When it comes to prostitution, the military is tough, sentencing up to a year in prison and dishonorable discharge to personnel caught paying for sex even in countries where prostitution is legal. Officers and troops are taught about the links between prostitution and human trafficking. Recently, however, the scandal involving U.S. military personnel and Secret Service agents and prostitutes in Colombia has brought to light the gap between the written policies and real experiences at military assignments around the world. Read the full story here.

Freshman Rep. Robert Turner (R-N.Y.) has introduced a resolution that calls on the owners of Backpage.com to shut down their “adult entertainment” section, which has been said to facilitate child prostitution and sex trafficking. The resolution, H.Res.646, outlines the recent pressures that the public has put on Village Voice Media to terminate these ads. It also cites specific examples of people arrested for sex trafficking, all of whom point to Backpage.com as a tool they used for advertising. Read the full story here.

The legal age for a girl to marry in India is 18, but a recent survey by the Ministry of Health found that 43% of the married women in the age group of 20-24 had been child brides. Girls who become child brides have no say in what takes place, as in human trafficking, and often experience physical and sexual abuse in their new households – they become property. Read the full story here.

Mexico’s lower house has unanimously passed a bill that establishes preventative and punitive measures regarding human trafficking and also provides aid to human trafficking victims. The bill targets the entire chain of human trafficking, from those who initially entrap victims to those who hold them against their will and exploit them to clients of sexual services. Congresswoman Rosi Orozco said, “Not one more victim will have to endure injustice; the entire chain of exploitation will be punished and comprehensive care will be provided to victims to ensure their social reinsertion.” The bill includes the creation of a fund to provide care for human trafficking victims. Read the full story here.

Last week, Arizona State University’s School of Social Work teamed up with the Phoenix Police Department and community social service agencies and volunteers for Project ROSE II, an arrest-alternative/intervention program for adult victims of prostitution or sex trafficking. Project ROSE (Reaching Out to the Sexually Exploited) viewed the prostitutes as victims rather than criminals, providing them with hope and assistance for legal, mental health, addiction and homelessness issues that keep them trapped in the sex trade. Read the full story here.

Food

Farmer ’ s Markets** Buy locally grown food from farmers in your area.

Whole Foods Market** offers a wide selection of Fair Trade, natural, and organic food products.

Rice Epicurean Market** is a gourmet grocery store offering Fair Trade items.

Central Market** sells a variety of Fair Trade, natural, and organic products.

Sam’s Club** offers a selection of Fair Trade certified products.

Coffee and Tea

Taft Street Coffee House**  is a local non-profit, certified Fair Trade coffee shop, claiming “the most fair trade beans of any coffee shop in Houston.”

Antidote** offers Fair Trade coffee along with beer, wine, and food.

Katz Coffee** is a small-batch, custom roasting company in Houston that offers fine coffee from Fair Trade sources.

Java Pura** is a Houston based coffee roaster offering many Fair Trade and organic choices.

Allegro sells Fair Trade coffee, tea, and drinking chocolate. Allegro products can be bought at Whole Foods.

Duncan Coffee Co. is a Texas coffee company offering a variety of farm to market, Fair Trade coffee.

Port City Coffee supports traditional coffee farming and sustainability, offering selections of Fair Trade and organic coffee.

Saint Basil Coffee is a non-profit company selling Fair Trade Columbian coffee and distributing funds to Catholic Missions.

Equal Exchange sells coffee and tea as well as fairly traded chocolate, bananas, olive oil, and almonds.

Fontana** is a wholesale shop supplying Fair Trade coffee to shops and cafes in the Houston area.

Just Coffee sells 100% Fair Trade coffee.

Chocolate

Endangered Species offers premium chocolate that supports species, habitat, and humanity.

Theo produces premium organic and Fair Trade specialty chocolate.

Divine Chocolate sells Fair Trade chocolate produced by farmers who own 45% of the company.

Green & Black ’ s premium chocolates use fine organic ingredients that are ethically sourced.

Equal Exchange offers fairly traded chocolate as well as other products.

Rapunzel’s chocolates are made from 100% Fair Trade ingredients.

Terra Nostra offers gourmet chocolate that is certified organic and Fair Trade.

Araya Chocolate** sells artisan chocolates crafted from scratch in Katy, TX.

The Chocolate Bar** offers gourmet chocolates, desserts, ice cream, and coffee.

Clothing

Freeset makes quality jute bags and T-shirts, offering employment to women caught in Kolkata’s sex trade.

Fair Indigo offers Fair Trade, organic, and USA-made clothing.

Trade for Change sells clothing and other products made by women in Africa, increasing their income and standard of living.

Good & Fair Clothing uses Fair Trade and organic materials to make their clothing, ensuring fair wages for international workers and providing resources to help people out of poverty in local communities.

Mata Traders sells clothing and other products, working with organizations in India that educate, employ, and empower women.

Avatar Imports works with a Fair Trade factory in Nepal to produce their clothing.

Yellow Label Kids offers uniquely crafted, Fair Trade children’s clothing.

