Saturday, November 20, 2010

“Kindness Is Always Fashionable” - Rachel Roy's New Tote

 Rachel Roy's new tote is priced at an affordable $20, and 100% of the proceeds goes toward the U.S. fund for UNICEF for the victims of the flood in Pakistan. Rachel Roy said she was providing perspective for her daughter, who didn't want to go to school, by telling her some children in Pakistan are prevented from going to school and even seeing their families due to the floods in Pakistan. What her daughter asked what her mother was doing about it, Roy knew she needed to do something. She did just that. You can preorder this bag here. That's all for now!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Freedom and Fashion

       Hello fellow fashion philanthropists! I'm coming to you from Art Center! I was lucky to get two days off from school and work, so I took the opportunity t to finally visit my sister! So I hopped on the train today, and decided to come to her class with her. She gave me her computer to entertain me, so I finally have a free second to share some exciting news!
       My friend e-mailed me a few weeks back and invited me to an event that I was extremely excited about. It was a fashion show that was focusing on the problem of human trafficking; an issue that I hope to dedicate my fashion career around. The event itself was more than I even expected. It was hosted by the Style Network's Jeannie Mai, who we were lucky enough to meet. I didn't know what to expect. It was held in a building in a business area in Irvine and when we arrived there was a large group o fashionable people. They show began with two amazing performers. One was a woman who had previously been sold and trafficked and was so scarred that she made what she claimed were bad choices after getting out of sex trafficking. All I could think was, who could blame her? She is now a professor at a university, and her upbeat ad spirited songs were inspiring. Then, the fashion show started. Before the collections strutted down the runways, there was a short introduction to each company. Each introduction got me more and more excited to head in the career path I was headed... and also to share the collections featured in the show with you. 
 
1) Anita Arze was a collection that caught my attention as I am a sweater lover. Their mission is to "make the line as organic and eco-riendly as possible. We aim to specialize in eco clothing with a mission to drive sustainable employment in developing companies." Her Sweater are featured on the left.  The sweaters start at about $132. You can check out the website at anitaarze.blogspot.com

2) Falling Whistles also caught my attention, as I've seen these whistles on celebrities, Gweneth Paltrow in particular. The creator of falling whistles was wondering in Congo on a mission to with a friend to put shoes on children's feet... yet he discovered something extremely unsettling. Children who were too young to carry a gun were sent to the front lines of war with only one thing... a whistle. The declare wearing this whistle as a symbol of protest, and a conversation piece to get the word out. 100% of the proceeds from these whistles go to rehabilitating war affected children. The whistles start at $34. Buy them at fallingwhistles.com
 
3) Krochet Kids was founded by two guys who picked up the hobby of crocheting. The birth of Krochet Kids came to be when the founders traveled to Uganda. They employed a group of Ugandan women and taught them how to crochet. They crochet hats and all of the proceeds from these hats return to the women to provide them with well paid jobs. The jobs also provide them with life skills to save and plan for the future. These hats start at about $25. Learn more or buy these hats (as well as other products) at krochetkids.org.

These are just a few of the brands out there that a truly philanthropic and show that fashion and philanthropy can coexist. I will continue to feature companies on this blog. 

I also was very excited to learn that an incredible new iPhone app will be coming out very soon!!!
It is clearly difficult to research each company's reliance on unfair labor and trafficking, and this new app will allow you to scan an item's bar code using your iPhone and the app will show you a review of the company, and give you a letter grade. Scan a pair of jeans from a store, and if the company gets a B+, you can review why this company scored this grade and decide if you feel comfortable buying this product. Easy as that! YAY! I will report any news that comes out about this application. 
That's all for now! 
With love, 
      the Fashion Philanthropist

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Sorry for the lack of posts in this blog. I may not have any followers, therefore there is a great chance no one is reading this right now, but I did say part of the reason I created this blog was to organize my thoughts and to learn more, as well as education others on how fashion and philanthropy can relate. Here is a little bit about me, the 'fashion philanthropist'. I'm a senior in high school. I'm taking 5 courses this year, 3 of which are either IB or AP. I work at a theme park on the weekends. I have a small internship at Nordstrom. I babysit a few times after school. I try to go to the gym an hour a day, which end sup being about two hours a week. I'm very busy. On top of all this, the great question of where I want to go to college is on my mind. I'm working on building a portfolio, filling out applications, and applying for as many scholarships as I possibly can. I'm doing everything in my power to take the first step  in an exciting career. I'm also trying to save a large sum of money so I can go on a trip to Honduras in the spring where I and 20 others from my school and community will be helping and orphanage. In conclusion, if you have stumbled upon this blog and wonder why I post so rarely, it's because I'm extremely overwhelmed. I had about 30 minutes of free time ater school before babysitting, which is why I posted this blog. I would love to hear suggestions or anything interesting about you or your life. If you're reading this, I want to hear from you! 
        Time to babysit. That's all for now.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Free Zones: Not Free at All

In my IB History of the Americas class, we were watching a movie entitled Life and Debt which focuses on the economic troubles of Jamaica and how America's perception of the country is not accurate. Something stood out particularly when we were watching this film. Jamaica has five "Free Zones", which are trade zones with no government. According to pajfz.com, "Within these Free Zones goods can be manufactured, warehoused, packaged for export, free from normal taxes, and free from normal customs and requirements." Sounds too good to be true? Well then, you have the eye of a philanthropist. According to Wikipedia, "The free zones have been criticized as United States-subsidized sweatshops." The movie Life and Debt introduces five workers of the Free Zone who work five eight hour days a week to make the minimum wage of just $30 a week. According to lifeanddebt.org, "Over 10,000 women currently work for foreign companies under sub-standard work conditions." The movie particularly featured the Hanes company...When the women have spoken out and attempted to organize to improve their wages and working conditions, they have been fired and their names included on a blacklist ensuring that they never work again." One of the companies that was featured in the movie was Hanes. The irony? According to Wikepedia, "HanesBrands has been recognized for work that it has done for the environment, including "green" buildings.The company also has been recognized for the work it has done in communities such as the support of schools in Honduras and its hurricane relief efforts in the Dominican Republic." Thus proving that it is always important to research where your clothing actually comes from. If you would like to learn more, watch Life and Debt! Especially if you have any interest in Jamaica and in economics. That's all for now.



