HER STORY ⟡ Kari Hughes
Today, we are meeting Kari Hughes, owner of Buy the Change!
What does Buy The Change do?
Buy The Change does many things. On a basic level we purchase handmade products from women artisans in the developing world, sell them in the US and use the profits to
purchase more products. This creates a cycle of business building opportunities for talented women who previously struggled to find a market for the beautiful items they create. On deeper levels we do much more than that. We give our customers the opportunity to have a direct impact on the lives of women around the world. We educate our customers and potential customers about the issues of being female in the developing world, fair trade, slow fashion and the importance of using our shopping dollars to empower rather than contribute to exploitation around the world. We offer our partner artisans the dignity and self-respect of earned income and the truth that people
on the other side of the world would want to buy and use the products they make. We give women the opportunity to earn income using the traditional skills taught to them by their mothers and grandmothers.
What inspired Buy The Change?
Buy The Change was incubated during my years working in public health, as a psychotherapist, as a grief therapist and as a member of a women service organization called Soroptimist. The catalyst for taking action and really making it happen was when I read the book Half The Sky, written by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn. In 2010, this book kind of fell into my hands and after reading the stories of struggle and resilience, I was very inspired. I learned how truly dangerous it is to be born poor and female in this world. Billions of dollars have been spent studying, attempting to understand and seeking to eliminate extreme poverty around the world. Unfortunately, this money has not reached the people at the most grassroots level. After finishing the book and reading the excellent call to action Kristoff and WuDunn put forth, I was inspired and activated.After a full year of research, a plan emerged and Buy The Change was born.
What issues is Buy The Change attempting to address?
We are attempting to address any and all issues related to being extremely poor and female in the developing world. The specific issues are different in the different areas of the world where we partner with women.The main issue for all of our artisan partners is poverty, extreme poverty. Other issues are the direct result of extreme poverty; poor nutrition, unsafe living conditions, lack of access to education, lack of access to medical care, human trafficking, maternal/infant mortality, and many more. The women we partner with do not work for Buy The Change, they overwhelmingly work for themselves. Some are members of cooperatives, others work under the guidance of local NGOs where they receive coaching and information about business and healthy living choices. We don't attempt to influence or control what they buy our how they choose to spend the money they earn. We give them the respect of believing they know
what is best for themselves and their families.
How has Buy The Change helped women specifically?
Buy The Change has purchased more than $350K worth of products from our artisan partners around the world. This is money that has gone directly into the hands of women living in extreme poverty.
How does Buy The Change affect people around the world and here at home?
I think how we affect people around the world is already addressed. We affect people here at home in several ways. Firstly, we offer them beautiful, high quality products. We also offer the opportunity to have a direct, positive impact on the lives of women living in extreme poverty. We educate our customers and potential customers on the importance of being a conscious consumer. The Buy The Change Affiliate and Fundraising
programs offer the opportunity for interested individuals, bloggers and non-profit organizations to earn income and/or funding by promoting Buy The Change products and helping us spread the word about our mission and goals.
What are the greatest challenges you have faced in your work?
There have been so many challenges. I tend to see the world from a humanities rather than a business perspective. I had to learn how to run a retail business from bookkeeping to marketing to importing. Being in the business of selling products means we
have to purchase products we can sell. I have met so many wonderful women whose products, for a variety of reasons, were not right for Buy The Change. This breaks my heart but in order for Buy The Change to be successful, I have to be selective about the products I buy. I greatly value the life of every woman and often I have to say no to them. If possible, we will work with women on how to make their items more marketable
but this isn't always possible.
What do you find most rewarding in your work?
The most rewarding part of my work is traveling to meet the women we partner with. Sitting down with them, often in their homes, and seeing the difference partnering with Buy The Change has made in their lives. We have met with women in the slums and red light district in Kolkata, India, villages in West Bengal, India, refugee camps in northern Thailand, the highlands of Guatemala, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and in Montrouis, Haiti. In all of these places one of the best things I hear is that the daughters of our partner artisans are going to school because their mothers are earning the money to pay the tuition. These women all live in countries where there is no government system to fall back on. Each family must figure out how to survive or it will not happen. Being a part of this process and helping to create generational change is the best part of my job.
I am so inspired by these women, what they have survived, the resilience they have, the talent they have. It humbles me every day and keeps me focused on everything I have to be grateful for.
What would your advice be to a young person wanting to make a difference in theworld?
My advice would be to follow your heart, take risks, jump before you feel ready and do the work. Being a social entrepreneur, or working in any capacity to be a force for social change, is not a platform where you will ever make a lot of money but it is a place that will feed your soul. There will be people who will not understand the calling and will try to discourage you, don't listen. There will be people who are not in it for the right reasons, don't listen. I have to do the business of running a business, which isn't my favorite, but it is what allows me to do what I do love, which is help women change their own lives.
CONNECT WITH US:
buythechangeusa.com