I was sitting across the desk from the retailer as she kindly shared with me that our pieces weren’t inspirational enough for her market. “Christian shoppers want more crosses, inspirational sayings and items that represent their faith.”

She wasn’t the first Christian retailer to give me this feedback.

I GET it. I really do.

At the end of the day we want to make our target customer happy. If they want more meaningful pieces that tell the world about their faith, then we need to deliver. But I would be remiss if I didn’t explain a couple of things about those dangly crosses and “blessed” tags.

.Many of the charms, metal tags and inspirational crosses found in your typical Christian gift shop may be mass-produced in a sweat shop. They may be manufactured in an industrial building that may or may not be abiding by labor laws that respect the dignity of its workers. 

So even though those cute charms that dangle from your bracelets tell others about your faith—it may do so at the cost of…

… a woman who is struggling to keep her children in school.

…a father trying to provide food on the table.

… a young mom trying to keep her baby out of an orphanage. 

 These people should matter to believers because our maxim is to love God first and people second. So even though we may be buying a product that represents our faith, the question is also… 

Is it representing our values?

The ethical fashion movement is exploding as more shoppers ask about sustainability practices, sourcing and eco-friendly alternatives. It’s a really cool thing that shoppers are wanting to love the products they buy without sacrificing their love for people, but I believe followers of Jesus need to be spearheading the movement.

If for no other reason, we should be asking how our products are made because we love people. You can ask the manager of the store, send an email to the manufacturer or choose to only buy fair trade jewelry.The more small purchasing decisions we make, the bigger the impact will be for people who make our things.

HUGG Jewelry Embraces People

While HUGG designs may not be overtly Christian, you can tell people who compliment your jewelry (and they will) that your purchasing power puts people first. 

Our love for Jesus and people is the reason we started the HUGG Mission Market. Together, we share our faith through the #fashionfuelschange movement. 

To do this better, we are releasing our FIRST-EVER Capsule Jewelry Collection. Your pre-order allows us to launch training and production of this FIVE or Two-piece set and if it goes according to our hopes, it will provide more consistent work for HUGG artisans.

There are SO MANY GOOD THINGS on the horizon for HUGG and it will only be made possible through amazing women who 100% want to share their FAITH & their VALUES through the accessories they wear.

We are praying for 100 women to say “yes”.

Let’s DO THIS!