TRADES OF HOPE | The MLM scheme disguised as an advocacy organization - A Deep Dive

[@jeisselima]

As a South American who has had my image used against my will to gather sympathy by an European white saviour nothing brought me more joy than hearing you talking so eloquently on the topic. Thank you. I share every single thought on the topic.

[@helenr4300]

That is appalling, and yet sadly unsurprising. Back as a student I joined one of those 'mission trips' - now I know better. It was cultural exposure for me and others on the 'team' but did nothing for the children in the orphanage to have random (and in those days not police checked) groups come out, play with them, and then leave. And the wall that was built and the painting we did would have been cheaper and more professionally done with local trades, and supported the local economy. I have photos from then, 'white saviours' posing with children, but old fashioned ones in an album gathering dust. Many years later I had the opportunity when training as a church minister, to spend some time at a theological college in Zambia - here I was a student attending classes with them, working on placement at local churches as the local students did. Of course I was not the same, but I feel it was a better balance. I have photos from there, yes, but also had the many photos I didn't take - at the market, of women carrying babies on their backs and shopping on their heads, the amazingly ingenious diy work around instead of a wheelchair and where the uneven ground would have been a problem for any western style chair. People just going about their business, not a photo shoot for me. Though the last one I can't recall the image in my head just that a craved a photo as a reminder of something amazingly inventive. I also did a briefer exchange of ministers going to the US (I am in UK), again a chance to experience culture, and plenty of photos at the tourist places, but also the community photos I didn't take. Even if I would never use them for anything else, the person being photographed does not know and has no control, and if posted on a website can be poached by others beyond the photographers' control too.

[@meganjones1184]

​@@helenr4300was your trip religion based. Did you hand out any bibles. THIS is where I have a problem

[@helenr4300]

@@meganjones1184 Yes we were faith based, but not giving out Bibles. However it would have been more cost effective and locally supportive to pay for local trades to do the work we did.

[@maleahlock]

​​@@meganjones1184 I agree, tearing apart cultures to convert them is such an evil thing.

[@drcoraine24]

Although this would be hard to uncover, I suspect there is exploitation of the BIPOC workers. They are allowed to set their price for their pieces but I bet the artisans have not been given any information about what TofH will sell their item for on the website. In order to be truly fair trade, the company should only be taking a reasonable gallery percentage. So for a $100 bracelet on the website the company should have paid the creator somewhere between $60 and $75. I doubt that happened. I think this is worse that white saviours. 😢

[@botticellibarbie]

Not them saying “differently abled” instead of “disabled” on top of everything else 🤢

[@TyDee_babes]

Differently abled always comes across to me as softening the reality of disability for the benefit of the ableds. Like for parents who haven't recognised, never mind started to dismantle, their own internalised ableism and are struggling with their much loved child being disabled but not wanting them to be thought of as one of *those*.

[@brisbreathing]

@@TyDee_babes Yes, I agree completely. I also think it’s a way for able bodied people to cope with their own discomfort around disability. I and most disabled people I’ve come across have no problem saying that they are disabled.

[@aldergreen]

@@brisbreathing This. Disabled people had recognized their own disability, and had coped with a world still not built for their needs. Abled body people just tip around topics and words like they are an insult, use the proper words as an insult and basically slurs in the place of the proper words. There's so much to do for disability and ableism!

[@mx.menacing]

I had the same thought, so glad to see I'm not the only one. Like no, my chronic pain which makes me unable to perform certain tasks doesn't make me "differently abled", it makes me disabled.

[@hannahconroy]

Yeah, i noticed that too. Ugh!

[@davemccage7918]

Reason number one for not joining an MLM. You will ultimately put an unnecessary strain on every single relationship you have, personal and professional. That is unavoidable!

[@missamanda2703]

Fabulous point. I used to buy thinking I was helping but I would rather give them a 20 gas card instead of a $20 crap oil.

[@kinkmedic]

I lost my 13yr old daughter because of Beach Body. F@ck. Every. MLM.

[@ellie448]

@@kinkmedicomg I’m so sorry 😭😭 did she get hurt? I can’t even imagine!

[@hippiebaelala]

True! When I sold MaryKay, I sold it to my family and for friends for the 50% discount that I got lol. We all love MaryKay so it worked out and I didn’t sell for a profit. But obviously most people wouldn’t do that cuz the point of MLM is to make money but I saw it as a smart way to get discounted self care 😂💕

[@thenursesandhypochondriacs20]

This is not a novel idea. In 2016 or so there were a couple of college students at UCLA that launched this type of company as a class project. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the same company but rebranded. The ucla college students got several entrepreneurial awards…. I though it was bizarre and they literally were buying at wholesale prices and selling for a bigger profit. Now it’s an MLM. It says Trades of Hope got their LLC in 2020…. I’m curious if she bought the idea from the college students.

[@FloridasYesteryear]

This also has extra guilt factor to sell and recruit. It would be so easy for reps to imply that if you don't buy from them or join their team then you support trafficking or women remaining in poverty or one of the many other causes this MLM supports.

[@shelbyparsons9346]

I was going to say the same thing, but a good point to make to someone who says these things is to respond with something along the lines about the artists already being paid before their product was uploaded to the website, so my money isn’t actually going towards the women in need.

[@FloridasYesteryear]

@shelbyparsons9346 oh that is a great response.

[@crunchycarl]

I'm SO confused as to why this company decided to use the MLM structure. They would have been so successful without it! Everything about this was disgusting (except for the artisans, they are incredible.)

[@Elizabeth-n3v2u]

It's not confusing at all... the founders saw a great way to get really wealthy so they did. Thats what it always boils down to.

[@loosilu]

They figured out they can get products almost for free; while using the reputation of fair trade businesses.

[@hannahp1108]

To make more money. People found an MLM vs a different type of company to pocket more money

[@unknownposterr]

There's a store near me that sells handmade artisan products from countries worldwide ranging from chocolate to jewelry to furniture and it's amazing!

[@LynxieDove]

The reason is simple: Greed. They wanted to make as much money as possible, but wanted to dress it up with a 'Helping people end poverty' schtick. This company is pretty gross and so frustrating.

[@leonzlair1]

They are victimizing the artisans. They are eliminating so many potential customers, like you pointed out. This isn't about helping the artisans, but making money while preying on these victims. What's going to happen to these women when the MLM fails?

[@brucheweinberger6863]

It's a shame. Because there is a legit company that does it and they use many different artisans and artists in different developing countries. Check them out. It's called Novica

[@loosilu]

One thousand times this. Artisans in developing countries typically ask FAR too little for their products.

[@BrokenFootRailfan]

Yes! This is exactly what I was wanting to say but you worded it better!

[@anna00913]

it feels too much like using these women's labor to make a profit off not only their time and effort, but also their sad story. they aren't trying to help anyone better their lives

[@maryeckel9682]

The phrase "they set their own prices" is a red flag.

[@afraaomar4682]

As someone who lives in an African developing country that is going through war the idea of an MLM that prey's on vulnerable people who live in poverty and have little to no grasp on the problemstic nature of MLMs is so gross and horrifying to me.. Just when you think MLMs can't get any worse

[@Maguire708Julie]

Julie Anderson did a deep dive into a different MLM pitch/training in Nigeria yesterday (21CF?)

[@samanthahardy9903]

It's not just MLM's. If a company can hire cheap labour they will. For example, paying a worker in the UK the minimum wage of £10.60 per hour to make a product is more expensive for a company than it would be to hire 10 or more people in a poorer and undeveloped country.

[@bambinaforever1402]

@@samanthahardy9903so would u prefer a company to hire a british worker and leave african one with absolutely no job whatsoever? Think before u blurp something

[@samanthahardy9903]

@@bambinaforever1402 No I'm not suggesting that British workers should have the jobs! Of course people in underdeveloped countries deserve jobs. The example I gave was an example of how companies cut labour costs. Companies also cut tax costs by moving their main base of operations to other countries as well where the taxes are lower. It's so the companies can make more profit.

[@llovley]

​@@samanthahardy9903look at Google and Apple, they are two major companies and John Oliver touched on how they have moved their address for their main operations to some other country when it clearly is still in the States just to get a tax shelter. Also what you said prompts a discussion on cruise companies. Their operations are based on the States but they hire a non US workforce for their ships, and the key is the ships registry is based in a country other than the States so they don't have to pay them US federal minimum wage or the particular state's minimum wage from the state the cruise companies have their main operations.

[@esmefothergill2212]

To actually support artisans in low-income communities, ten thousand villages is a non-profit retailer selling similar goods and paying a fair wage.

[@courtneybailey3796]

This popping up made me sad ..... I went to a fair and paid more then I wanted to for a bag (I still love and is really cute) cause I thought it was helping people. I thought these women were volunteers trying to help these people. Not a MLM.

