bars of gold that give back - Half United

notablySmitten introduced Half United in August of this year...and now these Gold Bar Rae Earrings! Divine and delightful...they come in silver and rose gold as well.

For every product purchased, Half United will give 7 meals to a child in need! Currently focused on the United States, Fiji, Cambodia and Haiti.

Food is really just the beginning for Half United. Currently primarily focused on hunger-alleviation, they also have strategically partnered with organizations that work hard to empower, educate, and inspire the children, families, and communities they feed.

...continue to be Smitten!

the art of being a woman - Darling magazine

I spent a significant amount of my life working as a model. You may not recognize the name...but I worked. And I've got stories...;)

The expectations put on us, and that we begin to put on our young girl selves, starts the moment we realize...we are girls.

I was reading Seventeen magazine at thirteen wondering how I would ever look like those young women. Of course, at that age, I knew nothing of "touching up" photos...or today, photo shop.

The dark cycle of it all sets in early. We women are marketed to...to be different than who we are, as we are. If we were only skinnier, taller, had blonder (browner, redder, more "ombre,") hair, well, life would be just grand. 

The right foundation is what is most important! I mean, right? We begin swimming in a sea of images that make us feel, not right. We are not right the way we are...we need more glosses, blushes, long-lasting mascaras, perfumes, the "right" potions, "perfect" lotions and more Prada, Gucci, Guess to be okay.

It's exhausting...to the spirit.

Here, I present a new find. Sarah Dubbeldam started Darling as a blog in 2009. It became a quarterly printed magazine, with its first edition in 2012. Based out of California, Darling gets it right!

These are just some of the reasons I not just like, but LOVE Darling magazine:

·      They challenge cultural “ideals” of beauty and question their exaggerated importance.

·      They see beauty in every type of woman.

·      They believe in being “fit,” and see “thin” in context of the healthiest version of self.

·      They promote respect for women’s bodies in fashion and photography.

·      They never use Photoshop to alter women’s faces or bodies.

·      They feature clothing and products within a price range that an average income can afford.

·      They don't offer shallow advice to real-life issues. Instead, promote coping behaviors for helpful and lasting change.

Thank you Darling, for turning this medium on its ear, creating accountability...and helping champion future generations of girls into a world that is filled with much less "noise" and insecurity.

Totally Smitten.

random acts of flowers

It's so simple, so loving...I'm crazy about Random Acts of Flowers!

RAF recycles and repurposes flowers and distributes them to individuals in healthcare facilities across the country...so cool!!

Random Acts of Flowers’ mission is driven by floral recipients, and strives to be a 100% recycling organization.

With more than 500 volunteers making up the core of the operations and mission fulfillment around the country, if you've got the time, they would love to include you in the volunteer team at a branch near you.

Please check out their story here.

Totally Smitten!

304 pages of goodness - Global Girlfriends

In 2003 Stacey Edgar didn't have a business plan. . .or a passport. That didn't stop her from creating a socially conscious business that has helped poor women in five continents feed their families and send their children to school.

Stacey Edgar refused to be paralyzed by the size of world poverty. With a $2,000 tax return and a profound desire to help provide economic security for women in need, Global Girlfriends was created. GG is a passionate testament to Stacey following her convictions, a template for us all to follow. Take simple actions to eliminate extreme poverty.

Global Girlfriends has grown into a multi-million dollar enterprise that specializes in handmade, fairly traded, eco-conscious apparel and accessories made by women from all over the world. 

An excellent read, a dream...and a guide.

Smitten.

paper triangle drop earrings - Global Goods Partners

These entirely chic, lightweight, geometric lovelies are made from stacked, glued, cut and sanded recycled magazine pages! Totally modern, totally original, swank, sustainable, everyday accessories.

These beautiful earrings are:

~ Made from 100% recycled magazines

~ 3/4"W x 3/4"L, hangs 3"

~ Choose from Aqua, Black, Pink, Orange and Green

Both professionals in International Development, it was part of Catherine Lieber Shimony and Joan Shifrin's job to travel to impoverished areas around the world to see what could be improved. What they began to witness over and over again, were creative, energized women producing magnifient handmade goods...yet, they lacked any access to sustainable markets in which to sell their products.

Catherine and Joan had witnessed women in marginalized communities throughout Asia, Africa, and the US being able to advance the wellness of their families when their income was stabilized. In 2005, the friends founded Global Goods Partners to create a practical pathway for women to generate income opportunities and gain access into the consumer marketplace for handmade, fair trade merchandise.

Global Goods Partners (GGP) is a nonprofit social enterprise dedicated to alleviating poverty and promoting social justice and empowers women to create sustainable change.

