Posts tagged emily james
How powerful is fashion?
How powerful is fashion?

When Dressember first started, it wasn’t “Dressember” at all. It was one woman, Blythe Hill, and her decision to wear a dress every day of December, merely as a style challenge. For the next few years, Blythe and her friends, and then her friends’ friends would do just this; and by 2013, Blythe decided to take a step forward and use the style challenge to make a difference in the world, specifically for victims of human trafficking. Thus launched Dressember, and the dress became the flag for this growing movement.

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Dressemberemily james, dressember 2019, blythe hill, human
Is it better to buy locally or globally?
Is it better to buy locally or globally?

If I were to have you take a survey that asked you where you buy your products, what would your answers be? Do you buy primarily from local vendors––small boutiques, farms, family-owned businesses––or do you buy products made abroad? Do you find yourself shopping on Amazon for the cutest (and cheapest) styles, or would you rather go to a store around the block from your home? Do you include a mix of both? The deeper question is, which is better?

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Dressemberemily james, human trafficking, labor, consumerism, local
Buyers of trafficking victims can be anyone. Here is why we need to hold them accountable.
Buyers of trafficking victims can be anyone. Here is why we need to hold them accountable.

The law of supply and demand requires both a buyer and a seller in order for a transaction to occur. The same applies in the sex industry.

We’ve already discussed the typical demographic of sex traffickers––romantic partners, deceitful bosses, and anyone that has convinced victims that they can be trusted––but what about buyers of sex? Who are these people that purchase other people for their own greedy, lustful desires?

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Dressemberemily james, human trafficking, children victims, Advocate Resources
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not: The Lover Boy Scenario
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not: The Lover Boy Scenario

He is everything she has ever wanted. Until he’s not. He tells her that she owes him for all of the nice dinners, clothing, jewelry, and their apartment’s rent. He tells her that she has to go inside, give herself up to paying men, and bring him the cash. He threatens to hurt her parents and her little sister if she doesn’t. She is confused and trapped, but she shuffles her feet through the front door, and then the bedroom door, and then her dress is slid up and there’s another man on top of her. It happens so fast. Just a moment later, she’s back in the car with $350 rolled up in her hand. And she and the love of her life drive away.

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Dressemberhuman trafficking, modern day slavery, emily james
From Survivor to Thriver: How Point Loma Nazarene University is helping survivors thrive
From Survivor to Thriver: How Point Loma Nazarene University is helping survivors thrive

She’s standing outside in the hustle of the city. She is wearing a short red dress––thin and tight to her body––and the wind causes the hairs on her arms to rise. Or maybe this is the nerves. There are men who caress her figure with their eyes. She feels dirty for simply standing. She feels stuck in this grime. She feels that she cannot run or scream, because her voice will merely melt into the night. And then a miracle happens: it takes only one second, and one man is asking if she is alright, is telling her that he is a policeman here to bring her to safety. She goes with him, and thus begins her years of recuperation.

She is a survivor.

But what happens next? Where will she work? How will she fit herself back into society? How can she feel human again?

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Dressemberemily james, human trafficking, Advocate Resources
Noticing the Victims: How Legislation Lets Trafficking Victims Slip Under the Radar
Noticing the Victims: How Legislation Lets Trafficking Victims Slip Under the Radar

In his talk, Brooks first explains how human trafficking (inclusive of sex trafficking) is an industry - the fastest growing illegal industry, in fact - to which we all contribute, as consumers with demands for the industry supply. He then elaborates on the specific legal approach to the prostitution industry, which enables a person to gain money for performing sex under voluntary terms.

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Dressemberemily james, advocacy, legislation, legislature, human trafficking
Sweatshops Exposed: Why we must aim for transparency
Sweatshops Exposed: Why we must aim for transparency

The number of people in slavery today is colossal. It’s daunting. It hurts. And yet, we sit here, reading these articles on our phones or computers––in America, in Canada, in Europe, everywhere across the globe––with anger brewing inside of us. And we stay seated. Why?

Because we are the consumers of the slave industry.

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Dressemberemily james, human trafficking, modern day slavery, Ethical Fashion, ethical shopping
A look into how Dressember chooses grant partners
A look into how Dressember chooses grant partners

It’s the end of January, which means that both the Dressember style challenge and the U.S. National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month is almost over. You and your team have managed to raise $3,500, which is half the cost of a mission to rescue a victim of human trafficking from their situation, and your $3,500 has contributed to Dressember’s overall goal of raising over $2,300,000! It has been another successful year of raising money to combat human trafficking.

Yay! Woohoo! Yeah!

The crowds go wild!

But just where do those funds go?

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DressemberDressember2018, Grant Partners, blythe hill, emily james