[@HannahAlonzo]

I think what the company stands for is great, it’s disappointing to see they have an MLM component 💔

[@dw13645]

They seem to be pretty discreet with their MLM language and I can totally understand you not knowing that, I wouldn’t feel bad. Now you know!

[@ashleydanielson3222]

@@HannahAlonzoI agree as someone who has sold their products but now doesn’t like MLM.

[@brucheweinberger6863]

There is a legit company named Novica. They have a website.

[@jaxolantern93]

I've definitely been gifted their products by family because of the supposed "mission." I'm so glad I've seen this video now for future reference ♥️ Also, ngl all the white women speaking in that promo video for these artisans is so icky. Very white savior as you said, Hannah.

[@maleahlock]

The minute you said orphanage in Haiti I was suspicious. (Shudder) My friend works with the Haitian government along with other vulnerable nations (PNG, Ecuador, etc) to block missionaries, mlm's, and other groups that have caused widespread poverty, exploitation, and abuse. It's so rampant. Her stories are truly mind boggling. The last one she told me was of a missions group of usa students who came in, built a bunch of houses on top of a sacred area where they practice their ancestor worship, and the houses were completely unuseable for the climate. And here's the kicker. . . they offered meals to people but only if they became saved and recruited three other people to be saved. So disturbing. And yeah. . . religious organisations and orphanages rarely work out well for the orphans. . . if they're even orphans at all and not stolen children. All of these things are just dressed up colonialism. 🤢

[@kpepperl319]

That's mild compared to the couple who ended up SA the children they claimed to be saving... They are missionaries. 🤬

[@miaomiaochan]

This has shades of residential schools in Canada. Rip them away from their "uncivilized" cultures and Christianize them to "save" them. It's all so revolting.

[@LostStarzOfTheSky]

Makes me think of that Christian Missionary that tried to take a kayak to an island where the people living there made it incredibly clear decades ago they don't want anyone to come (I believe due to in the past suffering from epidemics due to foreigners coming in). He wanted to 'save' them. They killed him.

[@merrygrammarian1591]

I hate to rain on the missionary hate parade, but these stories, while true, do not paint the full picture. It's a little gross to paint a workforce of literally thousands of people by a few disgusting anecdotes. Statistically, there is a direct correlation between literacy rates (especially among women) and an influence of Christian missionaries. And the majority of missionaries today come from the global south, so...not white. Prior to Christian missionaries in India, there was rampant wife-burning. When a man would die, his wives would be burned alive alongside him. In front of their children. Before Christian missionaries, cannibalism was common in certain Pacific islands. In Africa, a female missionary ran to the middle of a tribal conflict and risked her own life to stop the bloodshed. It stopped. A tribal leader shared with a missionary friend of mine that he does not want to go back to his ancestor's old ways - the ways that included witch hunts and woman killings any time someone got sick and died. Those witch hunts have completely stopped today. The important thing is accountability. Large organizations with a long-standing record of success and values are far more trustworthy than some rando with a savior complex and a desire to travel. Point is, there's nuance.

[@alilaca7897]

I knew several women who sold ToH, and I had a party several years ago. We really thought we were doing something good back then but I hated how scummy it felt to not be able to afford/not like many of the products. There was this guilt factor of, 'you must not want to help women!'

[@Litzergam]

The original artist probably had no idea that the bracelet they were paid $1 to make was being resold for $30. The artists are gelling scammed :(

[@kbird6208]

And you probably could have afforded products if not for the MLM

[@heatherogle7813]

@@Litzergam But how much is $1 worth in their country? And how long did the bracelet take to make? Let's just use Haiti as an example. I just did a quick google search, and $1 US translates to 132 Haitian gourdes. According to Google, the average salary in Haiti is $134 US per month. Assuming a bracelet takes 1/2 hour to make, working 40 hours per week, the artisan would be making $320 per month. That's over double the average income in Haiti and would allow them to (on average - again according to Google): - rent a two bedroom apartment ($125 per month) -buy food to feed 4 for 3 meals a day ($169 per month) -have $26 or 3,432 gourdes left over for toiletries, clothes, and other incidentals It seems that over half of Haiti doesn't have electricity even as an option, but it's incredibly expensive for those that do, so this salary would not get you a month of electricity, but still. Over half of Haiti's population lives off less than $2 per day, so if this company pays the artisans $1 per bracelet and the bracelet takes less than half a day to make, the artisan is making more than the average Haitian. This is all to say the cost of living in different countries is different, so you can't automatically say "they're getting paid $1 is a scam". It may be a bad thing, they may not be able to live off that in their country, but in countries like Haiti, they absolutely can. The other questions you have to ask are "If we stopped paying them $1 for this bracelet and just didn't buy anything instead, would their life be better? Would they be able to make any money at all, or is the $1 per bracelet better than what they were at before?". Since Haitians are not stupid, I'm going to assume they are making more by getting paid $1 per bracelet than they would be otherwise. If they had better prospects, they would be doing those instead of making bracelets. A sucky income to you is a great income to someone else. Don't let the white savior complex come for you, too. These artisans are not stupid and are working for the highest wage that they can in the environment they're in. If they thought their labor was worth more doing something else, they would be doing that other thing instead.

[@MirandaCramlet]

I’m so sorry you had this experience! I’m sure you were lead by a friend who maybe just lacked the proper sales training! I can assure you that you’re not scummy

[@spunkycat6144]

I felt this feeling before. ❤

[@nofarDcohen]

wow can you imagine trying to leave this mlm? the emotional manipulation is probably the worst kind...

[@Tanya_LitLife]

Hi, former ToH partner here, and you’re RIGHT. The guilt tripping is what gets you to sign on, the emotional manipulation is the device they try to use to make you stay. It was awful.

[@nofarDcohen]

@@Tanya_LitLife happy for you that you're no longer involved with them🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽 good for you!!

[@nofarDcohen]

@@Tanya_LitLife so happy for you that you were able to get out. Good for you!🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

[@nofarDcohen]

​@@Tanya_LitLifei seem to have a problem here where I can't see my replies... I thought the first one was just not sent so if you see 2 other very similar comments that's why😅

[@SydneyBristow0788]

​@@nofarDcohen It's KZbin censoring. Sometimes if you filter comments to Newest, you can see it.

[@mariontheantiquarian7849]

THIS is the deep dive I have been waiting for. I was a “Partner” (Compassionate Entrepreneur was the term back then) for a year… I will do a Horror Story email soon…

[@HannahAlonzo]

I would LOVE to hear it!

[@deborahdonovan7892]

I can’t wait to hear Hannah tell your story!

[@mariontheantiquarian7849]

@@deborahdonovan7892 I sent a 2 emails. A kinda follow up- add-on today.. I hope she gets both.

[@OnePoetWanderer]

I have been WAITING for someone to do a deep dive on Trades of Hope as well. I have a friend who has been a partner for several years and while I did buy a few things that I like, I eventually had to block her emails, etc because it seems like every few days I was being marketed too. I don't like to be marketed to by my friends. She went on a trip to Guatemala a few months ago with several other women from the organization and yeah, it just deeply bothers me. I think part of it is because my parents lived in Kenya for a while and my mother worked at an organization for Rwandan refugee women. They made a lot of fabric crafts (I had the cutest little jungle bag of safari animals for my kids to play with then they were toddlers). They set up their own online store to sell them because as they told my mom, they had been approached by organizations like TOH that wanted to sell their stuff for them, but the actual amount that they would receive for the sales was not worth it (this was years ago, but I want to say their part was less than 50% of what the product would get sold for). So yeah, if it was really about helping these women Trades of Hope could set up a website and cut out all the levels of salespeople and give the artisans a much larger amount of the sale.

[@RuthLang]

I would love to hear it too and I'm so sorry you got caught up in it.

[@ScarlettKay494]

I’ve never been so conflicted about an MLM. the artisan side of this sounds amazing, why’d they have to add in the MLM compenent and ruin it😭

[@brucheweinberger6863]

Check out Novica. They do the same thing and are a legitimate company.

[@hannahp1108]

The company Novica does a similar thing with no MLM aspect involved

[@sunshinepdx8875]

I think she’s kinda wrong on this one… it doesn’t sound like this is a MLM… they’re just reselling products.

[@shae113]

@@sunshinepdx8875 It's an MLM on the US side as the women selling it are recruiting others to their downline. That is 100% classic MLM. How the products are made/procured on the back end is not relevant to the structure of sales happening on the front end.

[@BlueCardGanks592]

@@sunshinepdx8875You’re completely wrong. She walked through the entire pyramid scheme in the video.

