Welcome to Sewn to Restore! We are excited to have you here, and we hope that you will join us in the fight against human trafficking.
Restoration takes time. This current season of Sewn to Restore is focused on educating consumers, gathering supporters, and planning for our first Restore Room in Nepal.
“But what is a “Restore Room”?”
So glad you asked! Before we get into that, however, let’s talk about why this organization even exists.
Despite many good and beautiful things in this world, there are terribly ugly things too. Selfishness, greed, apathy, and vanity all collide to create a very real problem: slavery. Modern slavery, more commonly called human trafficking, is an injustice that lurks in the dark corners of every society. Many industries rely on the backs of these exploited workers because they value profits over human life. These people who profit from slaves are monsters!
Now, let’s be fair. You aren’t a monster. I’m not a monster either. And yet, if I go into your closet or mine, I’m bound to find clothing that was made using slavery at some point in its production process. In fact, human trafficking has permeated the modern garment industry so thoroughly, that it’s safer to assume your item of clothing used slavery unless the company explicitly declares otherwise.
When we purchase clothing from a company that exploits workers, we become an accomplice to the injustice. After all, a company cannot continue to exist if their products are not purchased. Sewn to Restore seeks to educate people like you, so that you can make more informed decisions about wielding the power of each dollar you spend. Your spending habits have strength, especially when combined with your friends’, neighbors’, and coworkers’.
While we seek to reduce, and eventually end, human trafficking in the garment industry, we also acknowledge that wrongs have already been done to people throughout the world. This is not a new problem, and there are many wounds that need to be healed. Countless lives have been impacted by this cycle of human trafficking. It is an overwhelming prospect not only to fix the broken system, but also restore the broken lives.
It would be easier not to try.
However, at Sewn to Restore, not trying is not an option. We know we can’t be heroes and save the day everywhere for everyone. But we can help someone somewhere. Each individual is precious, and each individual should be given an opportunity to have a life beyond slavery. Yet, the trauma, baggage, and an enslaved mindset don’t just disappear once someone is freed; restoration must follow the rescue in order for each person to truly live free.
Our Restore Rooms are designed to help women who have been rescued from all types of human trafficking develop a successful life in freedom. Compassionate and knowledgeable volunteers are able to come alongside these women to counsel them and train them with skills to reduce their vulnerability to being re-trafficked. The Restore Rooms also help these women to find fair employment once they complete the program. What a blessing it is to give hope and a chance at a new future to each woman who enters the program!
The need is great, but we can still chip away at it. Through making wise and responsible purchases, telling others about the problem of human trafficking, and supporting those coming out of slavery, we show that we do in fact care. We prove that we will not tolerate the mistreatment of others, even if we never meet them or know their name. Ignoring the problem is never the solution.
Regardless of whether you want to join our mission, do us a favor. The next time you get dressed, hold one of your clothing items for an extra moment and take a deeper look at it. Your hand is holding it, but who held it before you did? Probably several people between a store or warehouse worker, a quality control person, the seamstress, and more! Do you believe each of their lives matter? Do you believe that each of them should be able to be paid for their work? It is sobering to realize that the very fibers of fabric that are touching your skin may have once been touching the skin of someone enslaved by the garment industry.
If that thought bothers you, join us. It bothers us too. Let’s see how many lives we can help restore together.
Sewn to Restore 