The recent live tweets that you posted while observing a brothel raid are beyond inappropriate and insensitive; you are hurting the very cause you seek to promote. (Please read Kristof’s own account of the incident here.)

I don’t want to address the journalistic moral dilemma of using twitter as a means of disseminating such sensitive information, and the encroachment on privacy of these young women in the most vulnerable situation – upon which subject pages could be written, but on Mr. Kristof’s writing in general and it’s implications.

Friends, please think this through for a minute:

Ever wonder why an average person, journalist, or even celebrity can’t just walk into a school, a hospital ward, or especially a home for abused women and children, without a proper reason to go there and background check? No? Never wondered that?

Seems like common sense right?

Well for some reason it’s not in Cambodia, where orphanage and tragedy tourism seems to be the norm. Mr. Kristof and his band of celebrities are making tourist attractions of the centers they visit and the girls they talk to, take pictures with, and force to tell their stories. And guess what, contrary to (apparent) popular belief, it DOES hurt. I have personally seen the impact of Kristof’s breed of journalism on the young women he wants to help. I made the same mistake of falling head over heals for Somaly when I read her book, and I recommended a girl I worked with to enroll in her shelter, who had been trafficked, because I thought she would be able to get the proper peer support, therapy, and education that she needed. She was further abused in the shelter, and did not get any of those things she desperately needed. Forcing (or pressuring, manipulating, encouraging) these girls to retell their stories over and over again to an insatiable media (and even just tourists who want to give money) is another form of trauma. They aren’t given proper therapy, and are exposed on a daily basis to unscreened tourists and journalists asking them probing and inappropriate questions and using their photographs to post all over the media. If a girl is in a “safe house” because a pimp is really trying to come after her, how is it possible this organization is allowing these pictures to be taken? It leads you to ask two questions, 1.) Is that girl really in as much danger as the organization claims, and 2.) If she is, what kind of organization would really allow this?

Furthermore, these young women are called victims on a daily basis, which instills the self-image of them inflicted upon them in the brothels. Or in the case that they were never in a brothel to begin with (which is true more often than certain organizations lead you to believe) they now are stuck with a label that never should have defined them in the first place, and become prey to a whole new form of victimization.

Sensationalizing the problem of human trafficking and turning it into a sexy media story opens the door for new non-profits to open fake shelters and legitimate non-profit organizations to become corrupted by the desire to get money which results in more people being trafficked – this time into shelters where they are not getting appropriate education, upbringing and care. In some cases, the line between fake orphanages, brothels, and shelters can be blurry. The fact that growing numbers of children in institutions has paralleled growing numbers of tourists is scary.  So, while the Phnom Penh Post concluded that by and large, although they disagree with Kristof’s tweets, he was getting attention to the cause and that “couldn’t hurt”, respectfully, I disagree: this really and truly can hurt, and has already inflicted severe damage.

Lets be clear. Human trafficking is a real issue, and it’s very serious and needs attention – At least we can agree on this; I don’t know who it is exactly that Kristof is speaking of whom he calls “non-judgmental about trafficking” (are those just people who disagree with Kristof?) But there are constructive ways to move forward with the issue – and by and large its not going to change until the demand changes as many have notably pointed out. The portrayal of the issue by key media figures and celebrities is making some problems worse and creating new ones, and at the same time not offering real, constructive solutions. The problem is not as black and white as Kristof makes it out to be and I guess that if he goes and watches a brothel raid and can write about everything that happened in twitter feed, he has shown that his knowledge of the situation is extremely simplistic.

We should have known that when he bought two women from a brothel and “freed” them. One of them went back to the brothel immediately.

These young women need to be offered constructive therapy, alternative options, and transitional help into supportive communities. There are other great organizations in Cambodia that do a much better job at this than the organizations Kristof champions. Critics of Kristof are quick to point out, and rightly so, that he never discusses what happens to the girls that are rescued in Somaly’s raids, more than a month or two after. The so called “success stories” that he notes in his columns are girls that have escaped sexual slavery – but are still living under the protective wing of AFESIP and SMF. What happens next?

The answer to this question for some is extremely sad.

To be fair, the good thing that’s come out of this is that finally some members of the international press are beginning to express outrage at Kristof’s actions and perspectives. The allegations of abuse, misconduct and corruption within AFESIP and SMF are well-known among the community of people working in this field in Cambodia; lets hope the international community will start listening as well, instead of to celebrities and journalists that drop in for a week long (highly) guided tour of Cambodia sponsored by the aforementioned organizations.

The KeoK’jay crew of travelers included founder Rachel Faller, photographer Grant, models Nimol, Erin and me, and photo intern J-P.  We arrived late at night and set out a homemade sushi picnic, thanks to Rachel and Nimol. The next morning, fueled by extra-strong coffee from the mountaintop guesthouse, the photo frenzy began.