[@brooke9008]

I am just now realizing that my favorite overnight travel bag is from this company. I went to a family friend's house for a party and got this exact pitch (before I knew what MLMs were). I definitely felt compelled by the stories and background of all the beautiful pieces that were for sale. I bought a large colorful bag for ~$70. I will say I use it frequently and the quality has really held up over the years, but wow I feel very duped! Thanks for highlighting companies of all kinds on your channel, Hannah. Even when we think we know all there is to know about these companies, a new flavor pops up.

[@anainesgonzalez8868]

I think the products are beautiful 😢

[@Denise_Suzanne]

​@@anainesgonzalez8868it is too bad we can't buy it from the artisan. 😢

[@liryns]

I wish I could say that I was surprised that MLMs would exploit workers for profit, but I'm not. Absolutely deplorable behavior.

[@peggy7744]

The 'they set the price!' bit strikes me as 'they don't know this bracelet would sell for $40, so they ask for $4 and we say sure!'

[@smoore0388]

That was my same thought, too! I sold it for a bit and I genuinely liked some products but the jewelry was made with terribly cheap materials (no shade to the artisans). But the prices didn't match the quality of materials. The materials were tarnished within a couple of days or broke. I stopped selling it quickly bc I'm not great at selling items I don't actually like

[@reneeharper84]

Yeah that's how it sounds to me too

[@shivendetta3801]

I'm BEGGING you please do a deep dive on team national. They are an MLM but idk how they haven't been shut down as a pyramid scheme. The ONLY way you can make money is by recruiting. There are no products. And the buy in cost is over a grand. Please. I have not seen a deep dive ever on this company. It would have saved me so much time, guilt, and humiliation if there was.

[@hippiebaelala]

I looked them up and it appears they are indeed shutdown now and the people selling transitioned over to telecommunications and energy selling smh!!! I’m interested in a deep dive too!

[@shivendetta3801]

@hippiebaelala I did not know that! I'm happy it's shut down. It makes sense why I stopped being bombarded to reactivate my account 🙃 I will send anybody my information/starter kit thing. I just want to see it covered 🥲

[@BeckhaDoyle]

The markup here is insane, there's no way the artisan craftspeople are seeing more than a small fraction of this and they are now being exploited on top of everything else. It absolutely stinks of white saviour complex and emotional manipulation - thank you so much for raising our awareness on this. We have a business here in Ireland that functions as a social enterprise called We Make Good - they have a similar concept but they do it the right way for the right reasons.

[@helenr4300]

And probably have been 'guided' about the prices to ask for their products. Of course a retail company in another part of the world will have a mark up, their profit, costs of shipping etc, that is how trade works - but the ones putting in the most work generally get the smallest share - be they artisans or coffee farmers etc.

[@ayajade6683]

What's the odds the products are just dropped shipped

[@maryeckel9682]

I've seen them online!

[@pmam48]

I was looking for a comment like this. Definitely so sad, I feel like they would be misled or manipulated to drop their price but also that even though the cost of living is generally lower in third world countries it’s not right to pay someone in this country $5 and then resell in a western country for $200.

[@tamicoil7069]

I wondered how much these "artisans" are actually making. Probably pennies per piece, if theynare even making them at all. And if they are making them, they are being exploited big time. I'm disabled, and there are a lot of people, under the guise of "helping" the unemployed disabled person , that use them to make cheap trinkets and pay them very little. But " oh, it's giving this poor pathetic disabled person a job, a purpose." 😠 yeah, sure.

[@alexiaharrington2437]

I am a trafficking survivor. What initially pulled me into MLM content was how similar the tactics that ‘huns’ use are to tactics of trafficker’s. They both go about finding their victims in very similar manners, and then they abuse their new victim in identical ways. Both use gaslighting, isolation, faith manipulation, and love bombing.. So for an MLM to act as tho they are saving trafficking victims by taking them out of s3x slavery, and then putting them into plain old working slavery is ABSOLUTELY ABSURD. This video was extremely painful for me to watch, and thank you hannah for covering such a dark topic with grace. This company and founders have a special place in a very hot and dark eternity.

[@AllOutBible]

Oh wow. That would be an interesting topic for someone to write about. A study comparing human trafficking language and culture with MLMs. That takes my breath away. As someone who's divested from American evangelicalism I'd been drawing comparisons between those two things.

[@mightyowl1800]

thank you for sharing your perspective, sending love and light ✨

[@lisamac1986]

We're disabled not differently abled 🤮 I have a friend who was in this MLM and I bought something not knowing it was a necklace for my mum. I am glad I know now as I agree with you it's so disappointing because I hate how exploitative people are.

[@draconicfeline6177]

I personally dislike the term "disabled." I was diagnosed with ADHD and Aspergers and that creates challenges. Depression creates a challenge. I write for a blog on an autoimmune disease that can be debilitating. I help with a class for adults with cognitive or motor challenges. I really don't like the term disabled because it focuses on what someone can't do. The students in my classes can do a lot of things, in fact they are very 'able,' even the ones who are nonverbal, not responsive, or need helpers for many aspects of their lives. They have challenges in their life that they have to deal with, some more profoundly affecting their lives, others just a difference in perspective and what they need to do to cope. They also have areas where they don't struggle, or are working on, and hobbies they enjoy, etc. I just feel like saying 'disabled' lumps all of these diverse experiences together and discredits their perspective. That's my personal take, obviously, but it's helped me combat my own internalized ableism. Or maybe I have a white savior complex, and should just shut my mouth and go back to being a useless hermit lump in my apartment? I know I'm not doing some big super awesome deed by helping out in these classes, I'm not changing the world, but I'm glad these classes exist. My parents like to try to boost me up by saying YOU'RE DOING AN AMAZING AND WONDERFUL THING, and I'm not. I'm helping the teacher better direct her attention to those that need it, and I'm helping the students have fun with art. I'm not really making a difference. Maybe the blog does, but it's a tiny drop in the ocean. Who cares? It's really hard to think of my students as disabled when they have richer lives than mine and are happier. They may have more profound challenges than I do, but they're living their lives. They don't need me.

[@lisamac1986]

@@draconicfeline6177 I'd prefer anything than differently-abled as it just sounds so condescending. But I do see your point on disabled which is an interesting perspective actually. I have ADHD too but I'm also in a wheelchair but I can walk a small distance with an aid. I used to be able to walk fine until I was 22 and now I'm 37. I think it's because it is never us that are having a these physically visible and invisible illnesses and are never consulted on our decisions. But I'm from the UK so that's what I'm used to as well.

[@Andr0meda_]

As soon as I heard "differently abled", I knew it was a disingenuous scam. The proper term is disabled, we don't have "different abilities", we literally are not able to do certain things. Disabled is not a bad word but organizations who tout that often do far more harm than good and, in my opinion, often are in the business to make themselves feel better.

[@lmlanigan]

"Differently abled" is a HUGE pet peeve of mine, especially as someone who has what's considered "invisible" disabilities.

[@Andr0meda_]

@lmlanigan right? Like, my EDS not allowing me to walk much isn't being differently abled, Susan. I literally can't do it

[@asdikjuyhtgredws]

Im really late, but im glad someone else mentioned this. I dont know one disabled person who willingly calls themselves differently abled

[@Creamms]

I cringed so hard when I saw/heard that too. I'm disabled, not 'differently abled'. Why make disabled a bad word?!

[@bishielurfer]

Yeah... People can use those terms for themselves if that's what they prefer (though I've yet to meet someone who said they liked to be called that) but in my experience, someone using "differently abled" is a generally a sign to me the person hasn't actually had many conversations with disabled people.

[@Nothereforgames]

There must be a huge markup on these products. I was in Dominican recently and it was definitely quite cheap to buy products from local artisans.

[@kpepperl319]

100% I used to work for a museum shop... The buyer for the stop tells me how much she purchased the items for and she charges for them at the store... I have no problem with that. They aren't a charity. What I am saying is this company is doing the same thing... These markups do not go back to the artisans who made them.

[@BRUK998]

Horrifying. They claim to help vulnerable women and end up exploiting vulnerable women instead. Thanks for sharing! I love your videos!

[@alexiaharrington2437]

I am a trafficking survivor and was trafficked for only 6 months. I was lucky to make it out so soon, yet when i escaped and began receiving help… i was SO lost. The brainwashing that takes place in trafficking rings is horrendous and completely transforms one’s thought process. I lost who i was, what i wanted, what i liked… I was a shell of a person.. I say all this to point out how vulnerable and scared someone who has just left trafficking might be. This MLM swooping in acting as a savior to someone who’s trying to figure out how to reintegrate back into society, is so effing scary. These women are in probably their most vulnerable state after they likely wound up in such a bad state from trusting someone who was not trust worthy. These MLMs are once again breaking the trust of these women, they are lying and stealing from them… the same way these women’s previous abuser did. Disgusting. I feel strongly that this company should be prosecuted.

