Menswear for Charity by John Allan’s

John Allan's, Chicago’s premier men’s grooming club, and Back on My Feet Chicago, a charity dedicated to aiding the homeless, are teaming up to help those in need.

Back on My Feet is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the self-sufficiency of homeless populations through a running program in order to build confidence, strength, and self-esteem.

The organization works to rebuild and revive individuals so they can find a road of happiness, hope, and opportunity that includes a stable job and place to live.

Through six- and nine-month programs in which members must continue a 90% attendance rate for morning runs three times a week, they are provided connections to job training, employment, and housing opportunities.

Now through the Christmas holiday, John Allan's will host a Back on My Feet drop box where members can donate gently used professional men's attire to benefit the organization's participants.

Customers who donate clothing or make a $20 contribution to Back on My Feet will receive a special $38 offer for John Allan’s “Signature Full Service” which includes; a scalp massaging shampoo, conditioning treatment, hot towel, hair cut, manicure, and shoe shine.

Photos Copyright John Allan’s & Back on My Feet Chicago, text Courtesy XA, the Experiential Agency.

Category › social responsibility

Bangladesh & the Price of Fashion

This weekend in the Bangladesh port city of Chittagong, three garment workers were killed and dozens were injured in violent protests for higher minimum wages.

In July of this year, the garment workers were promised higher wages by November 1. When the implementation of the new minimum was delayed, the protests ignited.

Garment workers in Bangladesh are the least paid in the world, according to Vienna’s International Trade Union Confederation.

Throughout the country, more than 4,000 factories manufacture garments for well-known brands, exporting largely to the United States and Europe

Garment exports in Bangladesh account for 80% of the nation’s exports and the majority of workers are women.

In Chittagong, there are about 70 foreign companies that employ approximately 150,000 workers.

Clearly, most of us have no sphere of influence in these internal affairs; but the companies from which we purchase our clothing can have a direct impact.

The question that may touch us is this: Are willing to sacrifice our fast fashion and pay a higher price for the rights of others who produce for us?

Photo by Balaram Mahalder Village life of Bangladesh, Copyright GNU Free Documentation License at Wikimedia Commons.

Category › Bangladesh , ethical fashion , fair trade , social responsibility

Izzy Lane…Rescued Sheep…at EcoLuxe

I interviewed Izzy Lane in an interview last year, at which time we learned about the company’s efforts to save a rare breed of sheep as lambs from slaughter by using their wool in each collection.

This month, Izzy Lane will be exhibiting the 2010 autumn/winter collection at Ecoluxe. So, this press release is for all you Green Fashionistas:

EcoLuxe, the ethical luxury fashion weekend is being launched on the 18th/19th September this year. It will be a bi-annual event to coincide with London Fashion Week. Created by a group of ethical designers, EcoLuxe promotes high end, environmentally friendly fashion designers and brands.

The official opening of this year’s EcoLuxe will be by leading international trade lawyer, supporter of environmental issues and the Deputy Prime Minister’s wife Miriam Gonzalez. Held at London’s No1 Aldwych Hotel, a stone’s throw way from Somerset House, EcoLuxe will be open to press and fashion buyers who are looking for high quality, luxury and exclusive brands with a conscience.

A maximum of thirteen luxury ethical designers and brands will be showcased at this year’s EcoLuxe including; award winning British wool designer Izzy Lane, vintage inspired clothing Beaumont Organic, London based Spanish designer Elena Garcia, Parisian natural skincare Sentuers De Fee, bridal and eveningwear Tammam, hats and scarves Sophia Couture, shoe maker Gwendolyn Carrié, Brazilian swimwear Olga Olsson, day-to-evening wear Outsider, timeless leatherwear pieces Anupa, Central St. Martins graduate Nyonyo&Yayra, leading couturier By Stamo and Indian embroidered accessories Panchachuli UK .

All the designers involved in EcoLuxe share the same philosophy of actively creating beautiful and environmentally friendly products in an ethical manner. The brands are all 100% ethical, not only in the production process of their designs but also with an overall responsibility to green issues.

EcoLuxe will be an biannual green event promoting leading ethical luxury brands and designers. From this year’s showcase held at No.1 Aldwych, voted ‘Green Hotel of the Year’ 2009, to the bust forms used to display the merchandise being 95% eco-friendly and even the signage made from 100% recycled paper. The event will also be a platform to support local charities who share the same ethical values and beliefs.

Have a peek at the collection here.

Photos Copyright Izzy Lane.

Category › ethical fashion , green fashion , Isobel Davies , Izzy Lane , social responsibility , UK designers

WORLD—the New Line of Casual-Chic Shoes by Ferragamo

Acumen Fund will receive a percentage of the sales from the new line of bio-friendly shoes, which was presented at Milan Fashion Week.

The world of Salvatore Ferragamo—the aesthetic and stylistic vision and the sensitivity in promoting a distinct lifestyle that is harmonious, sustainable, respectful of the environment, and socially responsible—is summed up in Ferragamo WORLD.

The line inaugurates a partnership with the non-profit Acumen Fund, which engages in the fight against world poverty in Asia and Africa and to which Salvatore Ferragamo will contribute a percentage of the sales from Ferragamo WORLD.

Ferragamo WORLD, the new line of 2011 spring/summer shoes presented at Milan Fashion Week, is a merger between modernity and the values represented by the brand: a collection of shoes characterized by a casual, sophisticated, and functional mood that bears the Ferragamo tradition in a search for style and comfortable structures.

Ferragamo WORLD incarnates the environmental and social sensitivity that is ever expanding in the world today. It was conceived for an active and dynamic public that applies its attitude of social awareness in all aspects of its purchasing behavior, seeing Ferragamo shoes not only as an accessory of style and extreme quality but also as a product that is representative of its own coherent values.

“Italian City Casual” is the expression that synthesizes the spirit of Ferragamo WORLD: a casual product searching for the urban lifestyle, which is inspired by the Italian way of life that is traditionally evoked by the relaxation of open spaces; by long walks in the city; by the use of the bicycle as the means of sustainable urban transportation; by the care for detail; and by a comfortable, portable elegance.

Photos & Text Copyright Ferragamo.

Category › accessories , Ferragamo , griffe , Italian designers , press release , shoes , social responsibility