Biographe - Fashion that Frees Sex Slaves
Biographe is a sustainable style brand that employs, empowers and restores survivors of the commercial sex trade in southeast Asia.
Sobre Você
Seção 1: Sobre Você
Nome
kyle
Sobrenome
westaway
Website
Country
Estados Unidos
Seção 2: Sobre a Sua Organização
Is your initiative connected to an established organization?
Sim
Nome da Organização
The Blind Project
Página da organização na internet
Telefone da organização
6469422380
Endereço da organização
50 Bridge St. #220 Brooklyn NY 11201
País da organização
Estados Unidos , NY, Kings County
Sua organização é
OSCIP/ONG
How long has this organization been operating?
Entre 1 e 5 anos
Sua ideia
Dê um nome ao seu projeto
Biographe - Fashion that Frees Sex Slaves
Descreva seu Negócio Social
Biographe is a sustainable style brand that employs, empowers and restores survivors of the commercial sex trade in southeast Asia.
Country your work focuses on
Tailândia
INOVAÇÃO
O que faz a sua inovação única?
Biographe is unique in its method of connecting victims and consumers to bring attention to, and provide solutions for, sexual slavery. Biographe products are inspired by victim's stories, and designed by the public at large through an open source design process. Proceeds from sales are then redirected back into the victim's lives creating a virtuous cycle.
The business model is simple: we design, the survivors produce, we market and sell to the US and reinvest the profits back into the survivors' communities.
Biographe matters not solely because WHAT we are creating, but HOW we are creating it. What makes Biographe truly unique, is creating a one-to-one connection between two distinct populations - The Survivors and The Consumers - and moving them both in toward a better tomorrow.
The Survivors:
We are partnering with an established NGO on the ground in Bangkok - that is already providing these survivors food, clothing, shelter, medical and psychological restoration - to add an element of economic restoration in these women's lives. The survivors will work in a positive work environment (read: not a sweatshop) gaining marketable skills in textile and jewelry manufacturing while earning a living wage. By engaging the dual levers of employment and reinvestment we can restore and empower these women to make the transformation from slave to productive member of society.
The Consumers:
Our engagement with our consumers begins well before the point of purchase, in fact, we have invited them to be a part of the design process. We are hosting an open source design competition at www.beabiographer.com starting June 15th, 2010. The winning designs will be featured on Biographe apparel.
Our goal is to engage the US population and move from passive consumer to passionate activist. We are inviting people to join us to tell her story, to be her biographer.
Do you have a patent for this idea?
Impacto
Temas relacionados à inscrição
Conte-nos sobre o impacto social de sua inovação. Por favor, inclua números e histórias como evidência deste impacto.
Biographe's social impact is on both the suvivors and the consumers.
If Biographe helps save one life from slavery it's a success. However, our intention is to free many more. Our short term goal is to bring as many women from slave to citzen by providing them with employment opportunities at living wage. However, we will judge our long term success by what theses women's childrean are able to do. Our aim is to provide each survivor a stable environment so that her children may stay in school through high school and potentially pursue higher education. Community transformation takes generations and Biography positive social impact will change these communities for generations to come.
Secondarily, we our social impact can be measured in the change of attitude and behavior of our tribe of consumers. We will engage the product at three levels: Consumer, Advocate and Activist.
The Consumer is a person who simply buys the product. Just by making this purchase they have already helped employ, empower and restore survivors of the commercial sex trade.
The Advocate is our "sneezer". It's is a person who has purchased the product and is passionate enough to tell the story of the survivor, the issue and the brand in their online and offline social networks. In order to fully engage the Advocate, we are giving them the biography that inspired the design on their t-shirt. Each shirt has a code embedded in it. The Advocate will enter the code into our website and read the biography of the survivor that inspired the design on the shirt. Her biography is integral both in the design and the advocacy process.
The Activist is a person who has made a purchase, is telling the story and is willing to commit their personal time, talent and resources toward the movement.
Problema: Descreva o(s) problema(s) principal (s) que sua inovação aborda
As we speak, millions of women and children are enslaved and exploited in the multi-billion dollar commercial sex trade. Though there is some disagreement on the exact number, even the smallest estimates are over a million people. These victims are treated like meaningless commodities. They are sold and bought, resold and bought again. Often times when victims are rescued, many fall back into the trade because of abject poverty, inadequate employment opportunities, limited or no education, political instability, organized crime, family disintegration, gender discrimination, domestic abuse, and/or social stigmas.
