Description
Human trafficking has been a problem for centuries, the fullest and most extreme illustration of how the prospect of monetary gain can corrode all moral restraint. Put simply, the financial rewards outweigh the risks for those who build and perpetuate these evil and sophisticated systems that oppress mostly women and girls in vulnerable situations around the world.
We're interested in ventures taking creative and often aggressive approaches to reshape supply and demand economics as well as legal and reputational consequences, making it difficult for financially motivated actors and their customers to consider participation in trafficking as viable.
In today’s commercially-driven world people are more likely to be seen and referred to as 'consumers' than anything else. Instead of being met with resistance, this shift has often meant that individuals have formed their identity through a composite of brands, and product purchasing can be guided more by the desire to make a statement about one’s identity and values than strict utility. As a result, the lines between social movement, capitalism, and community are increasingly blurry (see: Nike, Whole Foods, and Patagonia).
Given this reality (which is with us for both better and worse), we’d like to support entrepreneurs with a vision for building brands with a counter-culturally virtuous and optimistic view of the world, spreading hope and beauty, eliminating stigma, and most fundamentally, redirecting our identity away from materialistic consumption and toward lasting contentment.
