Oceans of Change evolved when the owner, Karen, participated in a mission trip to Guatemala in 2005. While there she experienced and gained firsthand knowledge of the poverty that plagued certain classes, in particular the uneducated, and the extreme working conditions that parents had to endure just to provide for their families. It wasn’t until Karen happened upon a small retail store that specialized in fair trade merchandise produced locally that she was first introduced to this concept. Upon her return home she began researching about the fair trade marketplace and the positive impact it makes in communities around the world. She is fulfilling her dream of owning her own business and is passionate about providing consumers an alternative to sweatshop labor.
Oceans of Change’s concept is simple: to offer fair trade accessories to the socially conscious and fashionably chic woman. Although fair trade merchandise has been available in America for 50 years, most consumers aren’t aware as to what “fair trade” means. My aim is to not only introduce consumers to fair trade, but educate them on the benefits. Our compassion for the welfare of others is what makes us human and grants us the ability to change or as Anne Frank so poignantly wrote:
"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."
