2013 Coming to a Close

Big Strides in 2013 for Stone in Shoe, Anti-Trafficking

2014 is here and we are excited for the opportunities and growth that will be happening over the next year.

As 2013 comes to a close, it is fun to look back at the progress and exciting milestones reached in the last year.

Obviously the biggest step for us was launching Stone in Shoe and beginning to spread awareness and reach out to people about modern slavery.

Our website, StoneinShoe.com, is up and running, with a selection of prints available for sale in our store. The profits from these prints goes towards supporting organizations involved in combating trafficking around the world.

We have also added a blog to our website where we provide more factual and informative posts on human trafficking. We use this to help spread awareness and supply updates on current events.

We are very excited for the progress that will be made in the new year, both for Stone in Shoe and for the efforts of so many others who are helping end modern slavery.

Reports and Progress in Fighting Modern Slavery in 2013

2013 has been a very successful year for anti-trafficking organizations and operations. More laws are being passed to help put the bad guys away, and free the victims. More police organizations are learning about human trafficking, and what they can be doing to investigate and apprehend suspects. There have also been several valuable reports released this year, which we want to highlight below.

The Polaris Project compiled a rating of each state in the US on human trafficking laws and policies. They found that 39 states made progress in human trafficking legislation in 2013. Their report contains a large amount of valuable information to help people understand the laws their state has in place, and perhaps encourage them to do more.

The Global Slavery Index 2013, created by the Walk Free Foundation, gives an impressive look at human trafficking numbers around the world, with a ranking of almost every country. They also include estimates for the number of victims in each country, and a total estimate for the number of human trafficking victims in the world.

The US Government also released a Trafficking in Persons Report for 2013 that consists of a series of PDF documents with rankings and information for many different countries, as well as letters and speeches from ambassadors and other top officials from around the world.

Truly, with the information and reports generated in 2013, greater awareness for human trafficking has been generated throughout the US, and the world.

But with nearly 30 million people trapped in modern slavery, the work has only started. Stone in Shoe is excited to be apart of solving this problem, and funding organizations that are directly involved in helping the victims. Learn more about Stone in Shoe at our website, and consider visiting our Get Involved page, where you can learn more about how you can help.

Thanks for visiting, and leave a comment with your questions. 

Let's make 2014 a year to remember in the fight against modern slavery.

Happy New Year!

Website Improvements and Updates

Our Website is Almost Finished!

We have been working for the past few weeks at getting our website, StoneinShoe.com, up and running. It is a fairly long process that seems to include lots and lots of little tasks that take a more time than one would expect.

Screenshot of our improved homepage at Stone in Shoe

But, the good news is that we are nearly done with the site! It is now fully functional, and you can go visit it now to learn more about Stone in Shoe, and even buy one of our Canvas Prints! Unfortunately, we only have a small selection to choose form at this point, but perhaps you can help us with that?

We are looking for photographers who would be willing to submit quality photos for us to evaluate and possibly select to be used as a canvas print. Visit our Get Involved page where you can submit your photo, and learn more about how it all works.

We also added a blog to our website, where we will be posting more informative and fact based posts covering injustice and human trafficking in the world. We will still post here, but it will consist of more news and updates about Stone in Shoe, giving you an inside look into how things are going around here.

Another exciting opportunity we are happy to share here is that we now have a print available that is specifically for raising awareness and funding for the people affected by typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. Read our recent post on the new Haiyan Print to learn more about our efforts with that.

As we start to get moving on this project of selling canvas prints to raise awareness about human trafficking and generate funding to put an end to it, we find that connecting through social media is one of the most powerful ways to spread the word.

So if you are passionate about ending modern slavery, would you consider following us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or Pinterest? You can visit our profiles using the links in the right sidebar.

One person at a time we can spread the word that human trafficking exists, and it is a serious problem. What part will you play in stopping modern slavery?

Update - a reminder of why we do what we do

An update on what we at Stone in Shoe have been up to in the last few weeks.

Stone in Shoe

Hello, everyone! Jess here again. Just wanted to give you all an update on what we've been up to. Our marketing director, Peter, arrived about a month ago now and it's been great having him dive right in. As an avid blogger, he's been invaluable in tweaking our site to make it more functional and user-friendly. As someone who knows next to nothing about these things, I for one am very thankful to have him on board. It's exciting to see things come together and get the ball rolling at Stone in Shoe.

