Wait, what about the bras?

Since its inception, FTG has been most known for our relationship with bras – collecting them from people just like you to provide inventory for survivors of trafficking in the developing world to establish their own local micro-enterprises, helping them secure economic stability.

It’s been an incredibly successful 13 years with this particular entrepreneurship model.

But here’s the thing – it's essential to understand that just because something worked well in the past doesn't ensure its future success.

Besides, the longer you engage in this work, the more valuable insight and experience you gain.

So let’s address each of these, starting with the latter.

During our extensive work with survivors over the past 13 years, we have done our best to adopt a posture of humility and curiosity, consulting the women we support to identify and understand the key factors contributing to their sense freedom You’ve heard us say it before but it’s worth reiterating, true freedom isn’t simply distance from a trafficker. Not when the threat of re-exploitation and re-trafficking are so real. Read more on that here.

As the women have defined freedom over the years, we’ve listened and allowed those conversations to lead the services we offer. While we are best known for our bra selling initiative, it remains just a single piece of our larger economic empowerment program. In fact, in the countries we currently operate in, only two of the five utilize our bra selling initiative. And out of the two countries we are introducing initiatives in this year, only one of those will be implementing bra selling businesses, and on a limited basis.

Why is that?

Well, let’s return to our initial point – we’re no longer seeing the success we’ve celebrated in the previous years. Post-pandemic life brought significant changes for all of us. For those in poverty-stricken areas of the developing world, the impact has been even more severe. Challenges in shipping logistics, deep economic recessions, global politics – all these factors have profoundly impacted the women’s businesses. In fact, 2023 marks the first year ever that we will not be shipping inventory at all. The reason for this decision is that there is an ample supply of bras in-country from our last shipment. The demand for these "luxury items" (which contributed to the program's past success) has diminished significantly, as potential customers now face financial constraints and must focus on essential expenses like rice and rent rather than discretionary spending. As a result, many survivors running bra-selling businesses have already begun adapting their models by introducing alternative items for sale or pursuing different training opportunities to ensure a more sustainable income in the future.

In light of both these factors, rather than holding onto the past, we are reorienting our efforts toward the diverse array of reintegrative services we provide. From economic empowerment education to alternative trainings to women’s health to housing assistance to money management to connecting them with local professionals for addictions and trauma treatment to creating social safety networks – we’ve been on this path for years and now it’s time to go all-in.

That being said, your bra donations have made incredible opportunities possible and created tangible results for survivors of trafficking. You can see that impact here. In fact, because of your generosity, we currently have enough inventory to gradually offramp this initiative, ensuring the women have supplemental income through bra selling as we further develop alternative economic empowerment initiatives.

Whether you realized it or not, if you’ve given a bra or bucks in the past, you’ve already been a part of the reintegrative story for women all over the world. We invite you to continue to invest in these women’s lives, their businesses, and their healing. Donate once or, even better, sign up to be a monthly donor and help empower these women as they navigate their path towards true freedom.