United Colors of Benetton sells stylish, fairly produced clothing.

GlobalGirlfriend sells clothing and other products made by women, helping women worldwide gain economic security.

Jewelry and Accessories

Rosebud Lips sells uniquely designed, handmade accessories. Each purchase contributes to efforts to support victims of human trafficking.

Narimon sells jewelry made by Thai women and girls who were or were at risk to be victims of human trafficking.

Made By Survivors sells jewelry, handbags, and gifts made by survivors of human trafficking.

Sseko Designs sells sandals made by women in Uganda, supporting them as they continue their education.

GlobalGirlfriend offers a variety of products, supporting women worldwide.

Brilliant Earth sells conflict free diamond jewelry.

SOMO Beads sells paper bead jewelry made by women in Uganda. Profits go directly toward funding education in Gulu, Uganda.

Sweet Notions sells a variety of unique, up-cycled, and reclaimed accessories.

Nightlight sells jewelry made by exploited or at-risk women in Thailand.

Body Care

Dr. Bronner ’ s produces Fair Trade and organic soaps and other body products.

The Body Shop** offers a wide selection of Fair Trade and organic body products.

Naked Body & Bath** sells handmade soaps, lotions, creams, and more.

Equita sells Fair Trade and organic body care products as well as other products.

Alaffia offers sustainable, Fair Trade skin care products.

Home Goods

Ten Thousand Villages** offers unique, handmade home décor and other products, supporting artisans in 38 different countries.

Colores del Pueblo** works with artisan cooperatives in Guatemala to produce a variety of Fair Trade home décor items as well as other products.

GoodWeave sells Fair Trade carpets and rugs.

Good Paper sells handcrafted paper products, providing jobs for people in vulnerable societies.

Mata Traders offers a variety of handmade home décor products.

ArteVida sells handmade, sustainably produced decorative items.

Fair Trade Quilts sells quilts, bedspreads, and other crafts made in a sweatshop free environment.

Flowers

Whole Foods Market** offers a selection of Fair Trade roses and other flowers.

Central Market** sells a variety of Fair Trade flowers, both locally and internationally grown.

One World Flowers sells flowers shipped directly from Fair Trade Certified farms in Ecuador.

Organic Bouquet offers sustainably grown flowers.

Wine

Fair Hills sells Fair Trade wines and supports Fair Trade projects around the world.

Stellar Organics produces fine, fairly traded, organic wines.

Neu Direction sells quality, Fair Trade wines, enriching the lives of vineyard workers, their families, and their communities.

Spirits

FAIR sells a selection of spirits produced from Fair Trade Certified ingredients in compliance with organic farming methods.

Toys and Sports

Senda Athletics sells top quality soccer balls and training gear and partners with non-profit organizations using sports to transform the lives of young people in the US and abroad.

Metro Sportswear makes down-filled Canada Goose brand coats.

Yellow Label Kids sells children’s toys and clothing uniquely crafted by artisans who are paid in accordance with Fair Trade standards.

**Indicates store is located locally

Download our “Socially Conscious Shopping” handout here: Socially Concious Shopping Guide

The number of Afghan children being sexually exploited is growing. The practice of wealthy or prominent citizens exploiting underage boys as sexual partners and often dressing them up in women’s clothing to dance at gatherings is increasing in post-Taliban society. Although the practice is known – an open secret – it is seldom discussed in public or with outsiders. When the boys age beyond their prime, they are tossed aside and replaced. Often they become pimps or prostitutes or turn to drugs or alcohol. Read the full story here.

Maria Rojas aka “Nancy,” 47, and Jose Luis Rojas, 39, the leaders of an organization involved in the trafficking of Mexican females for compelled service at Houston area bars and restaurants through force, fraud and coercion have been sentenced to significant time in federal prison. The trafficking leaders would recruit Mexican women and girls to travel to the United States with the false expectation of legitimate jobs in bars and restaurants. Once the women and girls arrived, they were forced into prostitution in one of the defendants’ bars. Maria Rojas was the owner of La Costenita, formerly Playa Sola, as well as El Club Restaurante, formerly La Cueva Restaurante Bar, both located on Clinton Drive in Houston. Jose Luis Rojas operated La Costenita. Read the full story here.

Linda Geffin, a government lawyer and past board member of HRRC, was brutally  beaten one Saturday afternoon by an unidentified intruder. Geffin uses her legal knowledge to assist liquor enforcement agents, vice squad members and constables in tackling Harris County’s shadowy havens for gangs, prostitution and human trafficking. Geffin believes the assault was by someone seeking to impede her from doing her job. The case remains unsolved. Read the full story here.

Five of the youngest victims in one of Houston’s human trafficking rings will benefit from the sale of their convicted traffickers’ bars and real estate. This will be the first time in Houston that prosecutors pushed for the forfeiture of assets to benefit sex trafficking victims. The restaurants, cantinas, vacant lots, and other properties belonging to the traffickers are valued at around $602,000. The money will go towards medical, psychological and educational expenses involved in the recovery and restoration of the trafficking victims. Read the full story here.