Dressember

I was introduced to Dressember by a fellow Disneybounder [in 2018] when she invited me to participate and be a part of her team. Dressember is an organization that’s purpose is to put an end to Human Trafficking / Modern Day Slavery.

When I first checked out their website, I thought “wow, that’s a really difficult thing to accomplish”, but I was interested in learning more. In college I did a lot more outreach and social justice work and to me, this felt like a pull back to my roots. There are many causes that have caught my attention before, one being hunger and homelessness, and this seemed to go hand-in-hand with outreach I had previously done. Not saying that hunger and homelessness directly correlates to human trafficking, but it can be a cause or effect of someone being trafficked. For example, many traffickers attract their targets by advertising that they provide meals and/or shelter for a job performed. This is usually misrepresentation and is one of the many ways people are lured into the human trafficking rings. Additionally, victims who finally get out, can find themselves in a dire situation, having no one to turn to. What the organizations partnering with Dressember do is provide outreach to victims such as after-care kits as well as bigger benefits like funding rescue missions. In this way, I felt it aligned to my values and would enable me to help others – even in a small way.

The concept of Dressember is to wear a dress or tie every day for the month of December to raise awareness and fund-raise for these organizations that are helping victims of human trafficking. The idea of adding fashion also promotes staying away from “fast fashion” (where workers could be overworked and underpaid) and leaning towards reusing what we have, thrifting what we don’t, and if necessary to buy, buying fair trade. So, in addition to wearing a dress every day this month, I am also only using clothing I already own.

Give me a follow to see my new posts and follow me on Instagram to see all of my Dressember ‘bounds this month: @rogue_princess_

If you have an interest in donating to Dressember, please visit my fundraiser site here: https://dressember2022.funraise.org/fundraiser/julianne-bavaro