Thanks to everyone who participated in our "Shirts Give Back" campaign during early May. By pledging 100% of profits from every tee and tank sold, we were able to donate $236 to Culture Aid Nola!
In the United States, our city has been one of the most affected by COVID-19 pandemic. Tourism is the biggest industry in New Orleans, and while our hotels and restaurants are hurting from necessary Stay-at-Home-Orders, so are musicians, steppers, artists, craft vendors, bartenders... essentially the "culture makers" that help create the Big Easy's irresistible charm. We chose Culture Aid Nola for the donation because they are actively providing direct assistance, resources and information to underserved members of this community.
Why shirts?
Unlike our hand sewn backpacks and bags, t-shirts have a typical retail profit margin mark-up. We have more room in our shirt pricing to forego profits in lieu of a donation and still cover our original expense of buying and printing the tee.
Our tees are sourced and printed locally. During our campaign shoppers were providing a donation to Culture Aid Nola but also indirectly supporting other local businesses like...
Kitchen Ink Apparel
Kitchen Ink Apparel designed and printed the Atchafalaya Basin tank we stock in our store. They donate a portion of their wholesale profits to protecting the United State's largest swamp and wetland.
Heartsleeve
Heartsleeve is another local design and t-shirt printing team of two. They have their own collection that donates back to local organizations and they also print our Tchoup Industries branded Logo Tees and Nutria Tees, and helped us source the best locally made shirt options. Read more about them in our previous journal entry here.
Spiritex
The organic cotton black shirt used for our Logo Tees is purchased from Spiritex, a company dedicated to producing sustainable textiles within the United States by limiting supply chain distancing and supporting eco agriculture. The history of this brand is quite colorful, personal and extensive... read about it here.
SOS From Texas
The sunwashed organic cotton shirts used for our Nutria Tees are purchased from SOS From Texas. The color of this shirt (red clay meets tan?) is called Clean Dirt which references back to this company's dedication to eco agriculture, low impact production practices, and local industry. I love this business snippet from their website:
"Our cotton is planted in mid-May and harvested after frost in November. The harvested cotton is ginned at our certified organic gin and then shipped to a certified mill in North Carolina for spinning into yarn. The yarn is also knitted, finished and sewn in the Carolinas. SOS products have a pedigree as we can tell you when and where they were planted and trace their development into a finished product."
Thanks again for supporting a great cause and some great businesses!
To directly donate to Culture Aid Nola - click here.
Leave a comment