[@ridinwithjake]

How are they exploiting them? They are helping them by selling their products to a market they otherwise wouldn’t have access to.

[@mariontheantiquarian7849]

@@alexiaharrington2437 that’s not how TOH works. TOH purchases products from groups women who have escaped. These are legitimate groups, the products are made by the women who are getting therapy & help. When I was a part of TOH, the groups that they worked with were well vetted. The bad part is how the products are marketed & sold via a MLM NETWORK

[@BRUK998]

@@ridinwithjake I wasn't even referring to the women in the other countries. I was referring to the women in the US who are being recruited under the guise of making a difference. MLMs (this one included, it seems) often target women and mothers who want to work from home. And instead of getting an opportunity to make an income, they get sucked in and guilted when they don't make money from an unsustainable business model

[@maryeckel9682]

​​@@alexiaharrington2437 first of all, I'm so glad you escaped being trafficked, and I wish you all the best. But thank you for speaking out about this crappy company. Whyte saviorism is icky enough, but adding MLM is disgusting because it adds a layer of exploitation of reps. I hope you're finding helpful support.

[@simparq]

To address why they would make it an MLM: it’s not to save on advertising. It’s for the additional revenue stream from the Huns buying ranks. They make way more money off rank buyers, starter kits, and monthly fees than they would if they just sold the products. As always, greed is the motive.

[@honeylis7]

As an artist/crafter, this makes me so angry. These talented, skilled women should not be exploited this way. Just sell their wares and give them the money!! Done and done! The MLM structure is so f'ing pointless here. Gah, sometimes being white is so embarrassing.

[@NorsePearl]

Right?! The people exploiting them are unnecessary in the chain and just do this to not having to do actual work, it's sickening.

[@wolfsmaid6815]

please don´t conflate this with skin colour. That´s unnecessarily raclst.

[@honeylis7]

@@wolfsmaid6815 eye roll from here to the moon A white woman complaining about how white women often behave is not "racist." Go police someone else's posts please.

[@wolfsmaid6815]

@@honeylis7 I‘m not policing anything, I am just saying that fixating on skin colour is really outdated. But you do you, man.

[@honeylis7]

@@wolfsmaid6815 Yet here you are calling me "man" when that may not be appropriate or welcome. Study your own political correctness, friend! Also, go the fuck away.

[@mightyowl1800]

LOVE how you don't shy away from challenging and nuanced topics Hannah! It might be difficult to hear and learn about but I truly believe it's worth being introspective about your own biases in order to constantly grow into a more compassionate human being ❤

[@avicularia_grimm]

"You’re not a salesperson, you’re a storyteller." As if the entertainment business isn’t significantly harder than most other jobs…

[@catalinadiaz8911]

These pyramid schemes are evil 😩 I never thought I would ever see one go this low.

[@MisplacedTexan]

Oh man…. I bought a necklace from Trades of Hope and had felt so good about it! I had no idea it was an MLM! Still watching the video, but I’m sitting here with my jaw on the floor! 😩

[@HannahAlonzo]

That’s why I’m hoping this video can be helpful! At surface level they seem like such a great company!

[@MisplacedTexan]

@@HannahAlonzo thank you so much! ❤️

[@lesliejordan1326]

I believe your videos are your way of getting income from poor ladies that are being misled. You need to contact the owners for more info on how they work behind the scenes. From my point of view, I would have never bumped into Trades of Hope if it wasn't an MLM Group. Your experiences have left you with a bad taste, and your reviews are not based on anything but negativity. Not everyone joins to be in a pyramid scheme. Your way of preying on women with these reviews are just as bad and your reviews are wordy and wayyyy to long! Please don't listen to this toxicity. Trades of Hope support white women in America as well. Try Thistle Farms.

[@idontusepunctuationsodontc4425]

​@@lesliejordan1326😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@handmakingapril]

Ahh someone in this string has obviously been suckered into an MLM and is on the defense. I hope you get out!

[@decornextdoor5915]

I'm currently a homeless black woman in the US. I had someone give me $ a few weeks ago and say "Is it okay if I give you this? I don't want to come across like I'm trying to be a white savior or anything." Broke my heart that someone being kind now has to worry about offending me. My unpopular opinion is that "white savior" talk does more harm than good, bc it causes people to be fearful of helping people who don't have the same skin color as them. Personally, I welcome help from any one, any color.

[@naeshelle]

Anyone that wants to help someone will help them - even in your story, as concerned as that person was about being a white savior, they still gave you money. The issue is not with the concept of white saviorism, the issue is people misunderstanding the concept & using their ignorance as a reason to not help their fellow human beings.

[@Sabkind]

The issue with white savorism is not the charity. They can still do the charity, anyone can. But like she said, it about doing things that are a band aid to an issue, but not addressing its root causes. For instance, they can give food for ppl suffering from a famine, but will they also address climate change or support representatives who support climate science?

[@ValveFanatic]

​​@@naeshelleThe term is trash. Why bring race into it? You can have a race neutral negative term for that. And since I am not American even saying things like "race neutral" makes my skin crawl. NORMAL would be the correct term... in my country we don't have a bunch of terms with skin colors attached to them. I Know someone will probably try to "educate" me into accepting trashy discriminatory terms that shouldn't exist to cause race related guilt into any charitable interaction. So I will say this: Don't try, the op is correct. The term in question causes unnecessary harm that could be avoided by simply removing the skin color component from it.

[@cutienerdgirl]

​@@SabkindThat's not a good way to explain White Saviorism either. Because it's not easy to address large issues like the things that are causing famine, but it's easier to temporarily feed people suffering from famine. I think a better explanation of White Saviorism are people who talk over the people suffering from an issue and think they know more about solving the issue than the people long since suffering from it. People don't mind temporary solutions, they mind when people act like temporary solutions are permanent solutions. 🤷🏾‍♀️

[@cutienerdgirl]

​@@SabkindThat's not a good way to explain White Saviorism either. Because it's not easy to address large issues like the things that are causing famine, but it's easier to temporarily feed people suffering from famine. I think a better explanation of White Saviorism are people who talk over the people suffering from an issue and think they know more about solving the issue than the people long since suffering from it. People don't mind temporary solutions, they mind when people act like temporary solutions are permanent solutions. 🤷🏾‍♀️

[@jamiefarnik5595]

The "differently abled" bit definitely got my hackles up as a disabled person. Disability is not a dirty word. It's not a bad word. The disabled community is not a monolith but generally speaking we don't care for condescending and othering phrases like "differently abled." In addition to the white saviorism that's very blatant, the use of "differently abled" on their website is a pretty big red flag that this is less about actually communicating and interacting with marginalized people to help correct inequity and more about making the people selling it feel good about their participation.

[@lisamac1986]

I commented this I hate the word differently abled. I'm disabled and that's that.

[@hannahp1108]

Agreed, 100%, as a fellow *disabled* person

[@ayajade6683]

Anyone who uses differently abled I do not like especially if it's someone who's also disabled doing the ableism as they should know better

[@Pirategirl4nightwish]

When I was getting my early childhood degree they used “differently abled” to show that kids can do more than you think they can and that their disability doesn’t define them. We were also told the disabled community didn’t like the term “disabled.” As a person with a learning disability, I’m not a fan of differently abled. My brain literally cannot process math and that impedes my everyday life. I can’t apply for certain jobs because my brain just can’t compute. It is a disability.

[@ayajade6683]

@@Pirategirl4nightwish except it wasn't by the disabled community it was mothers who had kids with autism speaking over everyone

[@SelinaShaw]

Thank you for calling out the White saviorism in this. It's honestly the first thing that smacked me in the face in their marketing.

[@peachesandpoets]

Right? How refreshing to see her call it out so directly

[@hannagibson9970]

yep.. totally agree.. its sickening

[@shamedgeeky]

I really, really hate this concept that ppl don’t want charity, they want a work opportunity. It’s messed up that we demonize charity like that. Food, water, and housing are human rights that we shouldn’t have to earn through paid labor. So to have them acting like they’re doing a huge act of good by employing them upsets me. Seems like these women have living and healing they could be doing instead of serving capitalism. Charity is a virtue, and it’s not really charity if they have to work for it. Especially in a time when we’re actively destroying our planet. Let people rest and let the planet rest.

[@HannahAlonzo]

This is a very compelling comment, I see what you’re saying! I didn’t think about it like that initially and I appreciate your perspective. Thank you!

[@jpt610]

Charity is important but I personally think that it should lead at some to an opportunity for the ones receiving charity. Nobody wants to be receiving charity for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, this is something that will never happen because of government and policies.

