Dominic here.
Fashion makes you feel good. Paolo Nutini got it right: "Hey, I put some new shoes on, and suddenly everything is right." The past five years has seen an explosion of feel good fashion in the form of charitable fashion, the most familiar being Product Red. Started by U2 front man Bono, Product Red partners with major companies like Gap, Emporio Armani, and Converse to produce popular and instantly recognizable products.
The idea is quite simple, put a small premium on fashion goods, put a design representing the charity, give a portion of the profit to charity, and let the customer peacock their recent contribution to society. The "charity factor" allows the customer to feel a diminished sense of purchase-guilt while on retail therapy. Ethical consumerism studies have demonstrated that customers are willing to buy products for a premium if they believe the product was ethically produced, under fair trade regulations for example.
Some non-profit fashion brands have begun to emerge like To Write Love On Her Arms in the United States, as they are a great way to raise money for charity. TWLOHA aims to raise money and awareness for those struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide, and has gained such momentum in the United States over the past five years that major bands like Paramore, Switchfoot, and Underoath regularly promote and wear thier shirts during concerts. The key to their success, and with the success of any fashion-for-charity product, is the recognizable design. People want to not only donate, but show their contribution to charity.
H&M, having recently touched down in Japan, is even signing on celebrities like Katy Perry, Estelle, Robyn, Tokio Hotel, Dita Von Teese, N.E.R.D and Yoko Ono for their latest charity campaign, "Fashion Against Aids." 25% of the sales from this campaign will be donated to HIV/AIDS awareness programs for children, starting May 28th.
The benifits for charitable organisations in raising awareness is extremely beneficial.
"H&M and Fashion Against AIDS are so important to us because we could never reach so many young people on our own. AIDS is still very much a subject that's vitally important today. People build their attitude towards their sex lives when they're very young, so it's important for them to realize that safe sex is a vital part of that as early as possible." Ninette Murk, founder, Designers Against AIDS.
For those in Tokyo, Katy Perry will appear in an explusive performance in one of the H&M stores to launch Fashion Against Aids, and will be broadcast on hm.com live at 1pm CET.
Fashion makes you feel good. Paolo Nutini got it right: "Hey, I put some new shoes on, and suddenly everything is right." The past five years has seen an explosion of feel good fashion in the form of charitable fashion, the most familiar being Product Red. Started by U2 front man Bono, Product Red partners with major companies like Gap, Emporio Armani, and Converse to produce popular and instantly recognizable products.
The idea is quite simple, put a small premium on fashion goods, put a design representing the charity, give a portion of the profit to charity, and let the customer peacock their recent contribution to society. The "charity factor" allows the customer to feel a diminished sense of purchase-guilt while on retail therapy. Ethical consumerism studies have demonstrated that customers are willing to buy products for a premium if they believe the product was ethically produced, under fair trade regulations for example.
Some non-profit fashion brands have begun to emerge like To Write Love On Her Arms in the United States, as they are a great way to raise money for charity. TWLOHA aims to raise money and awareness for those struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide, and has gained such momentum in the United States over the past five years that major bands like Paramore, Switchfoot, and Underoath regularly promote and wear thier shirts during concerts. The key to their success, and with the success of any fashion-for-charity product, is the recognizable design. People want to not only donate, but show their contribution to charity.
H&M, having recently touched down in Japan, is even signing on celebrities like Katy Perry, Estelle, Robyn, Tokio Hotel, Dita Von Teese, N.E.R.D and Yoko Ono for their latest charity campaign, "Fashion Against Aids." 25% of the sales from this campaign will be donated to HIV/AIDS awareness programs for children, starting May 28th.
The benifits for charitable organisations in raising awareness is extremely beneficial.
"H&M and Fashion Against AIDS are so important to us because we could never reach so many young people on our own. AIDS is still very much a subject that's vitally important today. People build their attitude towards their sex lives when they're very young, so it's important for them to realize that safe sex is a vital part of that as early as possible." Ninette Murk, founder, Designers Against AIDS.
For those in Tokyo, Katy Perry will appear in an explusive performance in one of the H&M stores to launch Fashion Against Aids, and will be broadcast on hm.com live at 1pm CET.
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