Global Girlfriends
How One Mom Made It Her Business to Help Women in Poverty Worldwide
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I founded a pioneering fair trade company to amplify the work and worth of women artisans…
…and wrote about the journey.
Stacey Edgar had a $2,000 tax return and a deep desire to help provide economic security for women in need. She knew that of the 1.3 billion people living on less than $1 per day, seventy percent are women. What she didn’t have was a business plan. Or a passport. But that didn’t stop her from creating a socially conscious business that has helped women on five continents feed their families and send their children to school.
Global Girlfriend grew into a multi-million-dollar enterprise specializing in handmade, fairly traded, eco-conscious apparel, accessories, and gifts made by women all over the world.
Global Girlfriends is Stacey’s inspiring story of following her convictions — and her passionate argument for the simple actions we can all take to help eliminate extreme poverty. She refused to be paralyzed by the size of world poverty; she started with several small steps, personal responsibility firmly in hand, and never looked back.
Twenty years later, those first steps became a framework — and a new book. Meet Artisan Economics →
Jorova Craft · KenyaHandmade by Friendship Bridge · GuatemalaSHONA · CongoSERRV International · USThe Gemini Trust · EthiopiaThe Women’s Bean Project · USThe Enterprising Kitchen · USProject Gateway · South AfricaAu Lac · VietnamGertrude Protis Kita · TanzaniaNEED · IndiaKunja Artistic Bead Work · NepalGramshree Trust · IndiaGodavari Delta Women Lace Artisans Co-operative · IndiaConserve India · IndiaFreeset · IndiaSana Hastakala · NepalKumbeshwar Technical School · NepalArum Dalu · IndonesiaSEWA · IndiaPushpanjali · IndiaHoly Land Handicraft Cooperative Society · PalestineIbu Ayu · IndonesiaLa Semilla De Dios · El SalvadorArtesanías El Madero de Jesús · El SalvadorLas Azulinas · El SalvadorUca Ruffatti · El SalvadorKay Artisan · HaitiCherche La Vie · HaitiRara Bags · HaitiOne Mango Tree · UgandaWawoto Kacel Cooperative Society · UgandaCraft Link Kenya · KenyaMaridadi Fabrics · Kenya
The women’s cooperatives and fair-trade groups of the book’s first decade — some have closed, many still thrive. Meet today’s makers in the artisan directory →
Here’s what people had to say
“The impressive story of how one socially conscious young American woman is changing the lives of poor women in third-world countries…. An engaging read, upbeat and inspiring.”
— Kirkus Reviews“A heartening story of big dreams and small steps… a business model that works for rich and poor alike, linking together women from around the world.”
— Pietra Rivoli, author of The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy“Being a changemaker has nothing to do with having fancy degrees, lots of resources, or being an ‘expert’…. If you’re looking for inspiration, this book is definitely worth a read.”
— Blake Mycoskie, founder, TOMS Shoes“Not just a story of entrepreneurship — on both ends — but a story of how women rely on friendships and networks to sustain one another financially, socially, and emotionally.”
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