Fashion brands have been under mass speculation from media outlets. They’re making headlines for a range of reasons — such as making a difference in terms of the wider community and social issues. Lacoste recently announced that it would be adopting a temporary logo to help endangered species — offering limited editions of each animal in relation to how many of the species there are left in the wild. And, they’re not the only one.
1. Tighter gun control — Gucci
Did you know that Gucci donated $500,000 to support tighter gun control?
In February of 2017, there was an atrocious school shooting which left 17 people dead. 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 caused by gun violence.
“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” was one comment by Gucci at the time.
2. Watch Hunger Stop — Michael Kors
In 2013, Michael Kors launched its Watch Hunger Stop campaign in a bid to aid poorer countries. According to the Michael Kors website, they’ve helped the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) deliver 15 million meals to children in need.
Kate Hudson joined the team in 2018, which celebrated the campaign’s fifth year in service. There are many ways that people can donate — through the purchase of a timepiece, a 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.
3. The Prince’s Trust — Charles Tyrwhitt
One British brand that is making waves is men’s white shirt specialists, Charles Tyrwhitt — by helping The Prince’s Trust. This is a charity in the United Kingdom, founded in 1976 by Charles, Prince of Wales. It focuses on helping vulnerable people get their lives back on track and find work.
To help, CT Shirts revealed a special range of scarves, ties and umbrellas to raise funds for the charity. Where each item in the collection is sold, £5 is donated to The Prince’s Trust.
But there’s more! Employees at Charles Tyrwhitt are also involved with raising money. In fact, business founder, Nick Wheeler, raised over 100,000 when he completed an 874-mile bike ride from Land’s End to John O’ Groats in the UK. And, members of the company attend and recruit individuals through The Prince’s Trust ‘Get Hired’ Days. This is where young people who have been through The Trust’s programmes have found themselves ready to move into work and are actively looking for work.
4. Sustainable fashion — Stella McCartney
All fashionistas admire Stella McCartney for her ethical take on fashion. She continually makes a difference with regards to environmental fashion and sustainability. Using the latest in eco-friendly technology, she changes attitudes to sustainable fashion and demonstrates how eco-fashion can be done.
She has even removed the use of leather and fur in her products! Take her latest swimwear range for example, in partnership with Adidas. The swimsuits are made from Lycra Xtra Lite fabric, which is resistant to chlorine and uses recycled Parley Ocean Plastic yarn.
Last year, she announced a collaboration with Colorifix to reduce the implications caused to the environment when dyeing. They do this through isolating the DNA that creates color in nature and uses 10 times less water than the traditional process.
5. Save Our Species — Lacoste
Have you heard of the #LacosteSaveOurSpecies campaign? If you haven’t, you’ve definitely seen it! A part of this, they replaced their classic crocodile logo with images of endangered species on their classic polo shirts.
The fashion brand offered limited editions of each polo shirt in relation to how many of the species there were left in the wild. The new logos were designed using the same green colouring and style as the iconic crocodile.
But why did they include certain animals and not the others? The animals that were 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.
The products made their debut at Paris Fashion Week and instantly sold out. The money from the shirts was donated towards the fight for wildlife conservation worldwide.
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/