from ethically questionable sources.

Just Us thanks everyone that participated in helping stop human trafficking and hopes everyone knows that by buying fair trade products, people can save lives.