Kirirom boasts plenty of beauty — of the natural kind. No poolside glitz here, so we brought our own glam. Rachel applied makeup and styled all the looks. Grant took the striking creations of our designs and set them against the lush outdoor backdrop. Models valiantly stood on windy rooftops and tromped barefoot through the grass to get just the right shots. J-P held the light reflector. Rachel hand-rolled yet more sushi as our van drove down a rocky mountain pass on our way home.

All in all, an amazing team effort. We’d like to think our shoot was even better than the time Angelina Jolie sat in a wooden boat with a bajillion-dollar handbag. (Love you, Angelina!)

Visit the shop on Street 240 in Phnom Penh, or in Siem Reap, to pick out the newest additions to your closet.  Check our Facebook page to stay posted as we release our collection, photographed in the wild.

Wanderlust was started 2 years ago by Fashion editor Elizabeth Keister, who came to Cambodia for a short visit and ended up staying. She set up her cheerful, quirky and fun line of women’s clothing, accessories, and homewares inspired by Cambodia’s bright colors and Elizabeth’s own love of travel. Wanderlust launched their online retail shop one year ago to international acclaim. For this upcoming holiday season, they’ve created a new page on their website to showcase and sell some of their favorite products made in Cambodia, and graciously invited us to participate. We’re excited to be featured along with some of Cambodia’s most interesting and beautiful products, and looking forward to how this will help the handicraft and fashion industry in Cambodia as a whole. There are a number of other groups featured here that have some incredible products as well, all produced fairly in Cambodia. Sleep soundly knowing you’ve shopped responsibly!

- Garment factory workers are often paid less than a percent of the final retail value of the items they make.

- Child Labor (children under the age of 14) accounts for 22% of the labor force of Asia (where most of the clothes in the US come from)

- Although many companies ban the use of child labor and sweatshops, they often outsource work to companies that do not keep the same standards

- There are approximately 30 million people living in slavery today, through bonded labor, forced labor, and trafficking. Many of them are working in garment factory work, or agriculture related to garment manufacturing

- Conventional cotton uses 2.5% of the worlds agricultural lands yet eats up 25% of the worlds insecticides

- It takes a third of a pound of synthetic pesticides to grow one pound of conventional cotton.

- Americans throw away 25% more trash during the holidays than any other time of the year.

- The largest volume of waste being dumped from New York City is textile and garment waste.

Many people feel helpless to deal with these issues, but there are alternative options if you want to buy gifts for your loved ones. You can buy gifts that actually contribute to positive change, and don’t contribute to some of the horrible issues I’ve mentioned above.

Of course we’d love for you to buy from KeoK’jay. We’ll be launching our products on two new websites on December 3^rd, Wanderlust and Project Artisan. Keep your eyes peeled for another post about that in the next 2 days! Your purchases with KeoK’jay not only pay women a fair wage, but offer them a chance at a better life for themselves and their children. 25% of the cost of each product goes directly to paying salaries of our staff. Another large chunk pays for services, training, and micro loans that are provided directly to our staff. Of course we have to pay expenses too, such as rent, travel, advertizing, “un-official fees,” and so on. But you can trust that no one’s making a huge profit off this venture and all profits are invested back into the community. Plus everything is eco friendly.

But alas, we know not everyone will love KeoK’jay’s style, so I would like to also introduce you to some other companies and non-profit organizations that we like. I’ve only put people on here that you can actually buy online (and have stuff people actually want of course.)

http://www.matatraders.com – fair trade and eco-friendly women’s clothing and accessories, made in India ($20-$60)

http://www.tradeforchange.com/ – fair trade clothing made by Global Mammas, a non-profit and fair trade organization assisting women in Africa to become economically independent. ($20-$60)

http://www.lotusjayne.com/ – fair trade gifts and accessories from Cambodia and Beyond ($8-$40)

http://www.preloved.ca – Preloved creates one-of-a-kind clothing from reclaimed vintage fabrics, with a passion for design and a philosophy of sustainability. These are some of my favorite up-cycled pieces. ($80-$200)

http://www.etsy.com/ – Who could forget Etsy, the world’s most vibrant online marketplace for all things handmade? Here you can find one of a kind items and lots of unique gifts. You just need to do a little searching ($10-$500)

http://www.beadforlife.org/ – for the crafters out there, consider buying a pack of beads made from recycled paper by women in Uganda. You can also get amazing jewelry if you’re not feeling so adventurous! BeadforLife eradicates extreme poverty by creating bridges of understanding between impoverished Africans and concerned world citizens. ($10-50)

http://www.eyaas.com/partners/cambodia-knits-1.html – I am directing you to this website so that you can buy adorable little monsters hand knit by people living in marginalized communities in Cambodia, through a project called Cambodia knits. It was started by our friend Monika Sok and CK products are also featured in our Cambodian boutique. The perfect quirky gift for kids and old kids alike! ($5-30)

http://www.nau.com/ – Sustainable outdoor + urban apparel. Everything here is amazingly designed, timeless, and very useful, so that you can look effortlessly stylish for every occasion, save the environment, and reduce the amount of clothes that you buy at the same time. Nau also does a ton of amazing community programming and advocacy, and dedicates a portion of every sale to a partner for change of your choice. We also appreciate how they take the time to educate customers about the clothes they are buying. Score for transparency! ($40-$300)

And there are many, many more businesses with a focus on the environment, social responsibility, and amazing style. Don’t forget, another incredible benefit of supporting these small businesses is that you’ll find gifts that no one else will have, and have a great story behind them. What’s not to love?

