Category: Fashion

How the Fifteen Percent Pledge is Powering Black-Owned Business

How The Fifteen Percent Pledge is Pushing for Better Diversity on Store Shelves

Following the horrific murder of George Floyd, Canadian-born director, activist, and fashion designer Aurora James decided she needed to do something to make a difference. Act after act of police brutality with little to no repercussions for the perpetrators left the Black community in a state of perpetual fear and disgust. George Floyd’s death on May 20, 2020 also came at the same time as the height of the pandemic, which disproportionately affected Black businesses.

The Fifteen Percent Pledge’s Executive Director, LaToya Williams-Belfort (Image credit: LaToya Williams-Belfort)

James’s response was to found the Fifteen Percent Pledge, which has since gone on to bring on board over two dozen major corporations. According to James’s website, the impact of the Fifteen Percent Pledge has been significant, “effectively diverting over $5B in capital to Black entrepreneurs in the United States” within the first year.

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Old Navy’s Size-Inclusive Shopping Model Sets a New Standard

Old Navy is setting a new standard for size inclusivity with BODEQUALITY, offering a wider range of sizes than any other value retailer.

Old Navy is expanding their available sizes, redesigning their clothes to take down unrealistic standards, and raising awareness of body inclusivity with its BODEQUALITY campaign. (Image credit: Business Wire)
Old Navy is expanding their available sizes, redesigning their clothes to take down unrealistic standards, and raising awareness of body inclusivity with its BODEQUALITY campaign. (Image credit: Old Navy)

Old Navy is revolutionizing the shopping experience with the launch of BODEQUALITY. Beginning on August 20, Old Navy will redefine size inclusion, offering every one of its women’s styles, in every size, with no price difference. As a brand committed to the democracy of style, Old Navy will be the first value retailer to offer sizes 0-30 and XS-4X for all women’s styles at price parity. With this launch, the brand is reimagining the shopping environment in all stores and online to be more size inclusive, giving women everywhere the fashion and experience that they deserve.

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Tatler Launches Front & Female to Embolden and Free Women

“Despite the enormous progress that has been made by the feminist movement, there are still huge gaps that we’ve yet to bridge, such as representation in politics and STEM, language and data bias, lack of female mentors and sponsors, the gender pay gap and more,” says Tamara Lamunière, founder of Front & Female. “All of these issues create vicious cycles we need to break. One of the ways that can be addressed is to provide women resources and support structures that can empower and embolden them to aspire for and achieve more. That’s where Front & Female comes in.”

Inspired by women who are the first and at the front of their fields, Front & Female is a resource for women to be their best selves, at home, in business, or in society, so they can be catalysts for the empowerment of others. It aims to bring like-minded women together to exchange ideas at roundtable discussions, with the goal of catalysing collaboration.

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Beyoncé: “Vote like our life depends on it, because it does.”

“We have to vote like our life depends on it, because it does,” said Beyoncé in her pre-recorded acceptance speech for the 2020 BET Awards. The performer and philanthropist is 2020’s recipient of the Humanitarian Award, bestowed for her work through the BeyGOOD Initiative and other campaigns.

International superstar Beyoncé is the recipient of the 2020 BET Humanitarian Award. (Image Credit: BET/Twitter)

“Thank you so much for this beautiful honor,” she said. “I want to dedicate this award to all of my brothers out there, all of my sisters out there inspiring me, marching and fighting for change. Your voices are being heard and you’re proving to our ancestors that their struggles were not in vain.”

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Support for Women Business Owners from Your Friends in New York

In the midst of so much chaos and uncertainty, it’s inspiring when companies gather their resources to support small business. Through its upcoming project Your Friends in New York, apparel brand Pyer Moss has announced $10,000 in PPE funding and $100,000 in funding for women- and minority-owned small businesses through the Your Friends in New York Business Relief Fund. Grants from the fund will be presented to creative-based businesses struggling to stay open in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis.

Your friends in New York
Fashion brand Pyer Moss announced the launch of the Your Friends In New York Business Relief Fund. (Image Credit: Pyer Moss)

“For our friends with independent businesses,” wrote Pyer Moss in an Instagram announcement on March 18. “We are setting aside $50,000 for minority and women owned small creative businesses who are currently in distress. If you cannot make payroll or cannot cover pressing costs to keep your business afloat, please reach out, let us know what you do and how we can help.”

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Women InCharge: Design Legend and Amazon Highlight Women in Biz

“Alexa, who inspires you?”

If you ask your little Amazon robot this question, she responds with a female mathematician, a woman scientist, a labor rights activist–and tells you all about them!

You can also tell Alexa, “Happy International Women’s Day!” to hear information on lady trailblazers like architect Zaha Hadid, environmental scientist Rachel Carson, and activist Dolores Huerta.

women incharge
In honor of International Women’s Day 2020, Diane von Furstenberg and Amazon collaborated to highlight woman-owned businesses, woman authors, and female entrepreneurs. (Image Credit: Amazon)

“Our goal is to showcase some examples of the far-ranging impact women have had on all aspects of culture, and inspire women and girls to be their own trailblazers,” said Lilian Rincon, Google Assistant’s Senior Director of Product Management, in an interview with USA Today.

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Supporting Gender Equality for the Holidays

Looking for ways to buy gifts and support gender equality for the holidays? The Body Shop US is donating one dollar to Plan International USA for every holiday pre-packaged gift box and bag sold between November 1 and the end of the year. The money raised, up to a total of $50,000, will contribute to Plan USA’s work to empower girls globally. The program will enable 1,200 youth, through national leadership and advocacy programs, to transform gender norms by creating new narratives about girls focused on power, intelligence and capability.

Plan USA’s Youth Leadership Academy
Credit: Plan International USA

The impetus for the Body Shop’s “Empower Our Girls” donation are the results of a Plan International USA study on gender equality. Some stats from the survey:

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How a Feminist Legend is Bringing Sisterhood to Fashion

Robin Morgan, accompanied by her son Blake Morgan, at the Paris fashion show debuting the Morgan-inspired “Sisterhood” t-shirts. (Photo credit: Blake Morgan on Twitter)

When a Dior fashion show begins amid the black ties and flashing cameras in the Musee Rodin, the last thing you’d expect to see is a tee shirt. But this is exactly what kicked off the display for Dior’s Autumn/Winter 2019 collection — a plain white tee-shirt, silk-printed with the words SISTERHOOD IS GLOBAL.

Pulled directly from the cover of the 1984 book by the same name, the SISTERHOOD IS GLOBAL design features the familiar blue letters against a simple white background. At a glance, the shirts are a beautiful representation of the global sisterhood movement — but at their core, the shirts say so much more.

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