One morning, David Batstone read in the San Francisco Chronicle that his favorite Indian restaurant had been the hub for a human trafficking ring. In all the years he ate there, he never once asked himself whether these employees were there by choice – who does?

 

But David couldn’t let it go. He took a year off from teaching to write a book about how modern slavery permeates the global economy: “Uncover it, make it visible, write a book, and then go back to my previous life. That was the only plan I had.”

 

Not For Sale: Taking a Courageous Step

After a year of learning about the tragedies and triumphs of human trafficking survivors, his plans unexpectedly changed. In Thailand, he met Kru Nam, a woman who rescued 27 children from modern slavery, but barely had adequate shelter to care for them. So David promised to build her a house.

 

He doesn’t consider himself a hero, but the way he sees it, he just took one step that led to another: “People we consider heroes are probably just taking one step, and then that step led them to one more thing, and then one more thing, and then you’re fully into it, and other people can’t imagine how you could do that. It’s easy: just make a courageous step.”

 

Named after David’s book, his organization Not For Sale is generally identified as a charity because they’re rescuing people from modern slavery. In the beginning, the organization continued David’s path of building shelters for human trafficking survivors. But after a few years, Not For Sale noticed patterns about what made communities vulnerable to human traffickers. So rather than being reactive, the organization asked itself “What does a long-term solution look like?”

 

REBBL and Dignita: Fighting Human Trafficking with Ethical Businesses

In addition to helping survivors, David wants to prevent modern slavery from happening in the first place. Not For Sale now establishes businesses that not only create great products, but also fight the conditions that make communities ripe for exploitation. “Often times people look at companies with a cause,” David says, “but we’re a cause looking for a company.”

 

As a solution to the growing human trafficking problem in Peru, he founded REBBL, a beverage company committed to strengthening the communities from where the ingredients are sourced. And 2.5% of every bottle sale goes to Not For Sale, which means the company relies on the customer’s participation – not just the company’s overall profits – to achieve their goals.

 

On the other side of the world, David connected with Dutch activist Toos Heemskerk to combat sex trafficking in Amsterdam. They established a soup company that catered to sex workers, but as the business grew, it evolved into a restaurant called Dignita that trains and employs survivors. Today, the soup business has been sold to a national grocery chain, and a second successful Dignita location continues to provide sex workers with an alternate, achievable career path.

 

If you look at REBBL’s packaging, or visit Dignita, Not For Sale’s mission isn’t the primary message – the focus is on the product. As a venture capitalist, David knows that consumers have high expectations for their food, and he doesn’t want to associate a mediocre product with his mission. He believes “You don’t get a pass for having a good cause. You have to have a unique, and differentiated, high-quality product.”

 

What you’ll learn in this episode

• How David learned about human trafficking
• David’s year learning and writing his book
• How Not For Sale started
• Why Not For Sale changed its focus
• How David started the beverage line REBBL
• David’s journey to create the best beverage possible
• Dignita and David’s efforts to provide a different career path to exploited sex workers
• The Not For Sale business model
• Why David wants to change the way Western societies perceive the rest of the world

LINKS

Facebook: @notforsale

Instagram, Twitter: @nfs

Website: https://www.notforsalecampaign.org/

David Batstone on Twitter: @DaveBatstone

 

If you like this topic check out these episodes :

Fairtrade chocolate and supporting farmer cooperatives with Liz Miller from Divine Chcolate  

Superfoods and the effect on the communities they come from with Ann Shin

Farming, feminism, and the fight to feed the world with Trina Moyles

 

And if you like what you’re hearing, consider buying me a cup of coffee. 

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