Not only has new business owner Taylor Smith created her own successful business, but she’s also helping create opportunity across the globe with every purchase made through Milk & Honey Market. That’s purchase with a purpose! Now let’s go meet owner Taylor Smith of Milk & Honey Market.
360: How did the idea of Milk & Honey Market come to life?
Taylor: Milk & Honey Market was born out of a desire to do something to fight the social injustice of human trafficking. I learned about human trafficking in college and was shocked to learn how common it is worldwide, including in the United States. Shortly after, I learned about fair trade goods and how where we spend our money truly affects individuals worldwide. As a society, we have improved so much in asking where our food comes from, but we have a long ways to go in asking where our clothes, jewelry, and other goods come from and how they are made. When you purchase fair trade goods, you know you are purchasing items that are made by artisans (individuals or makers) who are treated well, paid fair wages, are in safe working conditions, and no child labor was involved.
Milk & Honey comes to life continued…
Taylor: Sadly, those statements do not cover most of what we buy as consumers. If everyone started to make ethical, fair trade purchases, even in baby steps, we would truly begin to revolutionize the fashion industry. Milk & Honey Market was born out of a desire to create a platform where customers can buy goods they know are empowering women across the globe. We partner with brands that employ the artisans directly and ensure they have dignified, sustainable work. You can read more about the story of Milk & Honey Market on our their About page here.
360: How did the idea of Milk & Honey Market come to life?
Taylor: Milk & Honey Market was born out of a desire to do something to fight the social injustice of human trafficking. I learned about human trafficking in college and was shocked to learn how common it is worldwide, including in the United States. Shortly after, I learned about fair trade goods and how where we spend our money truly affects individuals worldwide. As a society, we have improved so much in asking where our food comes from, but we have a long ways to go in asking where our clothes, jewelry, and other goods come from and how they are made. When you purchase fair trade goods, you know you are purchasing items that are made by artisans (individuals or makers) who are treated well, paid fair wages, are in safe working conditions, and no child labor was involved.
Milk & Honey comes to life continued…
Taylor: Sadly, those statements do not cover most of what we buy as consumers. If everyone started to make ethical, fair trade purchases, even in baby steps, we would truly begin to revolutionize the fashion industry. Milk & Honey Market was born out of a desire to create a platform where customers can buy goods they know are empowering women across the globe. We partner with brands that employ the artisans directly and ensure they have dignified, sustainable work. You can read more about the story of Milk & Honey Market on our their About page here.
360: Tell us more about your mission statement.
Taylor: Our mission statement is: Your purchase creates opportunity across the globe. We want our customers to understand that where they spend their money matters! Some people hear about human trafficking & cyclical poverty and feel like they can’t do anything to help, but that is not the case at all! You can fight for a more ethical world with your money and how you choose to spend it. When customers purchase from Milk & Honey Market, they are a part of empowering the women artisans we partner with around the world to provide for their families, open bank accounts, purchase land, and even start their own businesses! Our customers are a part of artisans experiencing opportunity and empowering them so their tables can overflow with milk & honey figuratively, and literally.
360: Breakdown a few of the current collections you’re collaborating with right now.
Taylor: Right now we partner with brands that employ artisans in Haiti, Uganda, Guatemala, India, Asia and more! We are always expanding and working with more ethical brands, which is so exciting! I love them ALL and love how each country’s collection is unique and specific to its region. The brand we partner with in Asia works specifically with women who have been rescued out of brothels/human trafficking. They equip them with dignified employment and connect them to resources such as counseling, day care for kids, paid maternity leave. They also teach them other skills (computer, etc.) so they can eventually “graduate” and step into future employment with the skills they have gained. All of the brands we partner with care for and are invested in the lives of the artisans they work with. It’s truly a joy to place orders with the brands, because I know it means creating more work and more jobs for these incredible women who are fighting the cycle.
360: What do you love most about your job?
Taylor: I’d have to say it’s a tie between two things. The first being getting to place orders with our brand partners as I said above. I love knowing that as we grow and need to place bigger orders, it means they can grow and expand. This means more work, more jobs, and more families that can be a part of an organization that cares for them and wants to see them truly succeed. The second is having conversations with customers surrounding fair trade, human trafficking, and the women their purchase is helping to empower. I love diving into the hard, but productive conversations surrounding what is happening in the world. I’ve learned so much from others and been connected to so many wonderful resources through our customers. I’m thankful for the relational aspect of this job, it was something I didn’t expect- but I’m so grateful for!
360: What’s next for Milk & Honey Market?
Taylor: Exciting things! As Milk & Honey continues to grow, we plan to get in front of as many people in South Carolina as possible through vendor events and Pop-Up Marketplaces (you can keep up with where we are going to be through our Events page here!) Our hope for the future is to have a brick & mortar retail space! We’d love to partner with survivors of human trafficking going through rehabilitation here in Upstate South Carolina. We are still working and praying through what that tangibly looks like. We are also in the process of working directly with artisans in Kenya to have an exclusive Milk & Honey Market line! I’m so excited to be able to partner with artisans and be a part of their lives. It would be such a privilege to be able to walk through life with them.
360: When you’re not working what do you love to do?
Taylor: I’m a quality time girl! I love date nights with my husband, which usually range from bing watching The Office to being foodies and eating our way through Downtown Greenville. I love wine & good conversations with my girl friends and I will never turn down a road trip. My husband and I are currently planning a road trip through California in the fall, and I can’t WAIT for all the Spotify playlists, good conversation, and yummy food! I can’t deny that I’m an ambivert, so I definitely need my alone time. Reading is a love of mine and I have a huge book stack I’m working through right now!
360: That’s great stuff! Keep up the fantastic work and what you’re doing for human trafficking in the Upstate. Talk again soon!
You can keep following along with Milk & Honey Market on their latest collaborations, events and so much more via Instagram, Facebook and of course their at milkandhoney.market.
Leave a Reply