When you buy a silk Goddess Scarf from the online retailer Gianna Fair Trade, not only are you getting a stylish new accessory, you're also helping Mae Ta, the Laotian mother of five who made the garment, send her children to school. That's because a percentage of the garment's $59 retail price goes right back to Ta. Gianna Driver, the company's 28-year-old founder, feels the plight of women like Ta acutely. Her own mother came to the United States as a mail-order bride from the Philippines; she later fled her abusive husband and sought refuge with her daughter in a women's shelter in East Texas. read more