The clothing you are wearing may have traveled farther than you ever will, especially if you own a Sisa bracelet. These roll-on bead bracelets, sold at multiple St. Louis boutiques, travel nearly 8,000 miles from Kathmandu, Nepal, to dress up your wrists in every color imaginable. Nepali women crochet the bracelets by hand using glass beads from the Czech Republic. Sisa, which is pronounced “SEE-sa,” means “glass” in the Nepali language.
But Sisa bracelets are not only beautiful; They also give back to the Nepali community in two ways. Aire Showroom, a wholesale business based in Dallas that sells to contemporary stores across the country, purchases the bracelets from a fair trade supplier. The company also donates a percentage of the monthly sales of the bracelets to Friends of Maiti Nepal, the U.S. arm of a nongovernmental organization that seeks to end the trafficking of women and girls in the Himalayan nation. Maiti Nepal operates shelters in Kathmandu, where rescued women can get medical care and job training. The organization also works with local law enforcement to prevent sex traffickers from crossing Nepal’s borders.
“Since the Nepali women are the ones making the bracelets, we felt it was important to give back an additional percentage so that these women, their children and their communities would receive additional support from the sales being created here in the U.S." says Laura Ivins of Aire Showroom.
Look for Sisa Nepal bracelets at Blush Boutique (110 N. Clay, 314-965-4411), Cha Boutique (9666 Clayton, 314-993-8080), Laurie Solet Boutique (multiple locations), and Splash (8811 Ladue, Ste. B, 314-721-6442).
If it’s difficult to pick just one bracelet, that’s OK. Your purchase helps support some of Nepal’s most vulnerable people. Plus, they provide a pop of color for any outfit.
