What to Wear: Day in the City

If you're headed out for a day in the city, you want your look to be as functional as it is gorgeous. Looking for top quality handbags and eye-catching jewelry is just the beginning. You also want your jewels and accessories to be easy-wear, transitional pieces that can move from travel to work to play, from day to evening without requiring an extra bag just for the details.

For travel and casual wear, start with your favorite dark wash jeans and a simple top. Keep your clothing low-key and let your fashion pieces speak for your personal style. Cold on the train? Start with a chic hand-knit sweater that not only flatters your shape but supports the efforts of women artisans in Thailand. Carry everything from your favorite book to your essential beauty buys in the Angeline Sueded Hobo, perfectly paired in sleek buff or vibrant purple. Large and hand-stitched, this great bag is a statement piece that has more than enough room for business needs, weekend travel, or day-to-day use.

Fire up your city chic with can't-miss jewelry that supports the same amazing causes we're always promoting with Shopping for A Change®. Our amazing Petal Paper Earrings are made from paper, making them incredibly light and enviably eco-friendly. Available from Quazi Designs in a selection of one-of-a-kind bright, bold colors.  Rose is a perfect color choice for a delicate, feminine color palette paired perfectly with the daring silhouette and unexpected material of these unforgettable earrings.

Finish your urban warrior ensemble with the Piedra Wrap Bracelet. A hip combination of supple leather and vibrant Tagua from the Andean Collection is another hit for socially conscious fashion. Versatile and functional, this great bracelet manages to pull of casual chic and professional style in one fell swoop. Last step? Enjoy a fantastic, fashion-forward day in the city knowing your incredible personal style speaks volumes about not only your love of great fashion but a dedication to making a real difference all over the world.



Heather Hurd is a writer, blogger, and content management professional. As the mother to one incredible toddler, what little spare time she has involves a budding fitness fascination and lots of reading. (@SushiJammies)


Shopping for a Change® (SFAC) empowering others, transforming lives® is a web-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization where artisans (predominantly women) from developing countries, sell their handmade creations enabling them to earn a sustainable income and lift themselves from poverty. The net proceeds subsidize community improvement projects abroad as well as help fund select U.S.-based non-profit organizations of the web shopper’s choosing from SFAC’s partner list.

Fashion for a Cause

Shopping, apparel, accessories, home decor... it's easy to get caught up in the sparkle of new jewelry or the luxury of an incredible bag. We all work hard for what we have, and sometimes these little indulgences are the perfect reward for all the hours we put in at work, school, and home. So what could make your shopping experience even better? What could improve the experience not only for you but for someone across the world who could use a helping hand?

Making a difference while you buy.

Shopping for a Change® is more than just a chance to get gorgeous goods with a little kickback to a charity. This is a new model on an old theme. It's giving back at its best, by turning dollars into dreams for indigenous and often impoverished artisans working to change the lives of their families, friends, and communities. By providing these incredibly talented artisans with exposure to US-based buyers who might otherwise have no chance to see their work, Shopping for a Change® gives consumers the chance to increase their social awareness while simultaneously getting their hands on unique accessories that truly make an impact in the lives of the artists.

More than that, this global fashion network brings intricate, culturally infused jewelry, apparel, accessories, and decor directly to first-world consumers in a secure shopping experience that allows traditional crafts to continue to flourish. Artisans set their own terms of payment for product, giving them full control over their site-generated income. Half of the net proceeds go toward funding community projects and grants that go even further to make a lasting impact for struggling communities. What happens to the other half of the net proceeds? They go to a nonprofit of the consumer's choice from a list provided at checkout, allowing you to make a difference both domestically and abroad.

During their first year of business, consumers' purchases helped fund the Tibane Water Project in Swaziland Africa, and this year's shopping will pay for a teacher's salary in rural Kenya. Partnering with non-profit organizations such as Unicef, Water Gives Life (Australian),  and T.R.A.D.E, the Leakey Collection's nonprofit arm, provides additional support and helps insure the funds are being used as they are designated.

Shopping for a Change® broadens the reach of every consumer dollar, and helps you make a difference in the world. So whenever you go shopping, go Shopping for a Change!

Empowering others, transforming lives®.


Heather Hurd is a writer, blogger, and content management professional. As the mother to one incredible toddler, what little spare time she has involves a budding fitness fascination and lots of reading. (@SushiJammies)


Shopping for a Change® (SFAC) empowering others, transforming lives® is a web-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization where artisans (predominantly women) from developing countries, sell their handmade creations enabling them to earn a sustainable income and lift themselves from poverty. The net proceeds subsidize community improvement projects abroad as well as help fund select U.S.-based non-profit organizations of the web shopper’s choosing from SFAC’s partner list.

Be the Change

Growing up, I didn’t think one person could make a real difference in the world, unless you were perhaps Mother Teresa or the Dalai Lama. I was about to turn 50 years old when I realized how mistaken I was.

That same year, our son’s seventh-grade class participated in a philanthropic project that was interwoven through their entire curriculum. The education we all received about nonprofit organizations, and their influence had a far-reaching impact beyond the classroom and into our lives.

Our family in Machu Picchu, Peru

In late 2008 early 2009 our family traveled to both Peru and the Galapagos Islands off Ecuador. They are truly phenomenal places to visit, and I encourage each of you to go should you have the chance--you won’t be disappointed.

Throughout our adventures there, we reveled in the innate beauty of the region but wrestled with the hunger and poverty endured by so many of its’ people. Myself an artist, I noticed the wealth of creative talent passed down through generations, and knew that given the right circumstances, it could be their means to a better life.

Realizing, but for an accident of birth, it could have been me living under similar conditions, I arrived home no longer the same person as before I left. For three tumultuous months after returning home I was extremely depressed.

This mother of two is also
a very talented weaver

As a mother I connected strongly with the women there whom I had met. We learned that many were the sole providers for their families, and had been affected by atrocities such as illness, spousal abuse, war, unemployment, and death. Sadly, their situations were not unique, as similar circumstances exist throughout the world.

I simply could no longer go about my life without doing something to help my global sisters.

Shopping for a Change® was developed to empower these talented women and their impoverished communities, with means to transform their standards of living in economically sustainable ways.  In addition to paying the artisans for their creations, Shopping for a Change® splits the net proceeds from your purchases in two ways: we fund Community Improvement Projects abroad with our focus on clean water, health care, and education; and also give back domestically through donations to participating U.S.-based nonprofit organizations.

We hope you’ll shop with us frequently, and share us with friends and family. Every purchase you make touches the lives of those around the world who handcrafted it.  As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, you may make tax-deductible donations to support our cause.  Thank you for your support! 

Warm regards,
Stacey
www.shoppingforachange.org