#2legit2knit

Krochet Kids intl. works toward empowering women in Uganda and Peru with the assets, skills, and knowledge to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. With that mission, Krochet Kids intl. falls into a few specific categories. They are known as a non-profit, ethical or sustainable fashion, and fair trade, but what do all those labels mean?

Rosalie Roberts is a Retail Support Intern this term and hopes to eventually open up her own fair trade clothing store. Learn what Rosalie’s definition of fair trade is and why it is important to shop fair trade:

Q: What is your definition of fair trade?

A: The technical definition is everyone associated with making the product has acceptable working conditions. But my definition would be caring about everyone involved in making the products.

Q: What was the deciding factor to shop only fair trade clothing brands?

A: It definitely started after I watched the documentaries “True Cost” and “Food Inc.”. It started to make me skeptical of what companies deserve my support and I also thought it was cool knowing that my purchases are directly helping a cause that I find to be very important.

Q: What are you hoping to learn from Krochet Kids intl. that you can use for your own store in the future?

A: I’m hoping to learn the business side of it, including how to market products and how the financial side works. On top of that, I’m excited to learn more about how the relationship between the maker of the clothes and the shopper can develop and how big of an impact that can be.

Q: Why do you think more people should shop fair trade?

A: I believe most people want to reduce poverty around the world, but they would rather make a simple donation to an organization yet they don’t realize that their daily spending habits are a big factor in why there is a huge poverty issue worldwide. Shopping fair trade can make a difference with each purchase and keep us from supporting companies that overlook the well-being of the people who make the products.

When you move to a new city, state, even country, you want to explore everything and anything. You want to dive into the culture or find the best pizza joint. You have this huge long list of all the great things you are going to do and then.....time flies by and you did maybe 3 out 100 activities you wanted to discover. Us interns have that exact ambitious mindset about exploring our California backyard. Here are a few tips on how to get things done and see everything:

-Make a list. Have all your roommates and friends write down all the places they want to go to and put it on a board so you can start checking things off your list. Try to check at least one activity off each week.

-Plan ahead. Not everyone will have the same schedules. Some people might have friends in the area and plans with them or maybe they are making a trip home or away, so plan ahead so that no one misses out on the awesome times.

-Check the weather. Some activities might be better in the sun like camping or hiking and even though California is known for its sunny days, it doesn’t mean they don’t have a couple rainy ones. 

-Plan WAY AHEAD for big trips. If everyone is down for an overnight trip to Joshua Tree or maybe a trip to Big Sur, plan way ahead because those trips require a lot more planning with where you are going to stay and if you need to pack a lot of food or equipment.

-Use your resources. Ask around about cool places to go that maybe only people that have lived in the area for 10+ years know about. 

-Bring a camera. This is a great chance to create some great memories and for us KK intl. interns we love getting pictures with our products to report back to work with on Monday. Grab a beanie or three and get some nice shots to brag to all your friends and family about how cool your life is.

-Go local. Not everything has to be so far away. Check out your local area if you don’t feel like sitting in the car all day. Even just doing a #TacoTuesday or going to a local restaurant to do a trivia night, it still counts as a cool activity you are all doing together. Also always have cash on you for tacos, always!

-HAVE FUN! We work hard during the week so we can play extra hard on the weekends. You may be tired after a long week but sleep is for the weak and days are meant to be filled with exploring.

From us to you,

It’s starting to finally hit. Only two months left to call ourselves Krochet Kids interns, two more months of walking in and out of our Costa Mesa Headquarters, seeing each other every single day and living two feet away from the beach. It’s scary and exciting all in one. Scary because we’ve lived this lifestyle for the past three months and California has become a home away from home. Scary because the inevitable question keeps looming around in our minds, what am I doing after the internship? 

It may be scary for some, but also it might be an exciting new feeling of not knowing what lies ahead. We’ve learned so much and this could be the stepping stone toward the next great opportunity. We are all excited to see where each other will go after this experience and we all hope to see each other soon after. Maybe visits to each others hometown’s will be our next great adventure, I mean we are only a car or plane ride away (and a country away for some).

We did it! We survived a weekend of 90+ degrees of desert heat. We saw some rocks and even more....rocks. But in all seriousness, Joshua Tree is one cool place and the town itself is just as interesting (go to Pie For the People if you want pizza slices bigger than your head). It was definitely a solid weekend of bonding for us interns, filled with laughs, a lot of water, and of course plenty of #kkioutside photo shoots. Hear what some of us interns thought about Joshua Tree: 

“The moon was lit! It was definitely hotter then I expected though.”

-Patience Ekuta [Customer Care Intern]

“I loved the intense rock formations! I had a lot of fun climbing up the rocks and getting to experience an incredible 360 degree view.”

-Ursula Kressibucher [Customer Care Intern]

“It feels like you are on Mars. I would definitely like to go back one day and experience Joshua Tree again.”

-Zoe Nightingale [Social Media Intern]

Team building exercise: build a campfire. Where are you off to this weekend?

Our California backyard ☀️️