Once again, Smitten!

super, sexy, sustainable - Thinx

How excited could one possibly get over undies? The answer is quite! I am quite crazed about these deliciously sexy, well-designed and logical undergarments! Thinx is not only covering booties...but kicking booty as well!

As women, girls, gals...we have all had the experience of leaking through a tampon or pad and ruining a pair of fantabulous undies. This is a bummer...but not nearly as bad as not having access to tampons or pads in the first place.

This is mad but true: 100 million girls in the developing world fall behind in school because of their periods. In some countries, girls are made to feel shame about their periods, and very often are not able to afford disposable pads or tampons. Over time, many are forced to drop out. (In Uganda, girls miss around 11% of their academic year because of their periods, according to a report on menstrual management.)

The gals behind Thinx (self-absorbing underwear) are sisters Radha and Miki Agrawal and Antonia Dunbar, who saw a need and filled it...handily!

The women patented their THINX QuadTECH technology, and created these ingenious undies that come in three different styles: Thong, Cheeky, and Hiphugger, with prices ranging from $24 to $34.

Here's how it comes together for all of us:

~ You buy a pair of Thinx panties (or build a cycle set)...for your needs and comfort during the month.

~ Thinx then send funds to their partner organization, AFRIpads (which is on the ground in Uganda with 130 employees and four factories.)

~ AFRIpads trains women to sew and sell washable, reusable cloth pads, turning local women into entrepreneurs!

~ A girl is then able to purchase an affordable and sustainable pack of pads, keeping them in school every day of the month.

These undies are brilliant and I am Smitten.

infinity hoops - Same Sky

These Silver Infinity Hoops are deeee-lish. A perfect gift.

Handcrafted in Rwanda.  Each pair is finely crocheted with metallic plated seed beads on 24-karat hoops. Hoops measure 1.5” in diameter.

Same Sky is working as a trade initiative to create employment opportunities for women in Rwanda struggling to lift their lives out of poverty.

In 1994, nearly one million people were murdered in just 100 days during the genocide in Rwanda. A quarter of a million women were raped, and 70% contracted HIV/AIDS. These women were used as weapons of war, left as widows, single mothers and orphaned girls. Same Sky was born with a mission to help them. 

Transformation happens with the dignity of work and the freedom of being self-sufficient. Same Sky employs the artisans of Rwanda, giving them fair wages and further training and education necessary for them to live empowered lives.

“Talent is everywhere, opportunity isn’t”— Same Sky aims to change that.

A purchase of Infinity Hoop Earrings bonds you eternally with a woman a world away.

Infinity Hoops come in Silver and Gold.

Same Sky Smitten!

girls rule! - Half the Sky

Firstly, I am crazy for this endeavor, this movement: HALF THE SKY. 

This is an essential watch/study for any and all global citizens. 

This 10 DVD set was inspired by Pulitzer Prize winning journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's groundbreaking book HALF THE SKY...which takes on the central moral challenge of the 21st century: the oppression of women and girls worldwide.

The film follows actress/activists America Ferrera, Diane Lane, Eva Mendes, Meg Ryan, Gabrielle Union and Olivia Wilde, along with Kristof to meet some of the most courageous individuals of our time, who are doing extraordinary work to empower women and girls everywhere.

These are challenging, dramatic stories of transformation and hope. You will be shocked and outraged...and ultimately inspired by the resilience of the human spirit. The film leaves us in awe of  the capabilities of women and girls to realize their astounding potential.

HALF THE SKY is a passionate call, urging us to bear witness to the plight of the world's women, and to help transform their oppression into opportunity.

Our future is in the hands of women, everywhere.

upcycled baubles - 31 Bits

This vibrant, beautiful, multihued adornment is made out of paper. Yes...paper! Each and every bead is created using hand rolled paper. All jewelry at 31 Bits is hand crafted by women artisans living in Uganda.

31 Bits began five years ago, when 5 college friends, Kallie Dovel, Alli Swanson, Anna Toy, Brooke Hodges, and Jessie Simonson, with graduation just a year away, found their lives changing drastically.

Kallie, had just returned from a trip to Uganda where she met and spent time with women that had grown up in war and had nothing. They were single moms with no education and no job prospects. What struck Kallie the most, the women were her age. The contrast of the lives the women were leading was stark.

Kallie witnessed, that though the women had not had the opportunity of an education, they made up for that with amazing artistry and ingenuity - making unique, beauteous jewelry out of old posters.   

Miss Dovel brought a box of the jewelry back with her, when the rest of the friends fell in love with it, they all knew a business was emerging.