[@vcutler4735]

Charity is good for short term but it can feel icky to be survive on long term since it can stop randomly at any time. Trades of Hope model isn't a good solution either because it's still got the problem of charity where the people here aren't being set up to provide for themselves. If ToH closed up tomorrow then the people making the things wouldn't have a trade that provides income in their own locale.

[@shamedgeeky]

@@vcutler4735 I’m extremely familiar with what it feels like to have to survive on charity for an extended period of time. This mindset is a product of capitalism and colonialism. “Work” in the way that we understand is a relatively new development in human history. Work is not an accurate analogue for subsistence labor, in which people contribute to the actual feeding and maintaining of the group that they live with. For example, a person working an overnight shift at a fast food restaurant, is being made to do unnatural labor at the expense of their own health and comfort. What does their labor contribute to? Our ability to get unhealthy food at unnatural hours. And this worker has to do that labor in exchange for money to pay for the absolute minimum of human rights. Housing and food. If you can’t labor in exchange for housing, you will become unhoused. Then you will be subject to an entire host of human rights violations, all while capitalism tells you that you don’t deserve housing unless you can acquire the money to pay for it. Despite the fact that we have proof that housing first works. Of course unhoused people are less likely to be able to work a job. The worker goes to work at the restaurant, where they serve unhealthy food that’s been engineered to be addictive, so that we can then shame ppl for being overweight. Where is the unhealthy food coming from? Well, factory farming. We factory farm livestock and crops that are unnatural to our own environment. The amount of environmental damage we cause with our addiction to beef alone is staggering. What has the laborer accomplished? They earned the money to perhaps pay rent for another month. If we put that labor into something that is an actual subsistence activity, it might look like tending to a community garden. This would be an actual productive task, beneficial to the local community and the environment. We grow the food, we eat the food. What we do now is insane. The factory farms produce as much wheat, corn, beef, etc as they possibly can. They keep wages for the laborers who do the work as low as possible. From there, it’s sent to a variety of processing facilities that are also staffed by workers who are underpaid and struggling. So much so that we sometimes hear about workers dying on the production line and being dragged out of the way so that the factory line won’t have to be stopped. After processing, the food products are transported all over the nation, using fuels that are pollutants. Then the food is prepared by the fast food location, and consumed by the community, where it goes on to contribute to a multitude of health problems for the people eating it. If the restaurant can’t sell all the food product that they purchase, it gets thrown away. At no point in the supply chain is it ever healthy or beneficial to anyone. The reality is that this system is going to fail, because it only survives as long as we continue to hold it up. We are GOING to stop using fossil fuels because we are going to run out. We’re going to continue to see shortages and delays in how much shit we pump out, because retail is a stupid business model. It’s absolutely ridiculous to produce so much plastic crap and shitty clothing and then just hope someone comes and buys it all. If it doesn’t get sold, it can be shipped to discount stores, but a lot of it is just destroyed. We always think about child laborers being forced to make Nikes for the rich or whatever, but the reality is that children are working their little fingers to the bone to produce, for example, a shitty scarf I can get at the dollar store. Capitalism has a long history of forcing people to labor destroying and exploiting their own environment. If you want to look at a case study of this, read up on the island of Nauru. It hasn’t always been this way. We all deserve to be free. We should not be forced to work under poverty wages for the profit of a select few. So that the CEO of Citibank can talk about the “cracks” that are starting to appear in the low end of the consumer base. We’re cracking because they’re breaking us.

[@re0294]

I agree wholeheartedly and that’s what pissed me off the most about their mission statement.

[@sarahrivas-qt5si]

Just when you think MLMs couldn't sink lower...

[@lauriechan1426]

When i lived in mexico, i was an intern in a non-profit org that was almost this exact thing. It was two rich white ladies and they provided indigenous women with a website to sell their products. But that's it. They did mark up the products, but the remainder went all back to continue funding the organization. No mlm or commissions

[@edmundjimenez9136]

Do you know what it called or if it still running?

[@lauriechan1426]

@@edmundjimenez9136 it was called SIEMBRA. no idea if it is still working or with the same name

[@ubielecki]

Wow. This is almost worse then all the health and wellness mlms. On the surface it’s a great concept but it’s just cringey that this how they are doing it. If anything by recruiting you are doing worse for the artisans because they might be putting all their effort into this instead of a more sustainable model of selling their products.

[@loosilu]

This is far worse. It's not fair trade. They are getting the products for almost free.

[@astridburke3616]

Happy New Year Hannah! I’m from Mexico, before I moved to the US I worked in with artisans helping them set their shops, looking at the prices I can assure you, the artisans are not getting even half of what they’re selling the products for. The mark up is insane. Artisan work often goes so unappreciated and undervalued.

[@danieladomachowska8979]

I think this company is especially despicable, since most likely they don’t pay fair prices for the products created by the artisans - they abuse the tragical circumstances the artisans are in, paying cents on the dolar for their crafts. For a bracelet sold on the website for $30, the artisans are probably payed just a few cents and they are in no position to negotiate these prices…

[@importantbusiness2900]

Weird how when this video ended I stopped folding my clothes. Hannah you need to upload two videos at a time, for my sake 😂

[@coolbeansnyc]

😂

[@TheBeautyjustforfun]

This is a whole new level of dangerous, it’s so easy to fall for it thinking that you are actually helping women and making a difference

[@thefarmista]

Bummer...I had heard about trades of hope from another KZbinr who is a pastor - I had NO idea this was an mlm😢thank you so much for spreading awareness!

[@SheilaEnglish2]

Would that be Diana? She and her sister Dawn, The Minimal Mom promote them and make sales through their KZbin channel channels. Kind of disappointing isn’t it.

[@thefarmista]

@@SheilaEnglish2 disappointing is about all I can think to say about it. I love their content, but just ugh...

[@TeeLMat]

Yes! I love Diana and especially Dawn. Have been following Dawn for years. So shocked to discover tonight this is an mlm. They were just talking about it in a video last week and specifically mentioned how buying the products will support these women. She never said anything about making a commission. Usually she is open about making "a small commission" from her market partners. I guess cuz legally those are sponsors and she needs to say that. With an mlm she doesn't need to disclose that.

[@n05boston]

I know a woman very involved in YL who has a Trades of Hope get together every year. I did NOT know this was an MLM too!

[@vcutler4735]

I am glad you brought up the white savior complex of this! I have lived in places where there was a lot of "mission trip"/mission tourism and ToH feels a lot like that stuff where its about the instagram opportunity or the chance to feel better than others rather than actually helping people. Feels a lot like the Kony stuff.

[@stormieo4252]

Youve been doing MLM content for over two years?! Wow, time flies. I came around right before you did your full week of content when AJ was out of town. It's been a pleasure to be here! I hope things are going well with the baby and the family as a whole. My younger sister has a new baby as well and its more the an handful!

[@wnb94]

9:40 hi Hannah, regarding the price markup of the products that this MLM sells, I can imagine that the local artisans' asking price before putting the products on the website would be in local currency, with very likely lower value than USD. By selling the products in USD, I can imagine that the MLM can be making a huge commission for themselves.

[@mariontheantiquarian7849]

Exactly this!! I addressed it in my email to Hannah. Unfortunately, I was with TOH for while. Embarrassing to say. We didn’t make much commission on the products, but someone sure did.

[@reneeharper84]

This makes me so sad....turning something amazing and something that could truly help people into an mlm is horrible

[@Jess1013]

14:26 That promo video really just pissed me off because of course it’s the intersection of the “White Savior Complex” and capitalism at play here. There’s nothing inherently wrong with partnering with artisans for their handicrafts, but these very comfortable white women can cosplay as advocates while using the opportunity of “sisterhood” to exploit their labor. What is further interesting to me is that all of the countries mentioned so far (I’m currently stopped less than halfway) are in the global south, where white colonization has economically ravaged and exploited nations of color. There are millions of women in America who are experiencing economic hardship, trafficking, and exploitation. Are American women not exotic enough or is it harder to exploit their labor for wholesale (so long as they’re not incarcerated and making panties for pennies)? Alright, back to the video! Edit: LOL all I had to do was press play for ten more seconds and of course you brought up White Saviorism 😂

[@karine-v]

Right before you mentioned it, I thought "yikes, it reeks of white saviour complex"

[@MaddieEye-n2h]

I’m really glad you touched on the white savior aspect of it. It reminds me of this documentary I watched on Toms shoes. They claimed to give a pair of shoes to a community in Africa for every pair of shoes bought. There was a case study done on one particular village in Africa that toms donated to. Toms unloaded a bunch of shoes onto this village, put the local shoemaker out of business, and within a week or two, everyone has worn through the shoes. Toms shoes were not made for the amount of walking or the terrain/landscape/environment of this village. It really is a perfect example of a company trying to appear good and moral but actually ended up hurting more than helping because of the lack of knowledge and research. This company still very much gives white savior, but what I like about this company is that instead of just donating stuff that is not useful or unnecessary, it’s created sustainable jobs and income for women. And that’s the key. Sustainable. Unlike toms shoes. The MLM aspect is super disappointing.

