[3] University of North Texas alumni Ryan Schuette and Tara Smith first came upon the idea for fair-trade lingerie after a discussion about their frustrations over a lack of ethically made intimate apparel in the United States.

The two had founded their own separate nonprofits to further development projects in sub-Saharan Africa and wanted to launch a business capable of connecting apparel made by women overseas to U.S.

[6] A conversation with Salah Boukadoum, co-owner of Soap Hope and founder of Good Returns, persuaded Schuette and Smith to adopt his business model for Cherie Amie in 2012.

[7] Under Good Returns, member companies invest all of their dividends as interest-free loans to social enterprises in order to help scale sustainable solutions to pressing world problems.

Securing assistance from Carole Hayes, a Dallas-based boudoir photographer, the two recruited three initial models whom they came to call The Fair Ladies and recorded a 37-second teaser video that served as the face of their campaign.

Writing for Osocio, a nonprofit advertising weblog, Tom Megginson highlighted the "provocative" nature of the teaser video that Cherie Amie uploaded in July 2012, adding that "one can't help but wonder if this kind of western objectification is the best way to support the empowerment of women in the developing world.