Headbands of Hope - Can you make chemo pretty?

Headbands of Hope founder spreading joy

In a nutshell:

What they make: Stylish headbands and other headgear (hats, bandanas)

How they make a difference: They bring joy to kids battling cancer by giving them free headbands to help them feel feminine when undergoing chemo

Who they help: Children w/ cancer in USA
Where to buy their products: Online
Where they are: North Carolina,USA

There are certain events in life that change all aspects of your life.  Cancer is one of them. Thankfully, there are several institutions and organizations that work everyday to bring treatments, pain management and hopefully a cure to cancer patients. But who brings them smiles? Who helps girls continue feeling feminine? That's where Headbands for Hope comes in.

Inspired by its founder's experience at an internship at the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Headbands for Hope is on a quest to utilize fashion to fight cancer on a double level: for every headband they sell, they give one to a girl affected by cancer and donate $1 to St. Baldrik's Foundation to help fund childhood cancer research.  

This is one of the great fashion takes on the one-for-one business model. It is having great success not only because of their heart-touching mission but also because the headbands they offer are beautiful and stylish. From chiffon flowers to simple bows and beaded styles, their collection is vast and addictive. It's a great strategy: The more fabulous the headbands and the bigger the collection, the more you want to buy and the more smiles are delivered to girls with cancer. It is a great vision that combined with beautiful manufacturing and a smart business plan is not just bringing joy to sick children, but also providing people the ability to be a part of a noble cause and a smile-delivering project.

They also make bandanas and headgear for boys, though it is clear that their very-girly-in-a-good-way headbands for girls (and babies!) are their true star products.  

I'm very excited to see where this young company goes. They have a great product and a smart mission-driven business model. I don't know how big the company is revenue-wise but I am guessing that in order to continue growing, some possible next steps would be to improve the user experience on their website a bit and also take their headbands to retailers and bigger e-tailers. It would also be great to see them expand their mission outside the United States, to countries where battling cancer is even more difficult. This would not only expand the reach of their help, but also attract global sales. 

ITC's Ethical Fashion Initiative: Not Charity, Just Work

Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood, Sass & Bide, Stella Jean and Ilaria Venturini Fendi's Carmina Campus share a fashion-forward trend: wearable progress.

All of these innovative fashion powerhouses work with one of the most brilliant initiatives in the world: the Ethical Fashion Initiative.

A branch of the United Nation's International Trade Centre, the Ethical Fashion Initiative (EFI) is a project that in addition to supplying beautifully crafted, top quality items to high-end brands, is changing thousands of lives in Africa and Haiti. EFI utilizes the power of fashion & style as a vehicle out of poverty. 

Created and headed by Simone Cipriani, a passionate Italian fair-trade advocate and leather industry expert, this organization acts as a hub between marginalized communities in Africa and luxury brands around the world.  They allow artisans to produce fashion accessories that meet the standards of any other global fashion supply chain agent. Both the EFI and the more than 7,000 artisans they work with take pride on creating high quality pieces that come with a great story behind them.

The organization's motto: "Not Charity, Just Work" embodies everything that this blog is about. 

How does it work?

EFI creates hubs (located in Kenya, Uganda, Haiti and soon Rwanda) that are entirely self-sustainable incubators. These incubators foster a number of small enterprises and cooperatives made up of micro-producers and artisans. The hub provides ongoing training, technical support, mentorship, logistical support, quality control and of course, the link to their clients: the fashion industry. The enterprises revolve around the importance of quality control and on-time delivery. They work on the standards of high-end fashion , not of charity buys.

In parallel, Mr Cipriani and his team travel the world meeting their contacts within the fashion industry showing them the business model they have built: one where quality will never have to be sacrificed for the sake of having a genuine and meaningful social impact.  He shows the different sustainable and mostly organic or recycled materials they work with (from cart parts to recycled mosquito nets) and the different traditional and non-traditional skills they posses. Overall he presents them with a compelling opportunity to add a story of progress to their products' spec sheet.

Then, fashion brands with a vision and passion for fostering progress take him up to the challenge. Mr Cipriani oversees and adjusts the work at the different hubs and EFI delivers beautiful products that make it to the most coveted runways.

What do they make?

Handbags, tote bags, key chains, metal clasps for handbags, and other fashion accessories. I am sure I may be leaving off some categories.  You should check out their Facebook page; they always have some beautiful examples of their work. 