[@HannahAlonzo]

Ooh that sounds like an interesting documentary, I’m going to try and find it!

[@MaddieEye-n2h]

@@HannahAlonzo I believe it’s called “Poverty, Inc”. It covers multiple companies, but there’s a section of the documentary on Toms.

[@SammyLammy1D]

​@@MaddieEye-n2hyeah, I think my social studies teacher told me about that one a few years ago. Was there a part about Nike as well?

[@afraaomar4682]

There is always Issues in donations and charities given to poor countries that end up causing more harm than good.. In my country where corruption is a huge issue a lot of countries and organizations give generous donations, but people see non of them, because they are given to people working in the government so they distribute the donations, but those governers end up either keeping the donations for themselves or selling them

[@mightyowl1800]

the unintended consequences with the local businesses closing, how awful!! will def check this documentary and other info out, thank you for sharing

[@juliannadodd5492]

I hosted a party like 8 years ago and still love the jewelry pieces I got from ToH. I was heartbroken to find out they're an MLM

[@alisonmartin6101]

I’m so tired of white “look at how good I am” syndrome. This MLM feeds into this, and I bet the reps are more interested with their bonus cheques than the lives of the women they’ve “helped”. 😡 As always, your research and delivery was excellent (and you’re a cat lover which makes you extra special). 😺😺🇨🇦

[@mariontheantiquarian7849]

No that’s not true. While I was in Trades of Hope, all the “Partners” truly felt like they were helping women across the world. They felt connected to them. Yes, it was to make a little, (very, very little money if any. But every woman that stepped into the “business” started because she was moved to help women. Then some get smart & realize what a shit show it is.

[@alisonmartin6101]

@@mariontheantiquarian7849 I’m actually glad to hear that. Thank you.

[@unasperanza9803]

You can be any colour and do that Oprah is big into that and Gayle king etc..and they are not white.

[@ttrev007]

whoever came up with this MLM is a genius. this is a bullet proof MLM. even i would have a hard time telling someone not to buy from them.

[@Boredblacksheep]

Ah, refreshing new dystopian horror. Exactly what we needed. More exploitation on top of exploitation

[@tcribb5325]

Given artisans set the price, I wonder how much transparency is given to what products are sold for? Really how much is the mark up, 300%, 500%, more? That level of transparency is truly ethical, esp if the women get only $2 for a $15 piece, the whole idea crumbles. This was well done, thank you Hannah. In many ways you've pointed out, on the surface this is great but dig deeper and it's the complete opposite.

[@InevitableSecrets]

Thank you for calling a charcuterie board what it is. “Cold cuts” lol😂

[@katieoberst490]

My biggest issue with this MLM is that when the company ultimately stalls or even goes under, where does that put the artisans?? Do those women not get out of poverty?? Do they end up having to give up their kids or send them to work way too young?? As an MLM, the exploitation of these impoverished women seems even more insidious.

[@SoCalJellybean]

I don’t presume to know or assume your financial situation, Hannah, but if you CAN manage it, I would highly suggest hiring an assistant to stay on top of your work emails, sorting video topics, etc! My husband is an executive editor for Disney now, but for years he was a freelance literary editor, and the day he finally decided to hire an assistant to take care of all the details, both our lives became so much freer and easier! ♥️

[@ashleyvanblarcom6344]

This is a new level of insidiousness and exploitation for an MLM. It's disgusting, and makes me so furious and sad.

[@alexandramargineanu7170]

I don't think all of the women in the ToH video were white - I think one of them at least is latina ; the pictures on the site also feature asian women as well. I am unsure why this "white saviorism" route was taken. Not featuring a black lady in promotional videos also doesn't automatically mean that they're racist. (I know this was not specifically mentioned in the video but it's a logical path to go down on: had there been a black woman anywhere then nobody would have raised an eyebrow, right?) I was a bit lost during that bit in the video. The founders are white...there's a lot of pictures of them everywhere cause well they're the founders... and that makes them... racists? Or it means that they have a savior complex? Then how should they portray this for people not to think they have a saviour complex? :)) I'm confused. Please don't get me wrong - ToH rubs me (very much) the wrong way. The first thing that came to my mind when I heard the "business strategy" was "so they found a readily available product / products in poorer areas / geographies made by artisans for which they don't have much of a production cost to cover for and are now making a buck off it in a very wealthy market by overpricing these handmade products and slapping the MLM scheme on top of it to make even more money than one would had this been kept as simple retail model". There definitely is a component / selling point of "spend your money to save someone" but attributing it to the white side of the population doesn't make sense - for their business or for me right now. Especially since most of the countries I see featured are filled with artisans of color - so their products, if I'm to apply simple correlation, would cater easily to other women of color, not to white wealthy women. The skin color argument is lost on me.. I'm sorry, ToH gets a downvote from me big time but skin has nothing to do with it. Later Edit: a company I'd love to see a deep dive on is DoTerra (I pray every day I get to see them dismantled)

[@MahoganyTeakwood]

I just heard about this company and they mentioned in the "pop up party" that "we are not a multi-level marketing company (MLM) as of 7/1/2024"

[@jahrose76]

When I see something like this, I really wonder if the “artisans” are real. I’d prefer to see a report on this website on the amount of artisans they have, which countries, how long have they been making products, compensation for the individuals and communities.

[@draconicfeline6177]

Apparently it is legit in that regard.

[@VeronicaMalia]

I’ve been to Costa Rica and Haiti with Trades of Hope and had a chance to speak directly with artisans. I went in to Trades of Hope quite skeptical and found artisans appreciate having women marketing their products.

[@personperson9635]

I'm wondering the same thing. You mean to tell me that all these struggling, impoverished, women are artists? They ALL have the ability to create these things? And who is manufacturing all of it? Do they have time to make thousands and thousands of earrings, etc. It's confusing.

[@bellaluce7088]

​@@draconicfeline6177 Based on what actual evidence? Unless earnings reports like the OP mentioned are shared publicly and verified by reputable outside observers, anecdotal stories from people who've toured a curated selection of cherry picked "artisans" aren't really relevant. A LOT of their products are clearly mass-produced and machine made then apparently given a final touch like polishing or assembling pre-manufactured pieces by the "artisans" on their website, and that is not high paid work.

[@alis6714]

I’m glad you did this. If it was truly altruistic there wouldn’t be a middleman, there wouldn’t be a commission and the more there definitely wouldn’t be a downline. Even with fair trade there is an element of having to pay a middle man, now add a bunch of mlm huns as middlemen. what percentage is actually going to these artisans. Ideally, this would be an online marketplace where women could collectively sell the wares themselves. I feel like the more you add people in the middle, the less goes to the person who made the product.

[@haileyhughes197]

There is another similar MLM called Noonday. My friend did an adoption fundraiser with them, and I refused to purchase anything b/c I found out it was an MLM. She tired to convince me to buy something because it would raise her money, and “help women in India.” Yeah, still an MLM girl.

[@helolady922]

This made me realise how important the Marketing in MLM is because the only reason this business isn't purely retail is so they have all the free marketing that comes with making middle class white women in America feel better about themselves.

[@JMinMN]

Thanks for sharing Hannah. I want to share my experience working with a social enterprise whose jewelry is featured on Trades of Hope. I worked with trafficking survivors in East Asia for 5+ years. Then the social enterprise received Trades of Hope wholesale orders, it substantially increased the organization's ability to employ more women, provide more skilled careers, expand counseling resources and educational opportunities. I have friends who were able to develop careers because of bulk wholesale orders like this. I appreciate you discussing the complexity of the company. A company can do good, while also perpetuating American-centric white savior ideology.

[@miaomiaochan]

It's good to hear that these communities have seen tangible and long-lasting benefit from this organization, but like Hannah said, ToH really didn't have to adopt the problematic MLM business structure to achieve the same goals.

[@cometgirl]

Is there a company that has this same concept without being an MLM? Would LOVE to support something like this, ethically.

[@cavegirl47]

Thanks for sharing on this, Hannah! I just realized I purchased a necklace/bracelet set from a Trades of Hope hun at a holiday fair a few years ago. The jewelry was nice, but had I known it was an MLM, I would have steered clear of their booth. Thanks for educating me and spreading awareness on this MLM!

