Dressember FAQ: DO I need to buy more dresses or ties to participate?

A question that gets asked a lot when Dressember rolls around is, “Do I have to go out and buy a whole bunch of dresses or ties?” It can be tempting to want to stock up on these pieces so that you never have to worry about having nothing to wear. But I’m here to tell you that you shouldn’t let the thought of not having enough dresses or ties make you reach for your wallet or stop you from participating in Dressember, because what you already have in your closet is all you need!

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A’s Story

**Trigger Warning: The following is a true story of a survivor of human trafficking. This story includes sensitive language surrounding sexual assault. Please consider this before reading further.

She was a part of a pedophile ring that operated by giving the children drugs, so they could maintain a constant cycle of begging during the day, and being forced to have sex with foreign pedophiles at night.

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Jewelry with Impact: A Spotlight on Bird + Stone

Bird + Stone is committed to ethically made products that support organizations building a more equal world. They believe in creating a community of change-makers and leveraging their collective purchasing power to fight for equality for all. Besides admiring their beautiful products and their achievements, I had the wonderful opportunity to sit down and chat with Caitlin Kawaguchi, the Director of Marketing & Partnerships for Bird + Stone, and learn about all the amazing things they’ve done and continue to do to build a more equal world.

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Six Fair Trade Chocolate Alternatives

Every time I get groceries, I’m tempted to get a cheap chocolate bar at the checkout stand, AKA the guilt lane. Unfortunately, my personal health concerns aren't the only reason to feel guilty about buying chocolate. Around 2 million children in West Africa are forced into 80-hour work weeks with little pay—or no pay at all—to make most of these chocolate products. Earlier this year, Sarah Beech wrote an article for Dressember about the connection between slavery and chocolate.

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Patricia’s Story

“Patricia” is a mother of two, “Marta” (7) and “Luis” (2). Patricia was sold to a local gang at the age of 16 because her parents could not afford to support their family. She was trafficked at a cantina in her rural community in Central America before being brought to New York by an abusive boyfriend.

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Trove: A Fashion Brand that Delights in Dignity

As a conscious consumer of Fair Trade goods, Jaclyn Dowdle, like many of us, found herself frustrated with how difficult it was to find clothing “that was responsibly made, affordable, and stylish”. She began longing for a way to help “consumers buy better and smarter”, and also provide fair employment for workers within the apparel industry. Out of this desire, Dowdle founded Trove, “a fashion brand that delights in dignity”, a brand designed “to clothe us in the dignity that we personally desired, but also to create dignity in an industry that is infamous for suppressing it”.

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Spotlight on Dressember Advocate: Hannah Britton

Hannah Britton was more than just the average college student during her time at Huntington University. Her passion for activism and steadfast resolve allowed her to spread a growing interest in fighting against human trafficking across the Indiana community. Becoming a Dressember advocate during her time at Huntington University provided her an outlet through which she could channel this passion and enlighten others about the plight of those still enslaved around the world. However, Hannah’s commitment to ending slavery involved more than just putting on a dress for the entire month of December. It involved fearless activism and striving towards unfathomable, remarkable goals.

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Introducing our 2018/2019 Grant Partner: olive crest

But the sad reality is that 60% of those children – 60,000 children – who were recovered in FBI raids can be traced back to foster care and group homes. They were the hurt, the lonely, and the seemingly forgotten children and youth of society. According to Olive Crest Executive Director, Jaime Zavala, “children and young adults who have been a part of the foster care system are some of the kids at greatest risk of being engaged in human trafficking.”

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Introducing our 2018/2019 Grant Partner: Love146

With offices in Connecticut, Texas, North Carolina, the United Kingdom, and the Philippines, Love146 is working to end child trafficking and exploitation around the world. Their programs address the biological, psychological, social, financial, and spiritual impacts of victimization, and help youth develop strategies to stay safe. In the United States, Love146 also conducts one-time interventions called “Rapid Responses” that provide at-risk youth with information, safety planning, and referral services related to human trafficking and sexual exploitation. The organization’s Prevention Education program is designed to reach children before traffickers do. Through its “Not a Number” curriculum and other tools, Love146 has impacted thousands of children in classroom and community settings, equipping them to recognize vulnerabilities and protect themselves and their peers from exploitation.

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"It was like I was waking up to a new life"

The internet has made it easier than ever for kids to be bought and sold online. We partner with Thorn to fund their Spotlight tool that identifies victims of human trafficking being sold online, and works with local law enforcement and detectives to rescue and protect those being exploited. They have shared the following text from a survivor who was safely brought from San Diego, where she was trafficked, to her home in Arizona. Thorn’s Spotlight Tool was able to identify her, and connect her with a detective who drove 6-hours to interview her instead of calling her on the phone:

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Introducing our 2018/2019 Grant Partner: CAST

When I asked Kay Buck, CEO and founder of Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking (CAST) about the work she gets to do daily, she proclaims “My job is such a blessing. I have the opportunity to work with survivors every day. I think that’s what makes CAST unique. Is that we work long term with survivors so we are able to form that trust and see them through to success.” CAST’s work is indeed unique — they are not only the nation’s largest provider of comprehensive life-changing services to survivors but also fierce advocates for groundbreaking policies and legislation. After benefiting their Transition Age Youth (TAY) program at our 2017 “You Can Do Anything in a Dress” 5k, we were honored to invite them into further partnership for our Dressember 2018/2019 campaign.

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Introducing our 2018/2019 Grant Partner: youthspark

Many organizations over the past few years have taken a stand against human trafficking. One of those, though, stands out above the rest. Located in one of the biggest hubs for human trafficking, youthSpark is a visionary in changing the face of human trafficking and child exploitation rates in Atlanta, GA, and all over the United States

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Introducing our 2018/2019 Grant Partner: International Justice Mission

IJM is the world’s largest anti-trafficking organization in the world. They work to protect the poor from violence in the developing world with a vision to “rescue thousands, protect millions, and prove that justice for the poor is possible.”

According to the United Nations, 4 billion people live outside the protection of the law. This means that their public justice systems- police, courts, and laws- are so broken, corrupt, and dysfunctional, that there is nothing to shield the poor from violence.

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Introducing our 2018/2019 Grant Partner: BEST

This year, Dressember Foundation is excited to introduce one of their new grant partners: Businesses Ending Slavery & Trafficking (BEST). Based in Seattle, Washington, BEST provides awareness, consultation and training to employers in a variety of sectors in an effort to put an end to human trafficking within businesses. BEST recognizes the great need for prevention strategies to avert the recurring cycle of modern slavery, and it believes using businesses as an avenue to allocate its resources will effectively bring an end to the injustice.

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Introducing our 2018/2019 Grant Partner: thorn

This year, Dressember is proud to partner with Thorn, an organization that uses technology to combat child sex trafficking. The internet has become a widely used place for sex traffickers to advertise. The good news is, this can help investigators track down traffickers. The bad news is that law enforcement just doesn’t have the time, energy, or manpower to efficiently pursue the information available online. That's where Thorn comes in.

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