Emailed to all Partners on June 6, 2024:

To our beautiful community of Trades of Hope Partners,

Since launching Trades of Hope in our living room in 2010, we have been able to accomplish so much good because of the incredible women who have come alongside us as Partners. We have welcomed thousands of women as Partners, created jobs for more than 14,000 women globally, and given back more than 1 million dollars to causes worldwide. It has been the honor of a lifetime to stand with women near and far, and we are so excited to continue creating jobs for women with each of you for decades to come.

A lot has changed in the world since 2010. The fair trade and direct sales industry has seen a decline over the last 6 years, even before the pandemic. But 2020 created a shift in both industries that we are still living in today. Our focus is and has always been to create jobs for women to rise out of extreme poverty. And as sales for our Artisans’ products have experienced a large dip post-pandemic, we have been thoughtfully and prayerfully considering what this means for Trades of Hope Artisans and Partners.

For more than a year, we have been feeling led to make updates and upgrades to Trades of Hope to remain relevant and effective for our Artisans. And since hearing from YOU and about 200 other Partners in our April 2024 Partner-wide survey, we have felt confirmation over and over again. What we learned from you is that you want things to be simpler, easier, and more streamlined. We learned you want a better online experience for your customers. And we learned that more than 60% of our Partners feel that Trades of Hope being an MLM (multi-level marketing) company negatively affects their sales; and therefore, the sales of our Artisans.

Based on what we learned from you, what we are hearing from our Artisans, and what we have been prayerfully considering for more than a year — Trades of Hope will no longer be an MLM (multi-level marketing) company effective July 2, 2024. This was announced to All Partners in a planned LIVE and Zoom Q&A session on June 6, 2024, at 2 pm EST. 

We will continue creating jobs for women worldwide. And we will continue to do this with you, compensating Partners, by selling our Artisans’ fair trade products online and through Partners’ websites and events. And we are thrilled that this change means we can do this on a new, user-friendly website. We are upgrading a much more relevant platform that is used across 1.2 million websites worldwide, which you likely are using on your favorite online stores already.  This comes with so many pros for customers, Partners, and in turn, our Artisans:  

• Seamless checkout experience   
• No checkout or coupon complications or errors  
• Upgraded, fun customer rewards program  
• Easier, mobile-friendly dashboard for Partners  
• More automated abandon cart emails  
• No enrollment fees for New Partners  
• No tech fees for Partners  
• The option to exchange your commission for 1.5x more product credit!  

We’re excited to bring all of our focus to sharing our Artisans’ stories and selling their designs without the distraction of a multi-level marketing component. It is our belief that all of these updates and upgrades will attract MORE women who LOVE our mission and values, which will help us stand with MORE women who are currently facing poverty and human trafficking. 

Our website is not the only way we are modernizing. Our old compensation plan is being replaced by a simple Partner Rewards plan, allowing everyone to easily understand what is available to them. And while simple, our Partner Rewards program is extremely competitive across the affiliate marketing industry.  Partners will be able to refer more women to be Partners with a simple, easy link, instead of needing to explain a complicated multi-level plan. No enrollment fees. No Tech fees. These are more ways we are choosing to modernize and remain effective for our Artisans.

We are more committed than ever to our mission of creating jobs for women to lead their families out of poverty and human trafficking. Our Artisan Communities, Gifts of Hope givebacks, in-person and online events, Lookbooks, release schedule, Vision Trips, and Blossom events are all continuing into this new and energizing season.

While we are excited for the future, we know change can be hard. Over the next few weeks, it is our priority to answer your questions and support you. All this information and more is available for you in Hope Central. We are looking forward to standing with women globally, alleviating poverty, and fighting human trafficking with you better than we ever have before. You are such a needed and celebrated part of this movement. We honor you and are excited to step into this next season of Trades of Hope with you! 

With love,
Gretchen and Elisabeth