FASHION AND PHILANTHROPY FUEL THE WORLD
By: Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger Photographer: George Whylie Videographer: Maxine NolanFashion and Philanthropy seem to mesh quite nicely lately. Supporting a humanistic cause that can bring about change in the world is such a crucial aspect of life as we know it. There is no better way to impart awareness than through fashion and style.
FEED is a project established by Lauren Bush Lauren in 2006 to create good products that help FEED the world. By using environmentally-friendly and artisan-made materials, along with fair-labor production, the project can produce tangible goods such as bags, bears, t-shirts and accessories. Through the sale of these products, the end goal is to FEED the world and give those individuals in underprivileged countries the opportunity to receive basic human necessities,most importantly healthy and nutritious food.
On August 7th, on the sixth floor of Bloomingdale’s in New York City, the fashion capital of the world, FEED partnered with DKNY, a continuous favorite at every Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, to unveil a small capsule range called ‘The Survival Collection‘. The host of the event was none other than Lauren Bush Lauren herself. There were some truly innovative products like a diaper bag with micronutrient powder for mother and child for one year, a tote providing 100 children with vitamin enriched emergency food and rain boots that provide 25 children with emergency food. The creative team worked together to come up with an efficient look mixing the right amount of cutting-edge individuality to each and every product and the capsule sells within the price range of $115 to $220.
Lauren has traveled the world and seen the strife that children and adults go through on a daily basis in third-world countries wondering when and if they will eat again. She wanted to develop a way for people to get involved, have fun doing it and help in countless ways. The FEED logo is becoming stylish and trendy and young people are learning what it is all about, excited to do their part and feeling like they have really accomplished something. Amazingly, this project to date has donated over $6 million and 60 million meals. This is a sign of the monumental success it has brought about over the last few years.
There is also another benevolent initiative taking place that will surely attract your attention and has already done so much in the way of wonderful work. It is known as ‘Naked For a Cause’. Naked® is an environmentally-friendly mens’ underwear brand. Through its sales, the mission is to provide post-secondary education to students in developing countries.
This great brand was founded by a young and driven entrepreneur, 24-year-old Founder and CEO, Joel Primus. He was discovered on ‘Dragon’s Den’ which is the Canadian version of ‘Shark Tank’. His idea seemed simple enough. He wanted to create a luxurious and sophisticated mens’ underwear line but he also wanted to make a difference in the world. So Primus started out with the product, soft-to-the-touch Italian fabrics including micro-fiber, micro-modal and premium cotton that a man can put on and feel like he is wearing nothing. With the launch of Naked® in 2010 at Holt Renfrew, the brand enjoyed widespread eminence and is now available at so many more retailers such as David Lawrence (WA), Kitson (CA), Khaki’s of Carmel (CA), Pockets (TX), online at www.freshpair.com and www.thenakedshop.com and coming up in the fall at Nordstrom throughout the nation.
For every Naked® purchase, the brand supports Project World Citizen. This is a charity that Joel founded to help build computer labs in Ghana. Nowadays, computers are essential teaching tools and computer skills are vital for children to achieve post-secondary education. All of Naked®’s factories are Blue Sign certified which is one of the highest universal environmental standards in the textile industry.
These days, our younger generation are striving to make the world a better place and give those less fortunate a promise of a brighter tomorrow with some of the luxuries that we take for granted each day. Great job and keep up the good work!
PHOTO CREDITS: FEED website and EFG :: Entertainment Fusion Group
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