The Impact and why they're succeeding

EFI has created a real, viable, business model that provides employment, dignity and a reliable income to marginalized people that want to change their lives. Work gives them respect, confidence and helps them provide their families and communities a brighter tomorrow. It empowers women and helps them show their sons and daughters that hard work can pay off and result in happy, fulfilling lives.  They don't discriminate against men, but 90% of their workers are women, promoting gender equality in areas where the concept is almost a fantasy.

As they state on their website: "Everything we do is underwritten by solid economics and a strict code of ethics.While our production is 100% ethical and with a strong focus on environmental protection, this is not a niche "eco-fashion" project, instead a vast initiative reaching out to 7,000 artisans and across the world to fashion partners from Rome to Rio to Tokyo."  My favorite is the "underwritten by solid economics" part. Such an objective focus will allow them to make this a sustainable project.

Currently, they provide work for over 7,000 people. According to the New York Times, "EFI impact assessment shows that one person’s income supports at least 6 to 7 family members, often enabling children to have a first opportunity of education." This will bring the total impact to up to 49,000 people - and counting! 

This is definitely a fresh and, in my opinion, more effective approach than the traditional bureaucratic development practices.  “All these people who work in development – they want to build something and I have seen the waste of money, in Africa, in Asia, everywhere, by international organisations, by bilateral corporations, by charities, by foundations,” Mr Cipriani said in an interview for the Australian Financial Review. I agree. I have seen it in my own country, Bolivia. There are several well-intentioned, yet not economics-driven initiatives that remain good intentions due to a lack of objective market analysis. “The model where you invest only in capacity building is wrong. It’s the market that matters and it’s solely the market. These big structures will never work. The only thing which works is to create capacity to access the market.” He continued,  referring to the importance of not just creating a supply, but making sure that that supply meets the requirements and particularities of the demand. It's this focus what has allowed this initiative to get where they are and what will allow it to continue growing.

What's next?

EFI wants to reach 20,000 people in the next five years. Additionally, Mr Cipriani has a dream "that Hermès will one day use the hub’s 100 per cent natural leather tanned by tree bark". I think it would be an excellent idea for a limited-edition line. In the meantime, I would LOVE to see one of these hubs in South America. Specifically in the Andes. I may be biased; coming from La Paz, the highest capital in the world, I grew up surrounded by these beautiful mountains. However, bias aside, the Andes have hard-working artisans AND also super luxurious natural fibers like alpaca and vicuña. I can only imagine what the EFI could do in countries like Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. 

Photo credits: International Trade Centre's  Ethical Fashion Initiative Website and Facebook Page.

Opportunity Village - Scarves, ties, dignity.

Thirty dollars can probably buy you a pair of Nine West pumps at an outlet store or a sundress at Forever 21. Maybe a pair of nice jeans on clearance or eight Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks. Thanks to Opportunity Village, thirty dollars can also buy you a one of kind, hand-dyed scarf that would brighten any LBT (little black top), give you a great story to tell, and a very cool connection to the King himself, Mr. Elvis Presley (but more on that later).

As beautiful and fashionable as it is, the best spec of this item is the fact that it provides a dignified living to a person with an intellectual disability. Opportunity village is an organization located in Southern Nevada dedicated to providing training, employment, advocacy and a sense of community to people with severe intellectual disabilities. They have created a way for them to learn how to make products (like the beautiful scarf shown here), sell them, develop careers, seek independence, make friends and contribute to their families and communities. As an "almost entirely self-funded" non-for-profit organization, they offer different services and products beyond the fashion shown here. They make promotional buttons, offer a variety of assembling and cleaning services, they assemble and sell coffee, condiment and cutlery individual packages, you name it. But most importantly, Opportunity Village manufactures, assembles and delivers happiness and a sense of achievement. 

But where does Elvis come in?!?!

Opportunity Village was the official manufacturer of Elvis' famous scarves. You know, the ones he used to kiss and throw to screaming fans? Yeah, those ones! They also made buttons for his concerts.

The best part of all of this is that this is not charity.  People and businesses get quality in exchange for their money. Jobs are well done and the products are beautiful and fashionable.

These are my favorite type of social endeavors; they provide the tools for people to achieve what they need or want in a sustainable, dignified way. Creating opportunities to live fulfilling lives really is the best way to build progress. Sometimes, business models need to be tweaked and creative strategies need to be created. And that is what this blog is about.