Sewing gowns and saving lives are both included in a Cincinnati-based bridal shop’s business model.
Renée Grace Bridal, co-founded by husband and wife Steve and Teresa Eklund, donates a percentage of every single dress sale to international organizations that combat human trafficking.
“What we're trying to do is structure a company around something greater than ourselves but that also involves beauty in itself,” Steve Eklund tells CityBeat.
Teresa Eklund, the bridal shop’s head designer, has had more than 30 years of experience with customizing wedding gowns. Now featuring 70 gown designs in her own store, Teresa says that the bridal shop combines her passion for high fashion, creativity, and classic beauty.
In 2016, Renée Grace Bridal began as a manufacturer that primarily sold its dresses to other bridal shops, but after the COVID-19 pandemic caused a delay in wholesales, the shop opened its own storefront in late 2020.
When Teresa would dream about opening her own store, she explains, she always wanted the business to implement an essential sense of altruism into its model.
A decade ago, she and Steve first began learning more about human trafficking, which eventually grew into a focus for the couple. During her research, Teresa visited several locations in India and Moldova to learn more about the issue but soon realized that it wasn’t just contained in other countries.
“It is very much an issue for the United States, as well, and I wanted to be able to have our dresses and have the proceeds from our dresses make an impact on that issue,” Teresa says.
As defined by the U.S. Homeland Security, human trafficking involves “the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex.” Millions of people are projected to be trafficked worldwide, including those in the United States. In 2019, the U.S. human trafficking hotline reported 11,500 cases. Overwhelmingly, most of the victims of commercial sex and labor trafficking are women and young girls, according to the American Psychological Association.
Originally, Teresa traveled to India and Moldova to look into hiring rescued women, but she discovered that custom design and dressmaking is above the common survivor’s skillset. Instead, she decided to give back to organizations that are raising awareness of human trafficking and are actively rescuing victims across the world.
“It’s just a diabolical, unbelievable thing that's happening in our world today, and there's more going on today than there ever had been before,” Steve says.
Clothing manufacturing is one of the largest industries that are likely to utilize trafficked labor. With the rise of fast fashion trends, manufacturers began using inexpensive materials and inexpensive labor. At Renée Grace Bridal, all of the dresses are designed and manufactured in Cincinnati by salaried employees. Teresa says it is extremely important to her that her dresses be ethically-made.
With every dress sold, a percentage of the proceeds is donated to two organizations, the A21 Campaign and Dressember. The A21 Campaign raises awareness of the issue and partners with authorities to rescue trafficked individuals around the world. The global organization also provides aftercare resources to survivors, including relocation services and housing accommodations. Dressember is an international awareness campaign designed to encourage the general public to research more into human trafficking.
Teresa and Steve chose these companies after extensive research, and they are open to expanding their organizational partners in the future.
The specific percentage of the sale depends on the dress. According to Steve, their business model invites other people to take their first step in making a difference. Every gown from Renée Grace Bridal carries the legacy that the customer directly contributed to the fight against human trafficking, he explains.
While the ultimate goal of this program is to end human trafficking, Teresa says wider awareness of the issue in the United States would help bring more resources and attention to the victims.
“I think that we, especially as Americans, don't think it can happen here and we don't really understand that it's still happening,” Teresa says. “It happens in every country all over the world, and so if we can begin to open up people's eyes to realize that there are women, children, and men whose freedoms are taken away and they're in bondage, it can help educate them.”
For more info about the shop and its mission, visit reneegrace.com.
Renée Grace Bridal is located at 11176 Main St., Sharonville.
