JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Southwest Airlines unveiled a new exhibition at Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) Friday morning showcasing leather-crafted items created by survivors of human trafficking.
The new exhibit came to life thanks to a partnership with Rethreaded, a Jacksonville nonprofit that employs survivors of human trafficking.
“I founded it because I wanted to give women who have survived human trafficking a place to heal and reclaim their life and be who they created to be,” Kristin Keen, founder of Rethreaded, said.
Keen founded Rethreaded 13 years ago. Since then, the company has employed nearly 100 survivors of human trafficking.
And now, their work is on display at JAX, showcasing their work to recycle the old airplane seats into art and accessories.
“To have this display here in an airport is huge because thousands and thousands of people will walk by it,” Keen said. “What we want people to know is what human trafficking is and there’s hope to come out of human trafficking so the more eyes that can be put on our product and our mission the more women that we can ultimately help.”
The airline and the nonprofit have worked together for over seven years through the Repurpose with Purpose campaign — a sustainability initiative that donates aircraft leather to community organizations to transform it into new products.
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“A lot of hard work and a long-term partnership,” Jason Jones, President at Rethreaded said. “So, it took them following through over the long period of time and then certainly us growing and learning, and the ladies at Rethreaded developing their skills to be able to make this level of product to be able to be in this place.”
The goal of the display is to show people that there is life on the other side of hardship.
“I personally love that we are an upcycling company,” Keen said. “We have saved billions and tons of tons and tons of material from going into landfills and we’ve given a new life so we believe that part of our business to almost be prophetic that we get to give product new life in a similar way that we get to give women opportunity to reclaim their life.”
The items created from the aircraft leather have generated over $1 million in income and provided nearly 30,000 hours of employment and survivor services, the release states.
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The exhibit at JAX is one of ten exhibits across the United States and Costa Rica in honor of the 10th anniversary of Repurpose with Purpose.
The works of art at JAX will be on display until January which is Human Trafficking Awareness Month.
To see the artwork, four display cases can be found on the way to the TSA checkpoint in the airport. Another display can be found down by baggage claim.
If you see anything suspicious you are encouraged to contact airline staff or the non-emergency police line.