[@kimberlyault9242]

I have a friend who was into a few different MLMs, my "MLM friend" if you will, who sent me a message how she became a "freedom fighter" for company that sounded exactly like this one! Looking back at their website, it is a carbon copy of Trades of Hope!! It is called Better Way Designs. It felt so gross to me! Hannah, I sent you a horror stories email about my experiences with her and other MLMs. It isn't nearly as horror filled as most of the other stories, but this part was the best.

[@naeshelle]

If you want to help women in the global south, give them your money. If you can’t give them your money, find a charity organization *run by folks in & from the global south* that *directly benefits folks in & from the global south* & contribute in whatever way they’re looking for. It’s really that simple.

[@B.H.56]

I support an orphanage in Africa - the thing I love about it is that they emphasize reunification with the family of origin. Third world orphanages are not shopping malls for childless white folks!!

[@OnePoetWanderer]

I don't know if you've addressed this in your videos (you probably have) but when you talk about the language they use it got me thinking about a book I read last year called "Cultish - the Language of Fanaticism.' In this book the author talks about how many of the tactics that cults use, language in particular, permeate certain other aspects of society. One of the sections is focused on the language used by MLM's. I thought it was really fascinating and might be of interest to other viewers on your channel.

[@leilaloo2399]

I completely agree with you. The premise of this is great. WHY did they have to make it an MLM? 😫

[@fc7307]

I really don't understand this whole WFH perk that MLMs are pushing. First if you are working how can you take care and spend more time with your kids? People who WFH hire childcare to mind their kids when they are on their shift so where is the advantage in that? Also these MLMers are on their phone all the time so how will they be taking care of their kids?

[@ladyv5655]

This one makes me angry. I want to help these women and their children, but I refuse to support any mlm and mlm hunbots.

[@Another_Mom]

This sounds like a company that a friend sold for for a few years - but it wasn’t MLM. The person having a party worked directly with the company - there wasn’t a middle man - and there was no benefit to the party giver. It was truly done as a ministry. This has been years ago, I wonder if it’s the same company.

[@olgs37]

Re: the "white savior" issue Honestly, when you're in dire need of help, you don't care about the motivations of people who are giving said help. I'm from a country that was at war where everyone was terrified of the government (my grandfather once freaked out because he realized that he'd accidentally wrapped a fish in a newspaper that had the leader's face on it and he was super paranoid that someone saw and would snitch on him because it was illegal to defile the leader's image like that. When we came to the States and he accidentally ruined a newspaper that had the current president's face on it - either Bush Sr. or Clinton, don't remember - he had a legit panic attack and we had to reassure him that he wasn't going to get in trouble for "defiling" the POTUS' face like that) and where most of the population lived in extreme poverty. When we were fleeing, we got help from some humanitarian groups and some of them were religious. We genuinely didn't care what the motivations of the people who were helping us were - we were getting help and that's all that matter. Granted, this was the Soviet Union, but I've spoken to other refugees who have fled from places like Uganda and they whole-heartedly agreed with me. They couldn't care one whit what the motivations were and if the people who were helping them felt themselves as superior - because they were getting help they otherwise wouldn't have gotten. It seems to be the same for most people I've spoken to who have fled oppressive regimes. People who are in dire need of help to simply survive another day do not care whether it's a "white savior" issue or not. They just want the help. I guarantee you that none of them would have turned down said help because they figured out that the people helping had self-serving motivation. We certainly didn't. I've asked my mother and she said she didn't care where the help came from because it allowed her to survive another day and give her children a roof over their heads for one more day and that's all that mattered. People in dire need do not care about such a complex and I honestly feel like the only people who do are those who have never been in need of such intense help. I'd asked my mother before if she would have refused help if she knew the person helping us was only doing so to feel better about themselves. She said (in Russian), "why would I? Their reasons are irrelevant. The only thing that matters is, do I have this thing? Can this person give me this thing? and everything else is simply immaterial. I took advantage of anything and everything offered just so that we could live another day." That's just my viewpoint on this issue from a personal experience of fleeing an oppressive country standpoint.

[@borisbebe]

thanks for your comment and the insights into your biography and that of your family. sounds reasonable and completely comprehensible to me. your mother seems to be a resolute and wise woman. всего наилучшего!

[@miaomiaochan]

While I appreciate your perspective and am glad you were able to make it through difficult times with help from outside, we can't deny the fact that not all "help" is created equal, that help is often promised but never delivered, and that White Savior Syndrome is a real phenomenon that has caused real harm throughout the ages. There are countless examples of how Westerners have swooped into an impoverished area, ostensibly to improve the lives of local people, only to end up leaving the situation worse than it was when they arrived (or not changing anything at all). I've seen a few examples from this very comments section that described how missionaries desecrated a sacred location in Haiti to build unlivable homes and how a missionary couple committed SA. Peace Corps volunteers, UN troops, etc. have been known to commit horrible crimes against local peoples they were sent to help. Charitable organizations have pocketed money that was supposed to have been spent on providing relief. I could go on.

[@driley5004]

I'll have to agree. I know some people have intentions of "looking better" or being the saint....but me personally, I like to help people, and probably am deterred from helping out more bc I don't want to look like the "white savior"... it's kinda sad.

[@slightlyfreakish2811]

thank you for this video, I think it's really important to shine a light on those MLMs that - from the outside - do genuinely seem to do good or be 'different' to other MLMs, and they can be really hard to try to explain to people why they're still bad. It's something that hits close to home because my mum still buys from a pretty big MLM in the UK called Tropic Skincare and insists that it's 'one of the good ones' and not predatory like others, plus she brings up all the cruelty free/vegan/natural usual buzzwords and insists the products do genuinely work. She's very aware that the friend she buys them off only makes a lot of money because she got into the company early - even admitted it herself the other day - but doesn't want to understand that regardless of how good the cause they stand for is or the products, an MLM is still an MLM.

[@hannagibson9970]

I agree it's evil genius😡.. I would love to know how much the Artisan's are getting/ charging.. it could be a couple of dollars and then the pieces are marked up and sold for $30 + .... that would not surprise me at all 😔

[@SoundsAndMore7766]

I guarantee they only get a small percentage of the website sales prices.

[@beautifulrose8619]

Probably very little they are charging. Like buying Manhattan for beads. Their perspective of value is not like the Westerners.

[@reverethepatriot1776]

Why did they choose an MLM structure!? This is such a wonderful idea to support these artisans but then they turn around and exploit the women they recruit. Such a shame. I would have definitely supported if they were a normal structured business

[@CharisBombela]

This one makes me so sad as I thought this was a really good organization 😢

[@RblWOACoz1111]

I don't even have to watch to comment. All content is wonderful to watch. Algorithm, do your thing! ❤🎉❤

[@bethany45101]

I am so frustrated how people will exploit poor people and ALSO the kindness of others to make a profit. It’s so gross. I’m a realtor and I know a couple real estate companies are MLMs. It’s like this business model is taking over everything. It makes all realtors look slimy

[@VanessaChats]

It must be a region specific thing as I'm Australian and never heard of Real Estate Companies that are MLMs - could you explain a bit more like give a few examples?

[@MalitaJones]

@@VanessaChatsExP & Keller Williams incorporate down lines / recruitment in their business mode.

[@libertymedicalcommunicatio4908]

I used to wonder if some MLM founders were simply naive and did not mean to launch a company based on a fraudulent business model. I decided that they ALL know exactly what they're doing. There's no naivete involved.

[@AllOutBible]

Oh this is something I completely would have fallen for. Especially since there's a culture of non-MLM evangelical programs like this where you're encouraged to buy from artisans. Woof. Thank you for letting us know about this.