One of the main things we are still working on as a team is gathering content and searching for like-minded photographers to partner with us. We are fortunate to have at this point two very talented photographers willing to join our cause and share their art with Stone in Shoe. I am very excited to post their work on our site in the near future.

We had a chance last week to go out into the city as a team and snap some shots for ourselves. None of us are professional photographers, so it wasn't the most fruitful expedition, but it was great to spend some time out of the office together and get to know our city a little better. We are hoping to go out again soon at night on a weekend to capture a different side of the city. The image below is one we captured on our expedition. It's a sticker that was posted on the wall outside a local go-go bar.

Our team recently had the privilege of speaking with anti-trafficking workers based in a different part of Asia. They shared with us the horrible conditions they had personally witnessed that countless trafficking victims are forced to live in. There are brothels where underage girls are forced to live and work as prostitutes in facilities so unsanitary and decrepit that the area right outside of the building is completely littered with used condoms and soiled toilet paper. Dear friends, no one should have to live this way. It is never pleasant to hear of these accounts, but I am grateful that it was shared with us. It served as a reminder of why we're doing what we're doing. It made me excited again to work for a business that is not simply selling a product to turn up a profit, but is raising awareness and much-needed funding to make a difference in the world.

Perhaps you have heard of similar accounts of injustice. Perhaps you've seen a documentary or read a book that opened your eyes to the horrors people around the world are living every day. I encourage you to not write these accounts off as "far away tales," but instead be painfully reminded that these are real people. Real women. Real children. They have likes and dislikes. They have friends and family and favorite songs. And they are bearing a burden alone.

The path to change starts with awareness. With awareness comes knowledge, and with knowledge comes responsibility. I encourage you to take up that responsibility. As written before, we definitely cannot all be anti-trafficking undercover investigators who personally set the captive free, but we can all do something. Take some time to think about what you can do. What if it was your mother? Your sister? Your daughter? Your friend or neighbor? Do some research. Find a way.

Stone in Shoe is one entity. If you believe in what we stand for, join us. Submit a photo. Spread the word. We would love for as many people as possible to partner with us, whether they be photographers, customers, or advocates, but at the end of the day, we want nothing more than to see slavery come to an end. We don't want to manipulate or pressure anyone into joining us. We do, however, want to see people take action. For you, reader, if that means partnering with Stone in Shoe, wonderful. If that means partnering with another organization, great. Give the voiceless a voice. Ease the burden of the heavy-laden. Take action. Make a difference.

Modern Slavery In Perspective

heavy.

There are many forms of modern day slavery. Within the umbrella of modern day slavery, there are terms like human trafficking, slavery, forced labor, etc. Each term has different nuances and may have a slightly different meaning depending on who you ask. Governments have varying legal understanding of modern day slavery. However, there is commonality in that the terms attempt to describe a situation in which one is forced to work in one way or another, by means of physical or mental violence, for little or no money, without the freedom to walk out. 

Some examples of modern day slavery include child labor, child sex slavery, forced marriage and forced labor. According to the first annual Global Slavery Index 2013, there are 29.8 million slaves in the world today. This means there are more slaves today than the people who live in the fifteen most populous cities in the United States of America combined.

Imagine if everyone from New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, San Jose, Austin, Jacksonville, Indianapolis, San Francisco and Columbus were victims of modern day slavery. Imagine all of the kids in those cities not being able to play sports, video games, read books or learn, but instead having to give in to the desires of dirty old men looking for a quick fix of pleasure. Imagine all of the men in those cities not being able to provide for their families and having to work against their will, whilst being beaten, without anything to show for. Imagine every women in those cities having no control over their bodies, treated as commodity, as every ounce of dignity and self-worth is stolen from them. I know these are generalizations, but my words will always be an understatement; nothing I can say will ever do justice to the pain the victims of modern day slavery go through. 

These are real people. 29.8 million is a huge number, and so it's hard to personalize it. You have to. You have to understand how heavy this is. You have to realize that people need your help. If you want to learn more about modern day slavery, go to the Walk Free Foundation's Global Slavery Index. It is a data-intensive website with a lot of information on modern day slavery around the world. 

There are many ways to help. One way you can help is by sharing this post and posts like these on your Facebook or Twitter to get the word out. We need to put an end to this injustice, and the first step is to let people know about it. 