Biographe seeks to address the economic component of this human rights violation by providing employment opportunities to at risk women. Biographe also addresses, though indirectly, the emotional and mental component of the problem by providing financial resources to organizations who address these issues directly through aftercare services.
Ações: Descreva os passos que você está tomando para fazer da sua inovação um sucesso. Inclua a descrição do modelo de negócio. O que pode impedir esse sucesso?
The business model for Biographe is the production and sale of goods, specifically fashion items. The inspiration for each item is the story of a girl or woman who has been a victim of the commercial sex trade. Designs are developed via an open source model, where the general public can submit a design based on their own artistic rendition of the victim's story. Our team of fashion experts will then modify and tweak the designs to ensure their marketability. All materials are organic and sourced in Asia. The fashion items are made by women who have been rescued from the commercial sex trade. The items are then sold to the American consumer at a higher price than they cost to create. Profits are reinvested into our partner organizations who provide restorative care to the women. As sales increase, more funds are reinvested, more women are rescued, more women are employed, and a sustainable business cycle is achieved.
To ensure Biographe's success we began with a strong narrative. The story of how The Blind Project began, and it's growth, is transparent, empowering, and inclusive. Next we built a strong team. Our marketing and creative team consists of volunteers who are tops in the their field, including a VP of Strategic Planning at McCann-Erickson and a motion graphics expert who has developed internal and external campaigns for HP, American Eagle, and Verizon. Our fashion team consists of head designers at boutique fashion firms here in New York City including, DDCLAB, Madison Marcus, Jamison, and Twg. Our business and operations team consists of volunteers who raised venture capital and started two companies, created and run their own law firm, and earned advanced degrees in the field from the nation's top schools.
We are continuing to take steps in the right direction, including forming a Board, fund raising, developing a strong relationship with suppliers, and coming to an agreement, bounded by law, with our partner organizations to ensure an equipped labor force of formerly trafficked women.
Circumstances that may prevent Biographe from becoming a success are insufficient capital and poor execution. We are working hard to mitigate the risk of either of these happening.
Resultados: Descreva os resultados esperados destas ações nos próximos três anos. Por favor, aborde cada ano separadamente, se possível.
Our results are measured in three ways. Number one, and most important, is the number of additional women accepted into our partner organization's programs because we increased their capacity by providing gainful employment. Second is the financial profitability of Biographe, enabling more funds to be allocated to organizations fighting the commercial sex trade. Third, and the hardest to measure, is the engagement of consumers who become activists and create their own initiatives, or join others, to help fight this atrocity.
Our projections for the next three years are as follows:
2011: 11 women employed, 11 additional women accepted into the program. $0 in reinvested profits. 16 activists born.
2012: 18 women employed, 43 additional women accepted into the program. $64K in reinvested profits. 49 activists born.
2013: 29 women employed, 99 additional women accepted into the program. $176K in reinvested profits. 96 activists born.
The number of women employed is driven by the projected demand for Biographe items. For each woman employed one more woman is accepted into the program. Also, for every $2.5K reinvested (annually) an additional woman is accepted into the program. For each 100 items sold, 1 activist is born.
How many people will your project serve annually?
< 100
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
Less than $50
A sua inovação busca ter um impacto em políticas públicas?
Não
Se sua inovação busca impactar políticas públicas, de que forma?
Approximately 150 words left (1200 characters).
SUSTENTABILIDADE
What stage is your Social Enterprise in?
Implementado há menos de um ano
Sua organização possui um conselho de diretores ou um conselho consultivo?
Sim
Does your organization have a non monetary partnerships with NGOs?
Sim
Sua organização possui parcerias não financeiras com empresas?
Não
Sua organização possui parcerias não financeiras com o governo?
Não
Por favor, conte-nos mais sobre como parcerias podem ser fundamentais para o sucesso do seu Negócio Social
Partnerships are critical to the success of Biographe. We rely on partnerships to have access to the victims we desire to work with in Southeast Asia. Our strengths are business in nature- marketing, design, and execution. Our skills lie in providing economic freedom, not psychological and emotional restoration. However, we believe deeply in a holistic approach and thus seek partners to complement us in our areas of weakness.
On the operational side, we need to partner with suppliers, warehouses, distributors, and retailers. Each is an important stakeholder that needs to have the same ethical standards as Biographe.
Parnterships are also necessary to provide additional credibility. Working with other reputable organizations strengthens the credibility of each endeavor.
We would like to learn more about how your initiative is financially supported. Please explain your business plan/revenue model
We have raised seed capital through private donations - mainly grassroots efforts.
