A year after launching its line of t-shirts and tanks, Minneapolis-based brand My Sister has opened its first storefront. Bearing empowering messages—”Stop traffic,” “You Don’t Own Me,” “You’re Not the Boss of Me”—the tees are designed to spark conversation about sex trafficking. Since its founding, My Sister has employed a survivor of trafficking and has given more than $77,000 to MN Girls Are Not For Sale, The Link and Maiti Nepal, and all sales of its t-shirts, lip balms, tanks and jewelry benefit the fight against sex trafficking.
Tucked in an alleyway off West Lake Street in Uptown, the shop also sells goods by other companies and makers from around the U.S. that support organizations that fight sex trafficking and domestic violence by donating a portion of their proceeds. They include Florida-based nail polish brand Hue, jewelry and small leather goods by California-based Dear Survivor, handmade soaps and skincare by Brooklyn’s Flynn & King and Atlanta’s Revive Bath & Body, and colorful fringed jewelry by Chicago-based Boo Boo Factory. Other brands the store carries employ survivors of sex trafficking and refugees to create colorful woven bags and hand-dyed scarves, or send girls in India to school with their profits. This weekend, My Sister will also debut its newest designs, including tees reading “Girl Power” and “Thirteen”—a reference to the average age of U.S. girls when they are first trafficked that the brand’s co-founder Mandy Multerer hopes will be a talking point.
The shop opens this weekend in conjunction with World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, Saturday, July 30, a day to raise awareness of human trafficking. Both Saturday and Sunday, My Sister is donating a t-shirt to a survivor of sex trafficking or homeless youth with every purchase, and anyone who visits the store this weekend and shows they participated in the ongoing #igivehope social media campaign to raise awareness of human trafficking can receive a free My Sister metallic temporary tattoo. On Saturday, enjoy donuts from Angel Food Bakery and cold treats from JonnyPops, plus a cookie bar from Thumbs Cookies on Sunday, plus cold press all weekend from Big Watt Coffee.
10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sat., July 30 and noon-5 p.m. Sun., July 31, 1612 ½ W. Lake St., Minneapolis, mysister.org
