“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!

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