Empowering Lives One at a Time

As you know we have partnered with Smateria in Cambodia. Well, when we started working with them they had a staff of 35 a few short years ago. Today they now have 53 people on their staff. We are helping them grow!!! Empowering lives one at a time.

To see our new spring Cambodia handbags, which are fair trade, eco-friendly and goes to support our partners just mentioned, visit our website.

A Face Behind Our Fair Trade Practices

The eco-friendly  purse or organic piece of clothing you just bought, have you ever  really wondered where it originated?  Who made it? Or how they made it?  Well, at five ACCESSORIES, fair trade is fundamental to everything we do. We believe in knowing 'what's in your bag' or  ' who made your bag'.  Treating people fairly is the basis of our business and our primary purpose for doing business.  
 
Featured here is Sophea. She has been working with our Cambodia partners, Smateria, since 2005.  She started without any tailoring experience whatsoever. She was hired as a cleaner of recycled tetrapak fruit juice and milk boxes. Just a few months later she asked to try working as a basic tailor. Fast forward to 2011, six years later,  she is currently the chief of Smateria's wallets production room. Wallets are technically the most difficult product to sew. (five currently carries two of those recycled wallets.)

This hardworking wife and mother of two, was unemployed prior to working with Smateria and her husband has always worked as a moto taxi driver. She is originally from the country side and recently bought her own house in her homeland - a big investment for her children and a safe place for her and her husband to retire to one day.

Sophea is just one face behind our Cambodian products whom we are helping. The five brand is not only about eco friendly handbags, it is about people.

Resource: Smateria
Also published at TheFairPages.com

Gifts that Give Back to Charity

The holiday shopping season has begun. Corporate parties, family gatherings and visiting friends are just around the corner. These holiday gatherings usually require exchanging or bringing a small gift or hostess gift, so why not give something unique, yet eco-friendly and useful to everyone: a recycled picture frame. 

This Christmas you can give back by giving this recycled picture frame handmade by five ACCESSORIES StreetWise vendors. Formerly homeless individuals are being employed by this fair trade company to produce their Off the Street product line, all of which are made of recycled material found in the streets of Chicago. From ticket stubs to pop top tabs these vendors are finding purpose, encouragement, as well as an income.

five ACCESSORIES and StreetWise vendors have already collected and recycled 12,000 ticket stubs. The picture frame reduces waste while helping people. The frames come in several styles: ticket stub, comics, and sports page and may even be customized with a company logo and given as corporate gifts.

Picture frames also make great baby shower gifts, birthday, anniversary and graduation gifts as well.

Founder, Christine Hutchison, says, “The purpose of our program is to instill pride and purpose through the making of products. We have built a lasting community atmosphere by bringing together college volunteers and interns to work closely with the vendors. One such example is Leticia Quinonez, a StreeWise Vendor who makes pop top bracelets. Her personalized hangtag quotes, ‘Don’t criticize the less fortunate, or you’ll walk the same path yourself.’”

On the back of Gearldine Williams' (who is pictured below with intern Rachel) hangtag she states,"Never Quit...Never."

Give back this holiday season by giving a this recycled picture frame, thus supporting StreetWise vendors and a fair trade company whose mission is to create income generating programs for people, donate a large portion of sales to charitable causes and to foster the use of sustainable material in fashion.  

Guest Post submitted by Samantha MacLeod

OxFam DePaul's First Fair Trade-Apalooza

We are participating in Oxfam DePaul's first Fair Trade-apalooza next Tuesday, May 25th from 11-4pm!

For more information about OxFam, please visit http://oxfamamerica.org whose mission is:

"Working together to end poverty and injustice."

Chocolate and Wine Tasting to Benefit Bright Endeavors

Bright Endeavors is hosting a Chocolate and Wine Tasting Fundraiser event on Thursday, April 29 at the following location:

Mars Gallery, 1139 W Fulton Market, Chicago, IL 60607 US

Help break the cycle of poverty and be the "green light" for the young, homeless and at-risk women Bright Endeavors serve.

Join Bright Endeavors and their guests for local treats and fair trade delights. Generously sponsored by Divine Chocolate and That's Caring.

Suggested donation: $45 in advance, $50 at the door. Bring a friend for $35.

Visit http://events.linkedin.com/Chocolate-Wine-Tasting-Benefit-Bright/pub/272984

or

http://www.brightendeavors.org

for complete details.