With springtime fast approaching, it’s time to re-accessorize your closet to match the warm temperatures and sunny skies. If you’re looking for the trendiest jewelry of the Spring 2010 season—dangle earrings, oversized cocktail rings, and beaded necklaces just to name a few—then look no further than the following three websites. These sites sell unique, handcrafted pieces that can complete any outfit in your wardrobe. And the best part? Each piece you purchase will help impoverished women throughout the world.
1. Musana
Launched in March 2010, Musana offers a line of earrings and necklaces created by young mothers in Uganda. Musana’s earth-tone jewelry features an eclectic mix of metals, colored beads, and tribal-inspired designs. Many of the pieces utilize native Ugandan materials, such as coconut shell wood and jacaranda seeds; and some of the items also use recycled goods, like bottle caps and newspapers. All of the pieces in the collection are handmade and custom-designed.
The entire Musana collection is made by eight poverty-stricken women in the central African country of Uganda. Women like Eve Namyalo, a mother of six children, hope to use their Musana earnings to pay for schooling and food. Musana also focuses on helping these women become literate.
2. Hope Jewelry
Chunky necklaces, beaded bracelets, chandelier earrings—you’ll find it all at HopeJewelry.org. The Hope collection features over forty trinkets that come in a variety of styles, from elegant pearl necklaces to a simple quartz bracelet you can wear anywhere. (Be sure to check out the green stone necklace, which would look great with a solid strapless dress or a fitted white tee.) Along with its jewelry, Hope Jewelry also sells purses, scarves, and stationary.
The mission of Hope Jewelry is to empower women who are survivors of human trafficking, especially sex trafficking. Since 2008, Hope Jewelry has strived to lift these women out of poverty by selling their handicrafts online and by helping them to create new lives.
3. Stop Traffick Fashion
With over sixty pieces of jewelry, you’re bound to find what you’re looking for at Stop Traffick Fashion. The Stop Traffick website has a wide selection of dangle earrings and beaded bracelets, but the necklaces are the pieces that really stand out. The Bubbles Magazine Necklace will make any outfit pop with its multiple strands of amber and white beads. Also, the Marbles Magazine Necklaces comes in three eye-catching colors, like pink and teal.
As its name suggests, Stop Traffick Fashion works to stop human trafficking throughout the world. Each purchase from the site aids trafficking survivors and a portion of all sales revenue is donated to organizations who rescue victims.