Nest is Building the Modern Handworker Economy, the Second Largest Employer of Women Globally

In episode 59 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, I speak with Rebecca van Bergen, Founder and Executive Director of Nest, a nonprofit building a new handworker economy to advance global workforce inclusivity, women’s wellbeing beyond factories, and cultural preservation.

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Rebecca graduated with her Masters Degree in Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, in 2006, the same year that Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in microfinance.

Following her passion to turn craft, the 2nd largest employer of women globally, into a means to correct the gender and income imbalance in our world, she founded Nest at age 24.

Rebecca’s accolades include being a Draper Richards Kaplan Social Entrepreneur, a Cordes Fellow, and recipient of the Ashoka and C&A Foundation’s 2016 Fabric of Change Award for innovation in fashion sustainability (received recently at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit). She is a Levi Strauss & Co. Collaboratory Fellow, Draper Richards Kaplan Fellow, and has been spotlighted by the New York mayor’s office as an NYC Catalyst.

She was selected as one of twelve of GLG’s 2015 Social Impact fellows and received Clinton Global Initiative complimentary membership in 2015 and 2016. Rebecca is regularly quoted in international media stories for The New York Times, NPR, Quartz, The Guardian, ELLE, Glamour, and more.

She has been honored as a PBS “Changemaker,” CNN’s Young Person Who Rocks, and one of the White House’s’ Top 100 Entrepreneurial Enterprises led by a young person.

About Nest

Nest is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) supporting the responsible growth and creative engagement of the artisan & maker economy to build a world of greater gender equity and economic inclusion.

Through programs that support the wellbeing of artisans both in the United States and globally, Nest is bringing radical transparency and opportunity to the informal handworker economy.

Full Interview

[00:00]

Host (Grant):

What’s up, everybody! This is Grant from Causeartist. Welcome to another episode of Disruptors for Good. Today, we’re speaking with Rebecca van Bergen, founder and executive director of Nest, a nonprofit building a new handworker economy to support the global workforce, particularly women. Rebecca graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2006 with a degree in social work, the same year Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize for microfinance, which was an inspiration for her. She founded Nest at the young age of 24, and her passion to correct gender income imbalances through craft has driven the organization ever since.

Rebecca and her team have worked tirelessly to connect artisans—particularly women—with larger markets, helping them sell their products, such as ethical, handcrafted goods, to brands like Target, William Sonoma, and others. Nest’s mission has grown to include a certification process that ensures ethical practices, giving consumers confidence that the products they buy are made with dignity and sustainability in mind. In this episode, Rebecca talks about the challenges artisans face, how Nest navigated COVID-19, and what the future holds for the ethical handcraft industry.

Before we jump in, just a quick update: The jobs board is back up at Causeartist.com. I’m also working on Social Impact Wire, a wire service for social impact news. Keep an eye out for that! Now, onto the episode.

[08:03]

Host (Grant):

Rebecca, I usually like to start with the journey, so let’s go back to the beginning. How did Nest come about, and what led you to focus on the artisan workforce?

Rebecca van Bergen:

My background is in social work, and I initially thought I’d be doing direct practice, like therapy. But I was also really interested in international development. When I graduated, Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in microfinance, and at the time, microfinance was being hailed as a solution to poverty. But from a social work perspective, I saw that loans alone wouldn’t solve the problem—people also needed capacity-building, market access, and business development support. That’s where the idea for Nest came from.

I was particularly interested in women and families, and globally, women are often involved in craft. Craft is the second-largest employer of women worldwide, so it seemed like a natural fit. My grandmother and great-grandmother were quilters, so I also felt a personal connection to craft. Fourteen years later, our mission is still to support artisan businesses and help them access markets, though our model has evolved.

[09:35]

Host (Grant):

That’s incredible! Craft being the second-largest employer of women is a powerful stat. Can you explain what Nest does and how it helps artisans?

Rebecca van Bergen:

Nest’s mission is to support market access and development for artisan enterprises around the world. We run several programs to do this. At the core is our Artisan Guild, which is an open-access network of over 1,000 businesses in more than 100 countries. It’s free to join, and businesses provide information about their challenges so we can funnel resources to them. One of our key programs is our pro bono consulting initiative, where volunteers help with things like building e-commerce websites or developing pricing strategies.

We also run an accelerator program where we select 10 businesses each year for more in-depth support. Another initiative is Makers United, which focuses on building diversity and inclusivity in the U.S. maker movement. Additionally, we have an Ethical Handcraft program, where we work with companies to integrate artisan sourcing into their supply chains in a transparent way, ensuring ethical practices.

[12:33]

Host (Grant):

It’s amazing how you’re working with big companies like Target to bring ethical products to more consumers. Can you talk about what those conversations are like? Are big brands receptive to this approach?

Rebecca van Bergen:

It’s been an interesting journey. When I started Nest 14 years ago, artisanal products weren’t mainstream. But now, there’s much more consumer demand for ethically made, handcrafted goods. Big companies are definitely more open to integrating artisans into their supply chains, especially as consumers push for sustainability and transparency. Brands like Target and West Elm are realizing that artisanal goods can be scalable and accessible, which is important for making the ethical fashion movement mainstream. We’re really excited about the potential for growth in this space.