A few of the girls went back the following summer and spent time with the women making jewelry and sharing life stories. Kallie stayed through the following year, setting up the organization.

Fantastic!

31 Bits has also implemented a five-year holistic development program in Uganda, where each woman receives health education, finance training, counseling, and business training. They currently have 120 women in the program whose lives have been transformed.

100% Smitten.

Through your purchase, you are helping to empower women rise above poverty with dignity and grace.

eco-kind magazine rod earrings - Global Goods Partners

I think these rolled magazine rod earrings are truly stunning. The craftsmanship is perfect...I can't believe these are made from rolled magazine paper. Clever artistry and design. Totally stunning, absolutely chic!

~ Made from 100% recycled magazines

~ 3" in length

~ Choose from Black, Green, Fuchsia, Dark Violet, Lime and Teal

Due to the recycled nature of this product, colors may slightly vary

Both professionals in International Development, it was part of Catherine Lieber Shimony and Joan Shifrin's job to travel to impoverished areas around the world to see what could be improved. What they began to witness over and over again, were creative, energized women producing magnifient handmade goods...yet, they lacked any access to sustainable markets in which to sell their products.

Catherine and Joan had witnessed women in marginalized communities throughout Asia, Africa, and the US being able to advance the wellness of their families when their income was stabilized. In 2005, the friends  founded Global Goods Partners to create a practical pathway for women to generate income opportunitites and gain access into the consumer marketplace for handmade, fair trade merchandise.

Global Goods Partners (GGP) is a nonprofit social enterprise dedicated to alleviating poverty and promoting social justice and empowers women to create sustainable change.

Smitten again!!

simply red - the Red Thread Movement

This is about a movement, and it is called the Red Thread Movement. It is a call to action with the sale of red thread bracelets. This is what one little vibrantly colored, handsomely crafted little bracelet can do! 

The Red Thread Movement battles human trafficking and has partnered with a Nepalese anti-trafficking organization that has set up border units between Nepal and India (which is open and allows for citizens from both countries to travel freely with no visa or passport.) As there is an estimated 12,000 victims of sex trafficking between these countries every year, the success rate of these border units is extremely high, each rescuing up to 15 girls a month. 

Many girls are not able to return to their villages after rescue, as social rejection and shame are common. Safe houses are established to provide shelter, counseling and vocational training for girls who cannot return to their villages. It is at these safe houses that the girls make the Red Thread Movement bracelets.

The bracelets make a difference in 3 important ways:

1. They provide a Fair Trade income for rescued girls who do the craftsmanship and hand weave the bracelets themselves.

2. Additional proceeds fund anti-trafficking border units and safe houses through the work of Red Thread’s partner, Kingdom Investments Nepal (K.I. Nepal.)

3. Wearing the bracelet generates awareness and declares sex trafficking as human rights crime.

These bracelets are an outstanding way to fundraise and spread the word!

I am Smitten.

something beautiful on the horizon - Punjammies

I may be a little late to the party here, as I am just discovering Punjammies, but I am no less excited or bowled over by the idea that is the International Princess Project.  Firstly, Punjammies are cozy, colorful loungewear trousers, fashioned from the same gorgeous fabric that the traditional Sari is made from, they are 100% cotton -- incredibly soft and comfortable.

The International Princess Project was founded by Shannon Keith in 2005 when Shannon and her husband visited India for the first time. They loved the country but were struck by the very serious problem that existed for the young girls and women of India, that of sex trafficking and modern day slavery. After visiting one of India’s countless red light districts, she was changed.

Pressed by the immensity of the problem, Shannon returned home, culled some goodhearted friends and founded International Princess Project to advocate for these women and help them rebuild their lives. Soon, the team realized that without an occupation, these women and girls stood a slim chance of survival outside the brothels and prostitution. 

With this knowledge, Shannon focussed on what she knew, sales and merchandising -- and Punjammies were born. The brilliant fabric of the traditional Indian Sari was the key inspiration. The team worked with talented seamstresses to create a simple pattern that women could use to learn how to sew. With each stitch, the women gained courage, confidence and determination. Their newfound trade was their passageway to freedom.

What started as a six-woman sewing center is now three centers that employ over 150 women. All receive fair wages and recovery care. Punjammies are loose fitting for comfort, all-cotton and can be worn indoors as loungewear or for a festive evening out, with a pair of strappy sandals and your favorite clutch. The elastic waistband sits comfortably on your hips, and can be customized with the drawstring. 

With every purchase, know that you are directly helping the women of India pave a pathway to the dignity and freedom they justly deserve. 

Crazy Smitten for Punjammies.