I was immediately drawn to this weird pillow-cushion thing that looks like a plant AND is hand-made by South African women who were trained by awesome textile designer (and new hero of mine) Ronel Jordaan. The rad company that carries it is called BE SWEET and is changing women’s lives in South Africa. How inspiring! it’s so great to find a beautiful product on the web and know that the production of it isn’t hurting the environment and IS making a difference in desperate regions of the world because the workers aren’t being exploited but are, in fact, treated well and paid fairly. This is community development that will benefit everyone! Please think about this the next time you want to go shop at Target or IKEA or WAL-MART. Is a factory worker’s misery worth a few extra dollars in your pocket and a cheaper, uglier product in your house? Those gargantuan stores are supposedly “convenient” but they keep money in the hands of the few and everyone else poor.