As a model and a person with an active online presence, you have a voice and the capacity to influence — so why not be an influence for good?
Corporate companies are cashing in on “activist” products. Don’t let them. Buy from these vendors instead and maybe give a nod online now and again too.
A recent post on Dazed Digital got us thinking about where we buy our activist stuff. In the article, Emma Hope Allwood discussed the fact that many corporate companies—Allwood name-checks Boohoo and Missguided, two UK brands that “have been found to be selling clothes made in UK sweatshops”—sell “empowerment” without recognizing what it’s all about.
This got us thinking. What brands could a person who respects humanity buy from without losing sleep — or inadvertently supporting human rights violations?
The following list contains four brands that sell products meant to empower activists and support humanity in the process.
1. Support the T
According to Teen Vogue, Support the T “helps transgender and non-binary individuals fundraise for their transitions by selling custom apparel.” So, anyone who is transitioning can fundraise with Support the T. The fundraised money helps people get surgeries, change their legal name, receive hormones, or go to therapy.
The company is based out of Melvindale, MI and sells a variety of items, including gender-neutral shirts, buttons, hoodies and sweatshirts, hats, tank tops, bags and stickers.
We’re particularly smitten with the “Gender is a Galaxy” hat. It’s priced at $25 and features a snapback that will “fit most.”
2. Otherwild
Otherwild, operated by designers Marisa Suárez-Orozco and Rachel Berk, is a design studio and retail store.
The business has two physical locations—one store is in Los Angeles, CA. and the other is in New York City. According to Otherwild’s site, each of the company’s retail spaces sells a variety of goods from “jewelers, ceramicists, perfumers, artists, cooks, designers, herbalists, quilters, farmers, gardeners, fabricators, musicians, witches, woodworkers, curators, designers, weavers, photographers, dancers and publishers.”
Otherwild’s graphic design studio, which is focused on creating unique products, has a vision that’s “cross-disciplinary.” The business incorporates “a passion and respect for the handmade” and is “dedicated to producing goods made within an ethically-sourced supply chain.”
We chose to feature this specific company pin because: A) It’s awesome, and B) Every cam model is, in their own way, the “ace of wands.” Priced at $12 from artist j bragger.
3. Kidd Bell
Kidd Bell, owned by Whitney Bell, is a radical online store that sells various pieces of clothing, accessories, weed goods and home decor. The site supports artists and dedicates a position of its site to products that “give back.”
Kidd Bell’s “4 Charity” collection lists goods that “give back” to assorted charities. Organizations include the ACLU, The Trevor Project, The National Domestic Violence Hotline, NAMI, Black Lives Matter: Los Angeles, Happy Period, Planned Parenthood, Equality CA, The Center for Reproductive Rights, Period Movement, The Foundation for AIDS Research and Period Org.
The “Hoes 4 Heath Care” shirt (featured here) is currently on my “must have” list because it benefits Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood provides healthcare to anyone—even people who are underemployed or don’t have traditional company-provided health insurance (cam models, you know what I’m talking about). In addition to providing abortion services, Planned Parenthood provides medical care, cancer screenings and other important health services.
The “Hoes 4 Health Care” shirt it priced at $26. (The sweatshirt featured in the photo below is available here for $42.)
Using your powers for good is good, especially when it helps good organizations and initiatives do good stuff. Be good!
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Abbie Stutzer is a writer and editor from Lawrence, Kansas. Find her on Twitter at @abbiestutzer and on Insta at @abbiestutzer. Email her at abbie@ynotcam.com.
Image via Przemek Rot.
