As many of you know, we started Winki to say ‘no’ to wedgies in the surf and join the fight against human trafficking in the Philippines. As lovers of the sea and people, our passion is to create ethically made surf suits & apparel, whilst positively contributing to the livelihood of our beautiful makers.

In the early days of dreaming up Winki, we were searching for a way we could have an impact through the creation of our wedgie-proof and vintage-inspired suits. We were both led to The Blessed Project in unique, individual ways and after talking to the team there, (who at the time were desperate for partners), we knew we had our answer! This road towards partnership has been a long one. We were creating samples for 12 months before we launched in April 2019 and the language barrier and lack of sewing experience (from both parties) meant it took a while before we had perfected our products. 

The Blessed Project understand the profound journey of recovery for young women rescued from human trafficking. Their mission goes beyond stitches, its about stitching together hope, empowerment and a brighter future. Through offering meaningful employment and a safe home, they are empowering women to rebuild their lives with dignity and purpose, one stitch at a time. 

To understand the incredible work the Blessed House does, here is a recent story: 

“Sarah and her family lived in the streets of Manila. At 9 years old, Sarah's mum would pimp her out to customers along the street. At 10 years old she started working in bars, where she was rescued by a partner organisation and stayed there for 5 years. Sarah was diagnosed with delayed intellectual disability and developmental neglect, which affects her social functioning. Since being at The Blessed Project, Sarah has shown determination and wants to be financially independent to support her siblings. She has been given the opportunity for employment in the Blessed sewing facility. This way she can continue on her road to restoration and help her siblings heal as well."

 

So, what is Winki actually doing to support The Blessed Project?

The Blessed Project makes 100% of our apparel 

Our tees & sweatshirts are hand made with love by these beautiful women.  Winki provides a stream of employment and income each month by restocking and designing new pieces to be made. As a way to connect our Winki community with our makers on the other side of the world, the maker of each piece has stitched her name onto the inside tag. This creates an opportunity for our customers to read the incredible and heart breaking stories of the Blessed Project survivors. Keep an eye out next time we launch apparel and please know that your purchases are helping the livelihoods of these beautiful women! To read our makers stories, visit our Meet Your Maker page. 

Helping with wages

Since The Blessed Project lost their funding from a larger organisation in 2021, cash has been tight and they’re having to turn women and children away simply because they can’t afford to house them. The Blessed Project employs two full-time sewers to help train the women and as a business we pay the monthly wage of one of these full-time sewers. This alleviates a bit of financial pressure and also means there will always be someone to help the women learning to sew.

Sponsoring Women at The Blessed House

The Winki team individually sponsors a few of the beautiful women at The Blessed House. Many of the women and children need sponsoring. This helps to pay for their schooling, university, text-books, a social worker, necessary therapy and food and housing. Please get in touch at hello@winkisuits.com if you’re interested in sponsoring a woman or child on a monthly basis.

100% Profit Days 

Each year we will have 3 days where 100% of our profits are donated directly to The Blessed House. There are endless projects to be done around the Blessed House and our 100% profit days really help. We always report back with updates on how the money has been spent alongside images from the team in the Philippines. 

Helping source other businesses to partner with The Blessed Project

We’re currently trying to get in touch with some established businesses who would be willing to have their totes, tees or products made by the women at The Blessed Project. Please get in touch with us if you know of someone who would be interested! 

When Winki was first born, we were manufacturing all of our suits in the Philippines.  Due to a range of business and shipping challenges back in 2022, we decided to bring our suit manufacturing onshore and begin supporting the Blessed Project in the above ways. This was a tough decision for Winki but necessary to enable business growth and an ongoing ability to support the Blessed Project.

We hope this helps you understand a little more about what we’re doing to support The Blessed Project. As always, thank you for your support and patience with us. We’re blown away by this growing Winki community of women around the globe! 

Love Kip & the Winki Team x

P.S. see our Instagram video of the Blessed Project here.