At KeoK’jay, we also advocate for shopping vintage and second-hand, and making your own gifts for people. It takes some time, but it’s worth it!

This holiday season, please consider giving gifts that reduce environmental impact and do not exploit the people who make them.

All photos by Jack Fleming

All the designs are by Genny and Rachel, and were inspired by Traffic.  As usual, they use our recycled materials, signature prints, and some new natural dye techniques. There’s lots of hand knit elements and creative embroidery as well. These items will hit select locations in the spring. We’ll keep you posted about how to get them!

Special thanks to the Gallery Los Angeles for having us, and to Mikey Koffman for putting together an amazing show.

Also, here’s some links to what other people are saying about us. Thanks for the out-pouring of support!

Fashion News Live

thefashionspot.com

Disarray magazine

Wanderlust and Lipstick

ChinaShopMag.com

GoCouture.com

It’s the beginning of “high Season” in Cambodia, and it’s time to start first Fridays in the Alley West, Siem Reap!

That means all the businesses on our lovely little alley will be giving amazing discounts and special offers that would tempt even the shiest non-party goer away from their television for an evening of music, great food, surprises and merry-making…

Circle boutique (Co-owned by iida and Keok’jay) will be having a sidewalk sale and joining in the festivities, so you should too!

What to do with all these buttons? Make an awesome clutch, of course.

Hahah! This collage is cute… though a bit misleading. These bags actually require a lot more handwork and the involvement of almost all of the women at some point in the production process. Each bag requires cutting and screen printing of fabric, putting in the lining of the bag (which is made from straw mats and covered with recycled red or gray jersey), sewing on buttons (many, many buttons), and putting on the clasps. The final product is pretty amazing, though. Look for it in our boutique and at our private sales in the US next month (and later, in Paris!)

Congrats, Gen!

EJ hanging around Phnom Penh in our brand new romper, designed by Genny Cortinovis.

A special thank you to our photographer, James Grant, and our model, EJ Callahan, for this awesome shoot. Also thank you to Mail Lynn Miller for all the help, and to our new designer, Genny Cortinovis, for everything else.

More James: http://www.jamesgrantphoto.com/

More Genny: http://dippedanddyed.blogspot.com/

Check them out, they’re amazing!

Consider this your invitation, East Coasters!

Re-arranging the boutique to make room for new items from our Traffick collection

Between re-arranging our Phnom Penh boutique to make room for new pieces, getting our new washing machine set up, and preparing things for our trip to the states, things have been really crazy and exciting at KeoK’jay these last two weeks.

Genny and the women have been working overtime to get all of our samples ready for LA Fashion Week, where we’ll be launching our new collection, Traffick, next month (more info to come!).

The real adventures and laughs and cries of frustrations, however, have come from trying to fill an order we got from Norway for a few sets of screen-printed table cloths, table runners, and tea towels.

It went something like this:

“It needs to be swai (purple) along this edge (*hand waving and showing on the table cloth*), krohom (red) along this edge (*more waving and demonstrating*) and then a little bit of gom leat (space), and then krohom (*more waving and pointing to the picture of the design*) and swai (*more waving*). Okay?”

“Jah. Okay.”

The tea towels and table runners we've been screen printing this week

“Ack, no, not like that. Krohom *waving and pointing*, then swai, then krohom. Okay?”

“Jah. Okay.”

“Nooooo!! Krohom, swai, krohom. Gom leat. Krohom, swai, krohom, Jah?”

“Jah. Okay.”

“Not there! Not swai! Vutha! Come translate!”

This went on for hours.

What was intended to be a small project, involving only two basic prints, two colors, and minimal sewing, has turned into a week-long, labor-intensive endeavor, requiring the full attention of Ravi and Sam Ahn, Genny and myself, and our manager, Vutha. We have now burned through several meters of the expensive goelle fabric due to mis-cutting and mis-printing and mis-just-about-everything.

Why?

Lets call it cultural miscommunication.

Far too late into the process, I realized that none of the women had any idea what a table runner or tea towel even was. They really couldn’t picture what we were trying to make, especially when it involved screen printing several tea towels on one piece of fabric and then cutting it afterwards.  So then I had to explain that in the US and Europe, people put cloth on their tables before they eat. And the women were like “why?” and I was like, “I really don’t know.”

I’ve never thought to question the tradition of putting decorative cloth on a table before a meal, but now that I’m in Cambodia, it seems like a funny thing to take for granted. Why cloth on a table? To spill wine on and feel bad about it?

It inspired me to look up the origins of table cloths and table runners. I found this article pretty entertaining: http://www.articlealley.com/article_1361052_47.html. Hope you enjoy it.

Stay tuned for New York and Los Angeles news!