[16:55]

Host (Grant):

It’s encouraging to see how much the industry has evolved. You mentioned the importance of scale—how do you help artisans, especially in developing countries, access markets and grow their businesses?

Rebecca van Bergen:

Many artisans are highly skilled in their craft but don’t have the business skills needed to scale. That’s where we come in. We provide a lot of business development support, helping them understand things like profit and loss statements, scaling strategies, and human resources. Another big area is sales and marketing. Many artisans need help accessing bigger markets, and we work to connect them with brands and consumers.

Through our guild, we offer a range of services tailored to the different needs of artisans, from solo makers to large cooperatives. One of our big initiatives during COVID-19 was helping artisans pivot to selling online, especially as many wholesale orders were canceled or delayed. We launched a grant program to help artisans build e-commerce websites, which has been a lifeline for many.

[22:33]

Host (Grant):

COVID-19 has definitely forced a lot of businesses to adapt. Can you share more about the challenges artisans have faced during the pandemic?

Rebecca van Bergen:

It’s been incredibly tough. Many artisans rely on wholesale orders, but with stores closing, those orders were either canceled or indefinitely delayed. For artisans who sell at local markets, that income disappeared as well. To help, we launched a PPE purchasing initiative, where artisans with textile and tailoring skills could make masks and other PPE for their communities. We’ve also been providing grants to help them build e-commerce websites so they can continue to sell directly to consumers. It’s been a tough time, but we’ve been able to keep thousands of artisans employed through these efforts.

[24:07]

Host (Grant):

Let’s talk about the certification process. How does the Nest Seal of Ethical Handcraft work, and why did you decide to create it?

Rebecca van Bergen:

Most artisans work from home or in small workshops, which doesn’t fit the traditional factory model. In the past, many companies had “no-homework” policies, which were designed to prevent child labor but often pushed home-based work underground. We realized there was no set of standards for home-based work, so we developed one with input from brands like Patagonia, Target, and others. It took us about three years to write and pilot the standards, and now we offer the Nest Seal of Ethical Handcraft.

The seal is important because it gives companies the transparency they need to work with home-based artisans. The process involves an initial training period, followed by a formal assessment where we verify compliance with the standards. It’s not easy to pass, but it ensures that home-based work is ethical and transparent.

[32:37]

Host (Grant):

It sounds like the certification process has been a huge undertaking. What’s the decision-making process like when adding new programs or initiatives to Nest?

Rebecca van Bergen:

We’re very entrepreneurial as an organization, and we try to stay flexible and responsive to the changing needs of the market and our partners. The certification program came about because big brands wanted to integrate artisans into their supply chains but needed a way to ensure ethical practices. Other programs, like our COVID relief efforts, came about because our artisans were struggling, and we needed to adapt quickly to support them.

We always try to keep our mission at the forefront, but we also recognize that the world is constantly changing. For us, it’s about finding the balance between staying true to our mission and evolving to meet new challenges.

[35:02]

Host (Grant):

Looking back, what are some of the biggest successes you’re proud of?

Rebecca van Bergen:

There have been so many! When I started Nest at 23 in a studio apartment in St. Louis, I had no connections in the fashion industry or with funders. So to see where we are now, with an office in Manhattan and 17 employees, it feels surreal. One of the biggest milestones was launching our compliance program at the United Nations. Standing on that stage with our partners from brands like West Elm, Target, and others was a moment I’ll never forget.

More recently, I’m really proud of our COVID relief efforts. We’ve been able to distribute almost a million dollars in grants to artisans and produced over 200,000 masks, keeping 4,000 people employed. Hearing stories like refugees in Seattle getting their first U.S. paycheck because of our program—it’s moments like that that keep me going.

[38:41]

Host (Grant):

That’s incredible! I can imagine there have also been moments of frustration or despair, especially when dealing with the darker sides of the fashion industry. How have you navigated those challenges?

Rebecca van Bergen:

There have definitely been tough moments. The inequities in the fashion industry—and in poverty more broadly—can feel overwhelming at times. Seeing firsthand how much people are struggling can be hard, especially when we’re raising money from one group of people to support another. But we try to stay focused on what we can do each day to move forward. I’m a big believer in the power of lists and setting actionable goals. You can’t always see the mountain in the distance—you just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

[41:52]

Host (Grant):

I love that. As we wrap up, what does the future of Nest look like? I know you don’t love five-year plans, but what’s on the horizon, even if it’s just for next week?

Rebecca van Bergen:

[Laughs] Yes, I’m not a fan of long-term plans! But I think one of the silver linings of this pandemic is that people are starting to see the value of home-based work. Our hope is that in the future, home-based work will be seen as the future of employment, not something antiquated. We want to create a world where companies value the flexibility and empowerment that comes with working from home, especially for women. If we can change the narrative around home-based work and show its potential, that would be a huge success.

[46:01]

Host (Grant):

Thank you so much for sharing your story, Rebecca. What you and Nest are doing is incredibly inspiring, and I’m excited to see what the future holds for you and the organization!

Rebecca van Bergen:

Thank you, Grant! It was a pleasure talking with you.