New Kensington gift shop, Ethical Hope, seeks to make a difference around the world

Each of the items for sale in Meredith Hedeen’s New Kensington gift shop has a story behind it.

They come from all over the world: hand-painted ceramics made in home studios in San Juan de Oriente, a town in Nicaragua; hand-sewn goods made by a seamstress at a cooperative workshop in La Esperanza, Guatemala, one of more than 60 women there facing poverty, crime and violence throughout their neighborhoods.

There is pottery made in Alabama by women fleeing homelessness, domestic abuse and sex trafficking. The jars of honey are made by women who have survived addiction, sex trafficking, generational poverty and abuse.

And there is Hedeen’s own story. She has a cousin whose fate is unknown. Hedeen doesn’t know if she’s alive or dead and used that pain as the impetus for creating her business, Ethical Hope.

The thousands of products Hedeen sells are made by some who’ve survived the unimaginable and others wanting better lives. They include home goods, home decor, garden items, children’s toys, apparel, jewelry, purses, and bath and body products.

Nearly all are handmade.

“I don’t want someone to feel hopeless, which is where our name came from,” she said.

Hedeen, 42, of Plum started Ethical Hope in 2018 with an online store and by attending markets.

She and her husband, John, an electrical contractor, have three daughters: Anna, 15; Ivy, 13; and Ella, 11. A former teacher in the Plum and Franklin Regional school districts, Hedeen homeschools her children. She is an assistant swim coach at the Sampson Family YMCA in Plum and works part time for Plum Borough as a recreation assistant helping to promote events.

Her first plan for a storefront in Pittsburgh’s Highland Park neighborhood was thwarted in 2020 by the covid-19 pandemic.

She found her way to New Kensington after attending a fall craft show at Knead Community Cafe. She got in touch with Olde Towne Overhaul, leading to her setting up for the holidays in the Kenmar Suites on Fifth Avenue. After Christmas, she closed for four months to remodel the former office space and then reopened in April.

Hedeen became more aware of the issues of human trafficking and sex trafficking as she started researching what may have happened to her cousin, who she said had mental health issues and fears could have become a victim of trafficking after running away to meet a man she met online.

Efforts to find her have failed, and the family doesn’t know where she is, Hedeen said.

“I always hope that, if I can’t help her, I can help somebody in a similar situation and help get them out,” she said.

She learned how trafficking and poverty are intertwined and how much of an issue it is in the U.S. and around the world.

“I’m not someone who can learn information and not do something about it,” she said. “As the mom of three daughters, the more I learned about trafficking and the sale of children, that was something I had to do something about.

“There’s so much people have turned a blind eye to for a long time. We’re at the point we can’t keep turning away. The biggest thing is not just recognizing there is a need, but doing something about it, even if it’s something little.”

While notebooks from Sri Lanka with paper made from elephant poop are certainly unusual, Hedeen is drawn to pottery, which includes things such as the ring dishes made in Alabama by Prodigal Pottery.

“Sometimes you can see the fingerprints,” she said. “Each one is unique.”

Founded in 2015, Prodigal Pottery employs up to 14 women at a time who are from King’s Home, a shelter for women fleeing homelessness and domestic abuse, and Wellhouse, a safe house for women fleeing sex trafficking. They’re both outside Birmingham, co-director Amanda Claridy said.

“There’s more women that need work than we’re able to employ,” Claridy said. “We don’t have the space.”

Ethical Hope is one of 1,385 wholesalers carrying Prodigal Pottery’s products, Claridy said. They sell in every state and three other countries.

“Without our wholesalers, we wouldn’t be in business at all,” Claridy said. “All of our profits support their salaries. It’s how we’re able to keep ethical jobs for these women.

“It’s a piece of pottery, but it’s so much more than that. It’s a piece of healing.”

Hedeen hopes to outgrow her space and have room for activities and events, such as kids crafts, movie nights and book clubs.

“I’d love to have people want to do more, to learn more and really reach into the community and help with their needs and find a way to give to others and others’ needs,” she said.