So Gizmodo wrote about our project today, and the comment board lit up. In the spirit of complete transparency, I wanted to clear up something that may be confusing.
@confuzzled asked:
“After supporting the sex trafficking suvivors involved with Hello Rewind, the remaining profits are recycled back into the company so that we can grow the business to support even more women.”
Notice how they do not mention that the prostitutes are getting paid. They probably offer room & board, but no actual money. As benevolent as it sounds they have much to gain with zero labor costs and a 50$ product where you supply the bulk of the material.
Well… that’s not actually the case. And we’re not a sweatshop.
Many of the sex trafficking victims, when rescued, are left on the street and have no job skills and no hope. Many of them resort to working in brothels to support themselves, as it’s the only way they know how. Our hope is to show them that there’s hope for a better life and future for them.
In order to this, we need to offer them incentives to leave the sex trade — both by offering solid job skills and by offering to pay them a fair wage. Our hope is that they choose us over working in the brothel. We offer the sex trafficking survivors free training in sewing and English skills, and once they are ready we bring them into a job training program and pay them for the work they do. The bulk of the money earned goes towards labor costs. We don’t force them to work, but we do hope that we can help usher them into new lives and a new future.