Saturday, September 4, 2010

Lanvin to Be Next Brand to Collaborate With H&M, What a Philanthropist Should Know About H&M

            Lanvin is the next designer to be teaming up with H&M to make beautiful clothes for a cost that won't make your wallet cry! The collection will hit H&M stores in North America on November 30th, and everywhere else three days after. If you, like I, can not wait that long, be on the lookout for a preview on www.hm.com on Nov. 1. H&M is one of my favorite stores, but the low prices and what seems to be decent quality product leaves me skeptical. Back in January of this year, H&M was caught in a scandalous action. Many clear trash bags were found outside the H&M in Manhattan that were full of their shredded and slashed clothes to make sure that they would be unwearable and unsellable. There were also reportedly bags and bags of hangers. Not only were these hangers not reused be the store, but they weren't even placed in recycle. An H&M representative spoke out and said, "“It will not happen again. We are committed 100 percent to make sure this practice is not happening anywhere else, as it is not our standard practice.” However, when the New York news station WPIX came back to the store to see if they were continuing the practice, and employee was reportedly hauling several trash bags filled with shoes to a truck, which he said was going to the trash. Perhaps in a response to the scandal, H&M released a Garden Collection, which was a collection made with "environmentally adapted materials" (http://hmthegardencollection.com). A website called http://chainstorereaction.com urges people to send e-mails to big name companies across the world in order for the company to send a response in which they report upon supplying companies that may perhaps involve slave trade or unfair labor. H&M was one of the few companies to send a response. "H&M does not accept forced labour and has banned it in our Code of Conduct. Furthermore we have developed guidelines for our suppliers on how to ensure that all workers are employed by their own free will, these guidelines include for example for the factories to develop policies and routines against forced labour that are clearly communicated to relevant personnel in the factory, for example regarding pay, advances, deductions etc, and precautions not to purchase any components produced by forced labour." Well, that's some good news, H&M fans! The whole response goes into much detail. To read it, please go to chainstorereaction.com. That's all for now.





Tuesday, August 17, 2010

"Fake is not chic- but fake fur is."

When Karl Lagerfeld, fashion legend and genius behind Chanel, released his collection of faux fur items on the runway, it was a huge step in the right direction. "“Technical advances are so perfect you can hardly tell fake fur from the real thing. Fake is not chic — we have got a new Chanel tweed to stop copies — but fake fur is.” Can I get an amen? Karl Lagerfeld's collection may be getting the most publicity to the faux fur scence, but he wasn't the first to release faux fur  products. The amazing designers Stella McCartney and Ralph Lauren refuse to work with fur products, without compromising beautiful design.  http://fabulousfurs.com/ has a huge collection of gorgeous faux fur items.   They've got everything from throw pillows to beautiful coats. If you've got a wallet as thin as mine, Forever 21 always has adorable faux fur items, like vests, bags, and more. In other faux fur news, the wonderful Stella McCartney teamed up with PETA and designed a faux fur cap, which is usually bearskin, for the Queen's guards at Buckingham palace.  As easy as it would be to not think about all that went in to our fur products would be ignorant and frankly unfair to our furry friends that truly suffered to make you look good. Educate yourself! I'm not going to lie, I didn't watch this video, because I have already decided to stay away from fur, and frankly, I've heard this video isn't for the faint of heart. This video is form PETA, which reveals the harsh realities of the fur industry. http://www.peta.org/feat-fatalfashion.asp. If you chose not to watch the video, here is a brief overview of the gruesome reality of fur. Like most animals raised for human purposes, animals raised for fur are crammed into wire cages. Unfortunately, the most "convenient" and inexpensive ways of skinning and killing animals are the cruelest, which, according to PETA, include  suffocation, electrocution, gassing, and poisoning.  " More than half the fur in the U.S. comes from China, where millions of dogs and cats are bludgeoned, hanged, bled to death, and sometimes even skinned alive for their fur.Chinese fur is often deliberately mislabeled, so if you wear any fur, there's no way of knowing whose skin you're in." - Peta.org  Most people don't think of leather and wool as negatively as fur, however the methods of obtaining wool and leather are no less cruel. "Most leather comes from developing countries like India, and China, where animals routinely have their throats slit and their skin ripped off while they are still conscious. In India, a PETA investigation found thatcows have their tails broken and chili peppers and tobacco rubbed into their eyes in order to force them to walk after they collapse while traveling long distances to slaughter. Most of the world's wool comes from Australia, where sheep undergo 'mulesing,' a gruesome mutilation in which large chunks of skin and flesh are cut from lambs' backsides without any painkillers. Each year, millions of sheep discarded by the Australian wool industry are crammed onto export ships to be sent to the Middle East. Sheep who survive the terrifying voyage are often dragged off trucks by their ears and legs, tied up, beaten, and have their throats slit while they are still conscious."-Peta.org. I, like most of you all, have some form of products in my closet that came from animals, and I am ashamed to admit this. But now that I have educated myself on the harshness of conditions for the animals that suffer, I have decided that animals should not be victims of fashion. So even if you try to decrease your purchasing of animal products, you will make a huge difference. Let's make the demand for real go down, and the demand for faux go up. That's all for now.