Learn more about Human Trafficking at Stone in Shoe.

What We Do

A Look into What Stone in Shoe Does 

A few years back, ideas were floating around about a company that could both raise money for anti-trafficking, and raise awareness to motivate individuals to take action. It would be a company that would act like a 'stone in your shoe'.

Stone in Shoe - Art that Irritates

Today, Stone in Shoe is an art company that sells canvas prints to accomplish our two main goals of raising awareness of human trafficking, and raising funds to make a difference. Our artwork is unique in that we desire it to irritate anyone who sees it.

The idea is that when you are irritated by something, you will eventually take action to change it. Like a stone in your shoe, you will eventually take your shoe off to remove the stone. In the same way, we want to provide prints that will cause people to want to join in putting an end to modern slavery.

There are a wide variety of ways you can join with us, from helping to spread awareness on social media, to purchasing a print to support the efforts of others.

One unique opportunity we are excited to share is the ability for anyone to submit their photos to our website. We are looking for photos that are: related to injustice, visually and compositionally exceptional, and emotionally grating. We are looking for art that compels action. You must be the owner of the photo to submit it, and if we select your photo to use in our prints, you will receive a free print as thanks!

Visit the Get Involved page on our website to learn more about submitting your photos. Also, keep an eye out for a possible photo contest in the near future.

For those who want to learn more about us, and human trafficking that plagues the world, read our last blog post, Who We Are.

We are compelled to combat human trafficking because of the heart breaking stories of real people, even kids, who have their lives stolen from them, and are forced to do disgusting, despicable things.

Join us on social media to keep up to date on what we are doing to stop the injustice. The links are in the right sidebar.

You might also be interested in getting the Stone in Shoe Newsletter delivered to your email. Use the subscription box, also in the right sidebar.

Thanks for visiting, and leave a comment if you have thoughts or questions. Let's join together to free those who have had their lives stolen from them.

Who We Are

We are Stone in Shoe - Art that Irritates; a social enterprise committed to selling art that compels action and raises awareness about human trafficking and other forms of global injustice. Join us.

Stone in Shoe Logo

Hello everyone! My name is Jess, and I serve as the Creative Director for Stone in Shoe - Art that Irritates. Let me tell you a little about us. As mentioned above, we are a social enterprise that sells art. More specifically, we sell canvas-print images of high-quality photography that is not only visually stunning but also emotionally grating... not graphic, per se, but we want our prints to open the world's eyes to the injustice that occurs across the globe every single day. Like a stone in your shoe, we want our art to irritate. You do not acknowledge that a stone is in fact in your shoe and continue walking. You do something about it. You take action. William Wilberforce, an 18th century member of English parliament and social reformer, is credited with the following quote:

"You can choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know."

Human trafficking is a worldwide epidemic enslaving an estimated 27 million people. Part of the problem is poverty. Part of the problem is greed. Part of the problem is perversion. And part of the problem is a gross lack of awareness. That's where we come in.


According to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, "[human trafficking] involves sexual exploitation of persons, predominantly women and girls, involving activities related to prostitution, pornography, sex tourism, and other commercial sexual services. [...] This growing transnational crime also includes forced labor and involves significant violations of labor, public health, and human rights standards worldwide. [...] Victims are often forced through physical violence to engage in sex-acts or to perform slavery-like labor. Such force includes rape and other forms of sexual abuse, torture, starvation, imprisonment, threats, psychological abuse, and coercion."


In short, every single day, all over the world, people are kidnapped or tricked into slavery by traffickers. The most targeted population consists of impoverished women and children. Victims are taken far from home, often to a place where they do not speak the language, and are forced into prostitution or other forms of slavery. In many cases, impoverished families sell their own children to pimps or traffickers in order to provide for the rest of their family. Human trafficking is different from other forms of illegal trade in that unlike underground weapons or drug trades, a human being is a "product" that can be sold again and again and again.


Twenty-seven million people are living this hell on earth every single day. And yet still many of us know so little about it. We want to change that. We want to give a voice to the voiceless, a face to the faceless, and we want to see the invisible chains of slavery broken. We can't all bust down brothel doors and set the captives free, but we can all do something. At Stone in Shoe, we sell images that irritate. Photography that compels action. Art that sets people free. We are Stone in Shoe. Join us.