The business model for Biographe is the production and sale of goods, specifically fashion items. The inspiration for each item is the story of a girl or woman who has been a victim of the commercial sex trade. Designs are developed via an open source model, where the general public can submit a design based on their own artistic rendition of the victim's story. Our team of fashion experts will then modify and tweak the designs to ensure their marketability. All materials are organic and sourced in Asia. The fashion items are made by women who have been rescued from the commercial sex trade. The items are then sold to the American consumer at a higher price than they cost to create. Profits are reinvested into our partner organizations who provide restorative care to the women. As sales increase, more funds are reinvested, more women are rescued, more women are employed, and a sustainable business cycle is achieved.
A História
What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?
Though there are multiple contributing factors that contribute to sex trafficking, we noticed that the problem of sex trafficking is largely economic in nature. Women and children are vulnerable to the sex trade do to abject poverty, and any woman that finds a way to escape the commerical sex trade often cannot find a way to earn a living wage to support herself.
We specifically were heart broken while working with an organization in Thailand and Burma that works with survivors of the commercial sex trade. We met many women who had to return to the brothels they had fought so hard to leave because they had no other viable option to meet their economic needs. To us, this was absolutely unacceptable.
We knew we could do something to address this issue. We knew we had to create an alternative viable economic option to the brothel.
We knew that the survivors needed work that was approachable - because they typically have little education and no job training - and would also equip them with an applicable/transferable job skills that matched the local market - so when they leave us they will be equipped to find a job. While assessing our skills, we realized that we had fashion designers, advertising/marketing gurus, and entrepreneurs. Given the fact that, apparel production is approachable and a transferable skill set for the region of southeast Asia and our team has the skills to effectively create, market and run a fashion brand; we decided to create Biographe.
Tell us about the person—the social innovator—behind this idea.
Biographe is not a company lead by a single social innovator, it is truly a collective. What makes us strong is that we have some of the most talented people from a variety of industries, including:
Anthony Dodero: Creative Director
Graduating form Savanah College of Art and Desgin with a B.F.A, Anthony runs his own motion graphics and videography studio in New York City working in advertising for a major brands and televisoin networks. From an early age he's been involved in economic development relief work in Mexico, Hondorous and southeast Asia.
Kyle Westaway: Operations & Business Development
Kyle is a New York based social entrepreneur/attorney. He believes in the power of the market to affect social change. He also founded Westaway Law - an innovative boutique law firm that serves activists, entrepreneurs and artists. Kyle studied at Regent University and Oxford University while earning his MA in Public Policy focused on economic development in sub-Saharan Africa.
Shinae Yoon: Fashion Design
Shinae is a contemporaty women's fashion designer in New York City. She graduated from Savanah College of Arts and Design with a major in Fashion Desing and a minor in Graphic design.
Kevin Kim: Marketing
Kevin recently left his job as a VP, Strategic Planning at a global advertising agency, where he worked on major brands in finance, restaurant and luxury - to start his own market research agency called Goodifacation. Kevin studied at New York University Stern School of Business and London School of Economics.
Sean Pfitzenmaier: Operations and Finance
Sean is a venture capital backed entrepreneur having raised $3.5M to start two internet companies based in New York City. Sean started and lead the Social Enterprise Association at NYU, and also lived in West Africa where he taught and consulted Nigerian entrepreneurs. Sean holds an MBA from the New York University Stern School of Businesses and a BS in mechanical engineering from Virgina Tech.
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
Friend or family member
Se através de outra fonte, por favor forneça as informações
 | 150 semanas atrás kyle westaway disse: Due to the nature of our social business, it is absolutely crucial to find the best partner on the ground; one who shares your values ... sobre esse Competition Entry. - leia mais > |
| 150 semanas atrás Violeta Bendersky disse: Dear Kyle Westaway, According to your experience what are the main barriers or challenges so that social business model can ... sobre esse Competition Entry. - leia mais > |
| 153 semanas atrás kyle westaway disse: Rancha, Thanks for the encouragement! Great questions. Biographe is just going into production. We judge success by how many women ... sobre esse Competition Entry. - leia mais > |
| 153 semanas atrás Rachna Pandey Donthi disse: Hi Kyle, This is a great project! What is the success rate of the initiative so far? Are there people who get lured back into the trade? sobre esse Competition Entry. - leia mais > |
| 153 semanas atrás kyle westaway atualizou esta Competition Entry. |
| 153 semanas atrás kyle westaway enviou esta ideia. |