Trade As One

The Handmade Expressions story has more than a few parallels to the Trade as One story. Both Manish Gupta (Handmade Expressions) and Nathan George (Trade as One) had successful careers in the tech industry that provided them with all of the comforts you could ask for. Both had their hearts broken by poverty in the developing world. Both saw that business done fairly could be an answer, and changed their careers and lifestyles in order to use their talents to fight poverty through trade.

Handmade Expressions are passionate about treating both people and planet with dignity and respect. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of what they do is the creative way that their artisans use recycled materials to make beautiful and useful products. They use everything from tree resin (to avoid cutting down trees), to recycled cotton paper and cruelty-free leather (harvested from animals who die naturally), to recycled cassette tapes. Yes, you read that correctly, cassette tapes. You were wondering where all your cassette tapes went? We found them. They’re in the Very Special Folding Bag.

I thought I’d post a small excerpt from a story they just passed along. It details how they connected with their latest producer group.

It all began after receiving an email from a young girl named Sana living in Jama Masjid, Old Delhi, India. She explained that her family and members of the community make jewelry, but are being mistreated by their few current employers. Seeing that Handmade Expressions sold jewelry similar to the jewelry her community makes, Sana found hope for future employment.

“When we seen your website we feeling there is someone in the world who can take care people like us,” Sana wrote.

We’re proud to work with Handmade Expressions to bring much needed fair and stable employment into India, and to showcase their creative work to bring about a more sustainable world.