Tassatag Project Director
CurrentAfter attending the 1993 UN Human Rights Conference (Vienna) as a representative of a Children’s Rights Organization and the 1995 UN Women's Conference (Beijing), I realized I wanted to do something to address the sexual trafficking of women and children. This had been a major topic at both conferences. What could I do? I had been a teacher, a travel agent, a foreign student advisor, a storyteller, a cross-cultural educator, and an advocate for responsible tourism. I decided to build upon my travel industry experience. After all, the promoters of sex slavery and trafficking of children took advantage of this industry. What better than a large, bright, and beautiful luggage tag! To counter this dark issue, the tags needed to be beautiful; they needed to represent the beauty of the children who were the victims. For the logo, I wanted the beauty and delicate strength of a flower. Since the daisy was the only flower I could draw, that image became the focus. Upon the advice of my son, I drew the daisy with one petal falling; the single petal looked like a tear. Nature wept for its own while maintaining its beauty and strength. To begin the move from concept to finished product, I worked with advisors from the San Francisco and Napa College Small Business Development Centers. I also received assistance from the Sawyer Center in Santa Rosa regarding prototype development and trademark.The tags had to be in bright, bold colors and of sustainable fabric. Manufacturing had to meet the criteria for Fair Trade. I contacted the Regina Center in Nongkhai, Thailand.I now had a plan and a product. I was ready to contact the ECPT-USA. The director said to me, "Can you start yesterday?" Often when we hear the words sex slavery and trafficking, we think, “How horrible, but what can I do?” Now, with a TassaTag™, you can do something about it.
