Gianna’s life wasn’t all smiles in the beginning like you see her now.  When she was young her parents were divorced and she ended up living in a woman’s shelter for a while.  Even though she did not know at the time, through the shelter was where she would find her passion for women’s empowerment and equality.  Gianna knew education was her way out of the poverty and studied hard so she could get out.  She worked so hard that she went to college at the age of 16 and was the first of her family to go.  After she graduated she move to San Francisco and worked in commercial insurance. However, she wasn’t doing what she loved.  She wanted to help empower women abroad and women who had similar situations to her mother.  So in 2005, Gianna Fair Trade was created.

Gianna Fair Trade is a website where people are able to buy scarves and shawls, home accents, and living room and bedroom pillows.  A lot of these items are made buy woman all over the world.  Her website tells us, “We work with severely disadvantaged artisans around the world who typically live in rural poor villages or urban slums. GIANNA provides sustainable opportunities for meaningful work and on-going support, giving artisans a means to improve their lives and achieve their dreams.”  Gianna travels to go meet with different groups around the world and if they truly have a passion to work hard and improve their lives and the lives in their communities, she discusses what their needs, fair trade, and other matters specific to their village are and then decides whether to work with them or not.  Whenever you buy an item, the woman who made the product receive between 25 percent and 58 percent of the retail prices of their products.  You are not only helping Gianna and her business, but you are helping send someone’s child to school, helping someone get food, or helping a person around the world in another way.

Although there are only a few things that are being sold, what Gianna Fair Trade does have is very stylish and cute for woman who are interested in scarves and shawls, home accents, and living room and bedroom pillows.  My sister is getting married soon so maybe I’ll have to buy her something off of there so I can not only help my sister’s sense of style, but help another woman or community around the world in need.  I found the website to be easy to navigate around and I could find anything I wanted without a problem.  Definitely check it out and have your mother’s and grandmother’s look at it too!  Thanks for reading, happy blogging!