"We Can End Human Trafficking One Conscious Purchase at a Time!"

Bryan Bessette, executive director and co-founder of The Freedom Café had the privilege of speaking at the 2019 Portsmouth TEDx event. His talk invites everyday consumers to engage in the fight to END human trafficking, “One Conscious Purchase at a Time”. Bessette shares that,

“The average American household donates about 18 hundred dollars a year (to effect change) while spending 17 thousand a year on food, clothing, recreation and home furnishings. Imagine the impact if that $17k, our collective 4 trillion, went to items that are sourced from certified, transparent and responsible companies, small farms, cooperatives and artisan producers? As Conscious Consumers, we invest in the well being of our neighbors around the globe and build economic stability among often vulnerable communities.

Human trafficking is a human rights violation that exploits over 40 million people every year and is defined as overcoming an individual’s will through force, fraud or coercion, and thereby compelling victims to engage in some kind of labor; traditional labor, domestic servitude or commercial sex. Human traffickers prey on the vulnerabilities created by many current and pressing social issues; and recruit people into horrific situations with little hope of escape.

As Bessette shares, “We are not powerless. We can do something to effect change.”

When we acknowledge our connection to producers locally and around the globe and gradually shift our buying habits one product at a time, we can address many of the root causes of all forms of human trafficking, eliminate vulnerabilities and prevent individuals from making choices out of desperation.

This is what it means to commit to the practice of Conscious Consuming. And ALL of us can invest in this change every day through what we purchase.”  

You are invited to join the Conscious Consumer movement, to gradually yet intentionally shift your purchases to support products and companies that pay a living wage to workers though out the supply chain. “Companies are market driven, and we, the market, need to demand change.”

We have the collective opportunity and resources to identify and help eliminate vulnerabilities, fostering a world where human trafficking cannot thrive.

Discover resources for your journey as a Conscious Consumer at https://thefreedomcafe.org/be-a-conscious-consumer