This Thursday, February 9, Madison Brentwood and Warm Giving are holding a fun-filled night of charitable shopping to help raise funds for the Foundation for Women’s Cancer. The event runs from 6-8pm, see invite for additional details.
Promoting "advocacy through industry", social enterprise Apolis equips and empowers people by offering them access to hands-on opportunity instead of just charity.
In addition to projects in Nepal and Bangladesh, the Uganda Project is making waves with its cotton initiative. Partnering with non-profit organization Invisible Children, Apolis is dedicated to rebuilding Uganda's cotton industry, which had been declining since the 1970s due to civil war in the north of the country.
Founded in 2010, the microeconomic program employs formerly displaced Ugandans to become stakeholders in rebuilding Uganda's once-strong cotton business. Invisible Children's philosophy is to integrate sustainable development into supply chains, bringing new meaning to corporate responsibility. The organic crops serve to nourish and cultivate the land, as well as its people.
Filson has also partnered with Apolis and Invisible Children, using cotton that was grown, milled, woven and dyed in Uganda for its fashionable briefcases and totes.
Amethyst Jeans is in full holiday mode, and what better way to celebrate the spirit than by giving back to the community. The Connecticut-based denim brand for juniors is inviting everyone to participate in exchange for a pair of brand new jeans. Teaming up with New England grocer Big Y for "Food For Fashion" (a food donation drive benefitting Foodshare of Connecticut), Amethyst is seeking donations of Big Y Sack Hunger bags, pantry items or monetary donations, in exchange for a brand spanking new pair of Amethyst Jeans.
The Amethyst Jean Machine, which will be collecting the donations and giving out the jeans, will be parked at participating Big Y locations, as well as various holiday concerts. To participate, please visit the Amethyst Jeans "Food For Fashion" events at:
Big Y Markets: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
· December 10th - Meriden, CT
· December 11th - Enfield, CT
· December 17th - West Hartford, CT
· December 18th - Rocky Hill, CT
Holiday Concert Events: 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.:
· December 1: 96.5 TIC All Star Christmas, Oakdale Theater, Wallingford, CT
· December 2, Hot 93.7 Jingle Jam Concert, XL Center, Harford, CT
Genetic Denim has announced its continued support of Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation for Cancer Research. Following its 2009 special-edition “Gabrielle” jean, Genetic Denim will donate a percentage of sales through the end of 2011 to help fund a cure for cancer. Online shoppers who visit www.geneticdenim.com will receive a 10% discount on their entire purchase when they use the code Angel11 from now until December 31, 2011. 50% of the proceeds from these sales will directly benefit the foundation’s cancer research initiatives. And for the rest of this month, to celebrate the foundation’s Angel Ball, Genetic Denim will also donate 25% of all full-priced sales on its entire site.
Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation for Cancer Research was created in 1996 by Denise Rich and her family, in memory of her daughter Gabrielle Rich Aouad who passed away at the age of 27 after a long and valiant struggle with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). The foundation's mission is to fund basic and clinical medical research in both conventional and integrative disciplines, which focus on prevention, treatment and quality of life issues of leukemia, lymphoma and related cancers. To date, Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation has awarded over $16 million in medical research awards, making it one of the largest non-governmental sources of grant support to blood cancer researchers in the nation. For more information, visit www.gabriellesangels.org.
Wear it like you mean it.
Fidelity Denim released a special edition women’s jean on October 15th in recognition of World AIDS Day, December 1st, 2011. The Fidelity DedicatedDenim initiative will commit 100% of profits (about $100/pair) from sales to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. This will help the foundation in its vital work to thwart pediatric HIV and AIDS around the world.
The custom, low-rise skinny jean is available in on-trend red at www.dedicateddenim.com.
Philanthropy in the denim industry has increased significantly over the past few years, with companies giving back to causes that range from breast cancer to AIDS research.
One that has made a notable impact year after year is a program from Cotton Incorporated called COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN which takes donated denim and converts it into insulation for the home (Can Your Donated Jeans be Used to Build a Home for the Needy? Yes). The program has seen so much success that retailers like GAP and Barney's have all participated in it.
The latest retailer is American Eagle who not only will collect used jeans at over 850 American Eagle Outfitters stores, but will also expand their reach to 47 college campuses across the U.S. As an incentive those who bring in their used denim to AEO stores or to any of the recycling containers located on college campuses will recieve 20% off their entire purchase for the day.
The program starts today and will run through October 18th. Click here to find out if your college is participating.
It's National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and from football players to the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio, we've been inundated with the color pink all to remind us that there are problems in the world bigger than our own.
Instead of going pink, Not Your Daughter's Jeans has created the "Marilyn Make a Difference Jean" in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The limited-edition jean is straight-legged with a back pocket design inspired by the breast cancer ribbon.
It retails for $120 and will be sold at Nordstrom stores and on Not Your Daughter's Jeans website. For each pair of jeans sold $10 will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. But check this out, you can do your part just for trying on a pair as the brand will donate $1 just for every pair tried on. So grab your friends, go to Nordstroms and try on a pair for breast cancer.
(Brea Weinrub in her winning design with Ella Marciano)
Earlier this year the folks at GUESS teamed up with Teen Vogue to launch a design contest. The Chari-T Design Contest asked fans to design a t-shirt to benefit the charity of their choice. Well the contest is over and a winner has been chosen.
Brea Weinreb a high school senior from New York, designed a t-shirt in support of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Brea is one of those amazing kids that enjoys helping others as she tutors at her local chapter and was still trying to find a way to contribute more.
Her winning design was unveiled this week by Ella Marciano and Brea herself at the GUESS Beverly Center store in La Cienega, California. The Chari-T t-shirt also went on sale that day and will be available on GUESS' website with a portion of the proceeds going to the Boys & Girls Club. It will also be sold at the Teen Vogue Haute Spot in New York during Fashion Week.
Because, I'm leaving for Venice tomorrow, I found this story refreshing and fitting.
Diesel founder Renzo Rosso has offered to restore the storied italian city's Rialto bridge. The bridge dates back to 1591 and, other than the canals and waterways, is a must-see attraction.
According to the Telegraph, Venice gets a whopping 60,000 visitors a day which has "reduced [the Rialto] to an increasingly fragile state" with large cracks in the marble and a stone balustrade collapsing this year.
Normally special funds pay for the upkeep of monuments, but due to massive debt, famed fashion brands and VIPs, such as Rosso, have stepped up to help fund the restoration and upkeep of Italy's historical sites.
Although I've been to Italy many times, I've never been to Venice and the Rialto bridge is one of the attractions I'm looking forward to seeing. I'm so glad that people like Rosso are using their considerable resources to give back so that we all can continue to admire and appreciate history.
