Beautiful and beneficial laptop sleeve created by Hello Rewind
Credit: Hello Rewind
If you hop on Etsy.com, you'll find a slew of beautiful handmade laptop cases, many of which use repurposed materials like old t-shirts, jeans or vintage fabrics. But you'll be hard pressed to find any that also help end sex trafficking. That's exactly the unusual and inspiring link Hello Rewind makes as they turn an eco-art into a humanitarian effort.
Hello Rewind has two big goals. First, they take your favorite old t-shirts that have lived out their useful life as clothing and turn them into a brand new product - a beautiful laptop sleeve. But they also have a special component to this business plan. The company finds not only new lives for a t-shirt but also, and more importantly, new lives for women in New York City who have been rescued from the sex trafficking industry.
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As Hello Rewind points out, many people don't realize the pervasiveness of sex trafficking in the US. Almost 17,000 people are trafficked into the US annually. The company is working with Restore NYC, which is a non-profit organization that helps sex trafficking survivors - many of whom speak little or no English and lack job skills - integrate into the city. Hello Rewind employs survivors, teaching them marketable business and handicraft skills, and English.
Hello Rewind states, "After supporting the sex trafficking suvivors involved with Hello Rewind, the remaining profits are recycled back into the company so that we can grow the business to support even more women."
A laptop sleeve is priced at $49 and takes 4 to 8 weeks from the time they receive your shirt to the time you get your new sleeve. While that might seem like a high price and a long time to wait, consider this: when you purchase this, you're helping a woman earn a living and learn new skills so that she can create a new life for herself. You're also helping divert clothing from landfills, to which bout 6 million tons of fabrics and textiles are dumped every year. You know exactly what the product is made from, who is making it, and how it is made. It's nearly impossible to say the same thing of any old sleeve you pick up for cheaper at a store.
Hello Rewind has created a unique business model that betters our world in notable ways. This is exactly the kind of sustainable, people-oriented business we love to see pop up. So if you're looking for a unique gift idea, or want to treat yourself to something special, consider Hello Rewind!