[@PriestessMikuHimuro]

I just had to clip the part where you thoroughly explained how a MLM is structured. If i ever get unsolicited MLM "Hey hun!" messages in my inbox i'll just reply with that clip! 😂😂

[@heatherogle7813]

I'm going to respectfully disagree on some of your points, Hannah. I understand that we would like 100% of the funds to go to the artisan, but I don't think the company is NECESSARILY taking advantage of the artisans. This is widening their market to the US, when most of these artisans would never be able to do provide marketing materials on their own to US customers. The "partners" and "advocates" on the US side are legitimately showing these goods for purchase to a new market. It's like any company selling in Walmart, the company pays Walmart a portion of their profits from a sale that happens in Walmart's stores. Without Walmart showcasing the product, the company may not have sold anything, so both the company and Walmart are benefiting from the arrangement. Same thing with the artisan/partner arrangement here. The fact that the company is also making money can be an issue, if you feel that they should be doing this for charity only, but then I feel we're getting into the white savior complex issue again. These women are victims of their societies and other evils, yes, but they're not weak or unable to think for themselves. They are just as capable as you or I. To think that we have to protect them from themselves because they can't make a good financial decision is demeaning, to say the least. Other commenters have said that people in developing countries ask far too little for their products and so ToH is taking advantage of them by only paying what they ask for. By whose measures is ToH taking advantage? Ours, or the artisans'? Clearly, they're at least satisfied with what they're getting for their work; they continue to do it. Just because we might think they could get more for their work doesn't mean that they think they could (or that they actually could). To put this into perspective, when the US car companies unionized and raised hourly wages, A LOT of car manufacturing went south of the border or overseas because the companies could find cheaper labor elsewhere. Even at the cheaper labor rate, the workers in those other countries are living way better lives because the cost of living is so much cheaper in those other countries. The only people who suffered were the US workers who thought they would get more money, but were then out of a job. They didn't have "inadequate" income, they had none. If you take away this "inadequate" source of income from these artisans, they may have none, we don't know what other options they may have. All this to say, I agree that it's scammy to frame this as a charity when it's really a business, because I think that's what has most people upset. But taking a step back, I'm not seeing the issue with this business model in general (outside of the MLM recruitment aspect - that will always be a problem and my issue with all MLMs). The artisans are getting work and paid their asking price. The partners/advocates are showcasing their work to a wider market, potentially increasing future business for the artisan, and getting paid to do so. The company is getting paid to match these two entities together (like Walmart). The only scammy part is that recruiting bit. Finally, I would like to point out that most of the partners/advocates on the US side are still women. White, yes, but women nonetheless. So, to give money to these partners IS STILL HELPING WOMEN. These white, US women are mostly doing it for their kids or to improve their living situations. Their reasoning for selling the artisans' products is no different than the reasoning of the artisans themselves to make the products. Both groups of people are trying to take care of their families and improve their living situations. The only difference between the two groups is one is from a poor, societally corrupt nation, and the other is from an affluent, societally acceptable (maybe) nation. A lot of people seem to be under the assumption that if you're from a rich country you can't be a trafficking or abuse victim and so you're not allowed to take advantage of programs/companies advertised as helping those victims. How does anyone know that the white suburban mom from Utah selling ToH isn't an abuse survivor herself trying to make an income to feed her four kids so she doesn't have to give them up for adoption? This seems to be helping women all around, EXCEPT for the MLM recruitment part. I want to be very clear that the recruitment aspect of this model makes it a no-go for me, it is bad. However, I feel like if they took out the "getting a portion of your recruits' commissions" aspect of this model, this could be a GREAT company. Women get work around the world, both poor and affluent countries alike, and people get to buy handmade products. This is awesome. But once you add in the recruitment aspect, the goodness fades and we're all left feeling icky.

[@tawny.austin]

It IS a great company! I'm thinking about making a response to this one, since it's having a negative impact. 😬

[@claudiaalexander8675]

it's so interesting that most MLMs target women, but from my experience in Amway (unfortunate, i know) it was always the men that were the stars; they led all the meetings, did most of the talking, and in general took the lead in pitches. There were still waaaay more women in the business, but it was seen kind of as a hobby for them while for the men it was "Business"

[@CatsandHatsCrochet]

Thank you for covering this Hannah! I have a friend in Trades of Hope and it’s so sneaky how they use the whole “helping less fortunate people” idea to rope people in. I love how you covered the nuances with that.

[@SL-xf9ye]

Love your content; I am also very anti MLM. ❤ MLMs aside, just a general comment on how I think about sharing when you do volunteer week in general, I totally understand your feelings and questioning the motivation when another shares their charity work in a social media post, but I also think that at the end of the day, if money is donated or volunteer work is done for those that need it, vs NOTHING being done, I would rather somebody do something than nothing, so I don't think it negates the deed. A hungry mouth is still fed even if somebody says they did it, even if it annoys us, I guess is how I think about it? Also I sometimes share volunteer opportunities for local organizations or just the fact that I do MOW and holiday events to show people that these organizations exist and need help, and maybe make others consider lending a helping hand too. I am not trying to brag about my deeds; I am trying to encourage others or "share the opportunity" (in horrible MLM speak haha) to serve the community/help/maybe provide purpose to them too? Sorry so long winded, just sharing my perspective. ❤

[@sweetblackangel]

THANK YOU for pointing out the white savior aspect of that commercial. It was so gross to me. I'm so sick of that angle. So sick of being seen that way.

[@alyssasherwood]

There is another company very similar to this one, that actually has it's home offices in my area - Better Way Imports. I got roped into hosting a "party" before I even realized what it was. They also had a coffee shop by their office. I don't know if it's still there, but they sold some of the goods within the shop. Comparing those prices with the prices in the catalog makes me think they definitely marked them up. It is also really frustrating that they offered the "party" as a way to learn how to help victims of human trafficking. I gladly invited friends to this, and was then so embarrassed when it turned out to just be a pitch for joining the company while offering items that no one could afford as twenty-somethings. Profiting off activism really bothers me and it happens so often in our western culture

[@sunshinepdx8875]

So this is the first time I’ve heard of trades of hope, & I DISAGREE WITH YOU on this one being an MLM. I don’t believe these women are making a ton of money off the international artisans. It just sounds like they’re trying to get more women involved in the US so they can sell more stuff for those international women. I don’t care a skin color…you’re making race an issue where there isn’t one. If a women wants to help someone less fortunate it doesn’t matter what their skin color is…. DOING SOMETHING IS BETTER THEN DOINH NOTNING…REGARDLESS OF SKIN COLOR! I didn’t hear anything in the video on ranks or making millions off the sales… so I think you should take this down. It’s putting down a company that seem to be helping impoverished women.

[@mariasquarepants8532]

I don’t like MLMs and I like Hannah’s channel. I just want to say that as a non-white person from a 3rd world country, it irks me very much Hannah some of the things you have said (but I still love you). Please stop separating us by sectioning whites and “people of color”.. We are one all human, none of us picked our race. The white savior syndrome…. Mentioning that, in my opinion creates more separateness. My husband is white, should he not start a charity or help someone outside of his race for fear of someone pointing a finger accusing him of this? There are several amazing charities that have helped 3rd world countries and are founded by white people. I thank God for them. I don’t care what color you are. If you are doing something good for someone, do it. Publish it, do it behind closed doors, I don’t care. Don’t stop being kind. And those of you who aren’t, don’t give the ones doing it a hard time. Use your Karen energy to do something good in the world and join them. Pretending this is a good and fair company and i work for them, I would definitely say that I feel good about being a part of it. Nothing to be disgusted about. The other stuff, pyramid scheme, wages, etc… yea that’s gross. I feel you spent 23 of the 35 minutes of this video criticizing whiteness.

[@kareenah.kreations]

As someone who comes from a well-known artisan area in Mexico, Michoacan, I can almost guarantee that the artisan isn’t getting paid fairly regardless of that “wholesale price”. At least, from the area that I am from, it’s well known that to risk come and bargain and pay pennies for someone’s hard work, and then we solid here in the states for like 10 times, so they paid for it. They pay full price, the conversion of currency gives the American consumer and distributor a huge advantage. For example, $20 to us is basically nothing, that is about 200 pesos in Mexico, that is a days of work. I don’t know how much sense this is making, but regardless of how they’re getting paid or what they’re getting paid, there is no way that this actually benefits the artisan.

[@afraaomar4682]

You can only imagine how the training zoom calls of this thing look like

[@bethanycostello2231]

There’s so much wrong with this company, but I still have to give it a big ol’ side eye for having one of their rank titles be “Master” 😒

[@petrichorbones]

oh my god. wow. im speechless at that

[@tigaliyt]

One of their rank titles be WHA-

[@andbec7395]

Um. In many countries, including my own and probably the UK, master is what little boys are titled, until they are adults. So when filling out forms, my sons were Master X until they were old enough to become Mr X. Is probably a different culture thing. Would be horrified if it had anything to do with master/slave scenario, but I suspect it doesn't..

[@sarahburkhardt2037]

Another one I think may be an MLM with a faith-based advocacy type mission would be noonday collection. I went to a conference and got sucked in, buying a couple of things which were beautiful, but it was giving many MLM vibes. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and I agree with what you said about the white savior complex. Real business in developing countries can be hard because of colonialism, etc. MLM companies like noonday and trades of hope are sad because they prey off both sides of the global economy. Stay hopeful and watchful out there, all.

[@munkey_nuts]

I wonder how far we can trust the claims they make about how they pay the artisans and what conditions those artisans work in.

[@starfirelov]

My friend has sent me two invites for her friends TOH parties and I wondered if this was actually an exploitative company. Thanks for the info! I shared with them 😅

[@TedApelt]

I have never heard of this before, and as a political activist I am especially interested, as well as grateful that you tipped me off as to what it really is. This is the first of your videos that I shared with my local DSA (Democratic Socialists of America) group.