Can wearing a dress fight slavery? According to Blythe Hill, founder of the “Dressember” campaign: yes!
Hill first began hearing about the issue of sex trafficking back in 2005. But with no real expertise in things such as law or social work, she felt helpless. In 2009, she challenged herself to wear a dress every day of December (hence: Dressember). Over the next few years, friends joined in, then friends of friends, and so on until 2013 when the movement turned into an international campaign to aid the fight against sex trafficking. Now, Dressember advocates have already raised over $5 million to help increase global awareness and eradicate slavery and sex trafficking. With the help of their grant partners, the Dressember campaign works to bring relief, restoration, and resources to victims around the world.
Founder Blythe Hill in her day 4 Dressember look!
So how does it work? Every year, advocates around the world take the challenge of wearing a dress (or a tie) all 31 days of December, and create a personalized campaign page to raise money for the cause. The Dressember campaign even has designers create new signature dresses each year that can be purchased to help the cause. They are all ethically sourced and made by workers paid fair wages and treated with dignity. Here is our very own Jessica Celine in her Dressember dress from last year’s campaign!
Our very own Jessica Celine in a dress from last year’s Dressember shop!
According to Dressember, more than 30 million people are currently enslaved worldwide, and human trafficking generates about $150 billion a year. It’s a huge issue that isn’t going away anytime soon, despite what many people may think. The Dressember campaign, in just 5 years, has already spread to include thousands of new advocates. So do you want to get involved? Click here to check out all of the different ways you can help out and learn more about the campaign! It’s still not too late. Human trafficking isn’t only an issue one month a year, so Dressember welcomes year-round support. Dressember is here to remind you: #YouCanDoAnythingInADress!
By: Cianna Allen