Happy International Women's Day! This year, there feels like even more of a need to say something, given that the recent headlines concerning certain world leaders, powerful CEO's, and celebrities have exposed such horrific abuses against women and children. This year, it feels much more serious, and so today I wanted to use IWD 2026's theme of 'Give to Gain' to explore some thoughts on what we can do to make meaningful change in the world.

It's very difficult to see top dogs in business hoarding wealth, abusing their power and influence, and exploiting their employees and the environment for profit, and it's hard to ignore that most of these people are extremely wealthy men. It makes you think, maybe it's time to stop supporting these people with our money? Maybe, if we have the capacity, instead of always spending money on the 'easy' option like Amazon, etc., we could invest more in independent, women-owned companies. A lot of these powerful corporations will probably never be held accountable for their wrongdoings, but we can all do something, and that's to redirect our money to small businesses that care about quality and fairness.

There are many barriers that women face in business. For instance, women are less likely to receive funding and investment for start-ups, meaning that we are all lacking new, exciting ideas in business that can contribute to local economies. The women in my life are so creative and full of ideas, whether they run a business or not. We all miss out when women aren't given the same opportunities!

I would also argue that when you buy goods from independent businesses, you then own something that is higher-quality and more meaningful to you, as it is less likely to be mass-produced at speed for maximum profit. A further gain is that it pressures large corporations to do better; it shows them that we, as 'consumers', won't stand for malpractice.

With all this in mind, here are a few women-owned businesses (and friends of ours) that we think you should check out!

Flo-Jo Fabrics- a wonderful haberdashery that also runs sewing classes! If you're in Bristol, give them a visit!

Lush Designs- a gorgeously unique homewares business, featuring illustrated prints inspired by animals and nature.

Poppy Treffry- Poppy is a wonderful textiles designer in Cornwall, creating bags, tea towels, tea cosies and more on a 1930's singer sewing machine.

Rabbit Baby- Hannah's daughter's favourite fashion brand, based in Bristol. The owner, sophie is amazingly talented and creative, and designs beautiful pieces for everyday wear, special occasions, and even designs outfits for musicians to wear onstage.

Happy International Women's Day from all of us at Hannah Turner x