Every year, women are trafficked into the U.S. with the promise of a better life, but instead they find themselves sold as labor or sex slaves. It happens in every industry, including nail salons, massage parlors, and spas. January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Month. As nail techs and salon owners, we have the opportunity to raise awareness in our industry and among our clients so we can help rescue women working in what appears to be a salon, but is actually a prison. This January, help raise awareness about how human trafficking happens in the beauty industry, and do your part to abolish modern-day slavery.

Align yourself with other techs. The “Free My Nail Tech” campaign was started by concerned nail techs and industry professionals to raise awareness about this blight on our industry. We believe the beauty industry should empower women, not enslave them. Learn more at freemynailtech.com. Join the movement at facebook.com/freemynailtech and twitter.com/freemynailtech.

Wear orange to show you support the fight against human trafficking. (For example, choose a day in January when all staff wear orange. Buy a ream of orange yarn and wrap the yarn around your wrist as a bracelet. Keep the yarn in the salon so clients can make bracelets too.)

Add the National Trafficking Hotline — (888) 3737-888 — to your phone and call if you suspect a person is being held against her will.

Recognize the signs. The Polaris Project is the leading anti-trafficking agency in the U.S. They list warning signs at polarisproject.org/human-trafficking/recognizing-the-signs.

Educate clients about human trafficking and modern-day slavery. Go to freemynailtech.com to download a free copy of the image above and display it at your station or reception area. You can also download business-sized cards that list facts about human trafficking and warning signs. Hand them out to clients or refer to them in answer to clients’ questions.

For more information on human trafficking in our industry, go to www.nailsmag.com/trafficking.

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