In the midst of current global economical & social issues [wow, that was the most deep / political sentence I think I've ever written], the spotlight has been shone on fashion labels & big name brands. And some of them are stepping up.
These select few are making the headlines for other, positive reasons [rather than yet another scandal or outrage off the back of a documentary] - for things like making a difference in terms of the wider community and tackling social issues. For example, Lacoste recently announced that they'd be adopting a temporary logo to help raise awareness for endangered species; offering limited editions of each animal adorned garment in relation to how many of the species there are left in the wild.
Let's have a lil nose at who else in the fashion world is out there trying to fight for good.
Photo by Artem Bali from Pexels
Tighter gun control — Gucci [yaaaaaas Gucci 🙌]
Gucci has properly taken the time to show its support for this worthy cause in recent years - they legit donated half a million dollars in support of tighter gun control. Which is something that I firmly believe in.
Gucci announced that it would be helping the cause following a [yet another] tragic school shooting in February this year at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School; which resulted in the death of 17 people. It’s possible that Gucci’s generous donation was motivated by the death of Gucci salesman, Javier Jorge-Reyes, and injury of Gucci store manager, Leonel Melendez Jr — both one again at the hands of gun violence.
Talking about the March For Our Lives campaign, a statement for Gucci said: “We stand with March For Our Lives and the fearless students across the country who demand that their lives and safety become a priority. We have all been directly or indirectly impacted by these senseless tragedies, and Gucci is proud to join this movement with a donation of $500,000.”
By contributing to the cause, Gucci are making their opinion on gun control heard — commemorating the lives of those lost to gun violence and those who campaign for stricter laws. Gotta lot of respect for that.
Photo by Artem Bali from Pexels
Watch Hunger Stop — Michael Kors
Michael Kors launched their Watch Hunger Stop movement in 2013; to aid the fight against world hunger. According to the Michael Kors website, they’ve helped the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) deliver 15 million meals to children in need. Which is awesome.
There are many ways that people can donate to this fab cause — through the purchase of a timepiece, via Snapchat using a store geofilter or through posting a photo wearing a Watch Hunger Stop T-shirt. Each action donates a certain amount of money and corresponding meals to children in need — the programme supports 16 million children over 70 different countries. Bravo, MK.
The Prince’s Trust — Charles Tyrwhitt
Retailers of men’s shirts & boasting a good old men's dress shirt department; Charles Tyrwhitt (also referred to as CT Shirts), has dedicated a lot of time and effort into helping The Prince’s Trust. The Prince's Trust [TPT as I'm gonna call it moving forward, cos major ceebs keep typing that!] is a charity based in the United Kingdom, founded in 1976 by Charles, Prince of Wales. It mostly focuses on helping vulnerable people get their lives back on track and find work. Again, another very worthy cause that I totally stan.
The brand released a special collection of scarves, ties, umbrellas and - of course their iconic shirts — all dedicated to raising funds for the charity. Where each item in the collection is sold, £5 is donated to TPT.
This isn’t all that they’ve done for the charity either. Employees at Charles Tyrwhitt are also involved with raising money themselves. In fact, business founder Nick Wheeler managed to raise over £100,000 when he completed an 874-mile bike ride from Land’s End to John O’ Groats in the UK. Members of the company attend & recruit individuals through TPT's ‘Get Hired’ Days; which is where young people who have been through The Trust’s programmes have found themselves now ready to move into work and are actively seeking it.
Photo by Bruce Mars from Pexels
Sustainable fashion — Stella McCartney
Many people recognise Stella McCartney for her approach to ethical fashion. She continually makes a difference with regards to environmental fashion and sustainability. Using the latest in eco-friendly technology, Stella changes attitudes to sustainable fashion and demonstrates how eco-fashion can be done RIGHT.
Her brand avoids the use of leather or fur; instead, innovating with new types of materials. Take her latest swimwear range for example, which is in partnership with Adidas [slay, queen.] All the swimsuits in this fab collection are made from Lycra Xtra Lite fabric - which is resistant to chlorine and uses recycled Parley Ocean Plastic yarn.
Stella announced her partnership with Colorifix in April 2018; she's working closely with them to reduce the environmental impact of the dyeing process. They manage to achieve this by isolating the DNA that creates colour in nature; which uses 10 times less water than the traditional process.
Save Our Species — Lacoste
At the start of 2018, Lacoste launched their #LacosteSaveOurSpecies campaign [something we touched upon briefly at the start of this post.] As part of this, the lux brand replaced their classic crocodile logo with images of endangered species on their classic polo shirts instead.
This campaign was started to mark a three-year partnership between Lacoste and the International Union for Conservation of Nature — whose mission it is to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature. Which is something so, so important to me personally. Lacoste offered limited editions of each polo shirt in the collection; produced in numbers relating to how many of the species there are left in the wild. Their new logos were designed using the same green colouring and style as the Lacoste iconic crocodile.
How did they choose which animals to include? The animals chosen were 10 of the most threatened species on the planet; the Vaquita, Burmese Turtle, Northern Sportive Lemur, Javan Rhino, Kakapo, Cao-vit Gibbon, California Condor, Saola, Sumatran Tiger and the Anegada Ground Iguana. Love you endangered boos!
Lacoste's limited polo shirts were released during the brand’s runway show at Paris Fashion Week - and they sold out immediately. The money from the shirts was donated towards the fight for wildlife conservation worldwide; and that makes my heart very happy.
*Collaborative post - for more information on what this means, please see my Disclaimer
Sources
https://www.gq.com/story/gucci-gun-control-donation http://destinationkors.michaelkors.com/kors-cares/watch-hunger-stop/15-million-meals/
https://www.stellamccartney.com/experience/en/sustainable-swimwear-from-adidas-by-stella-mccartney/
https://www.ctshirts.com/uk/prince’s-trust-ct/
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