Images via KAYU

From entirely one-of-a-kind sunnies to clutches favored by royals and starlets alike, KAYU‘s made it clear they’re power players in the world of style. At the forefront of their agenda though isn’t the glory that comes with being a coveted brand – it’s providing relief to those in developing nations.

Background 
Launched by Jamie Lim in 2009, California-based KAYU is all about the preservation of craftsmanship, ecology, and ethics. Calling upon artisans who’ve dedicated their work to keeping age-old techniques alive, not a detail is spared in creating quality pieces (a clutch, for example, can take more than three weeks to hand-produce). And by using all natural materials like shells, bamboo, and straw, each piece is a celebration of the environment in which they’re made.

How it works
KAYU’s charity model is straight-to-the-point, and utterly effective. For every pair of glasses the company sells, 2% of proceeds go to Unite for Sight, a non-profit organization that makes vision-restoring surgery accessible for people in developing nations. And for every clutch or handbag purchased, 2% of proceeds go toward the purchase of backpacks and school supplies for children in rural Cambodia (through Awareness Cambodia).

Preserving artistic tradition, the environment, and a sense of comfort for those in need? Talk about a feel-good purchase.

By Sarah Stanley, Staff Writer

Want to learn more about stylish acts of charity? Check our blog’s In Good Fashion column, every Thursday.

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Images courtesy of EDUN 

If Alicia Keys chooses to sit in a runway’s front row (during New York Fashion Week, nonetheless), the styles coming down it are sure to be show stopping.

Launched in 2005 by Bono (yes, that Bono) and his wife, Ali Hewson, EDUN exists to promote change in Africa through a positive trading relationship, as well as through promoting the continent’s role as a cutting-edge player in the world of contemporary fashion.

By manufacturing a portion of its (much-obsessed-over) pieces in Africa using an ethically solid business model, an example is set – for-profit businesses do have the ability to bring about positive change in developing nations.

The company achieves this in a variety of ways. EDUN requires that all of its operating factories in Africa be reviewed by a third party, twice a year, to ensure that all standards for conduct are being upheld as requested. And, in collaboration with Invisible Children, EDUN established the Conservation Cotton Initiative Uganda (CCIU) to train and support Ugandan cotton farmers in building sustainable businesses in the country’s war-ravaged northern region.

At the helm of EDUN’s razor-sharp men’s and women’s looks (all New York Fashion Week veterans in their own right) is Irish-born, Paris-based designer Sharon Wauchob, the brand’s creative director. As Wauchob recently explained to the Daily Herald, EDUN’s female look is tough but soft, incorporating delicate materials into classically rough-around-the-edges, utilitarian styles.

A runway representing humanitarian goodwill? Here’s to, someday, Fashion Week being full of them.

By Sarah Stanley, Staff Writer

Want to learn more about stylish acts of charity? Check our blog’s In Good Fashion column, every Thursday.

Not a Member and like The (Style) Guide? You’ll love Rue La La. Join now. 

The healing power of pajamas? It certainly isn’t limited to sick days and lazy Sundays. Case in point: PUNJAMMIES™, providing victims of forced prostitution the chance to rebuild their lives.

Background
Shannon Keith founded International Princess™ Project in 2005 after a life-changing trip to India. Seeing the country’s red light districts first hand, she was compelled to restore these women – orphans, young mothers, and others – from the modern-day slavery by which millions of Indian women and children are imprisoned. Providing these victims with a holistic aftercare center where medical care, emotional restoration, education, and community support would all be available, they’d finally have a refuge for starting over.

The PUNJAMMIES™
PUNJAMMIES™ was launched by International Princess™ Project as a vehicle to bring about this change. These pajama tops and bottoms are hand made by women in the aftercare center using Indian fabrics and dyes (and we’re pretty much obsessed with the end products). Each PUNJAMMIES™ purchase provides fair trade wages for the women, financial support for holistic aftercare (including healthcare and schooling for the women and their children), and the ability to take more women into the aftercare facility. In earning an income, these once-despairing women receive the invaluable sense of self-reliance and worth that comes from being a part of a well-intentioned business – not to mention a community that truly cares for them. This is rehabilitation in its truest form.

Our PJ picks?
Rajeswari Racerback Tank (Hello, perfect gym/errands/lounging top.)
KUMARI Capri (Love this rich pattern.)
WEAR HOPE Hoodie (Art makes this hoodie totally unique.)

For more on International Princess™ Project’s background and mission, check out this video. Want to get involved? Visit its website for details on donation and volunteer opportunities.

By Sarah Stanley, Staff Writer

Want to learn more about stylish acts of charity? Check our blog’s In Good Fashion column, every Thursday.

Not a Member and like The (Style) Guide? You’ll love Rue La La. Join now. 

Three friends from Spokane – Kohl, Travis, and Stewart – got into crocheting in high school as a quirky hobby of sorts – a hobby that just happened to produce hats so fantastic, they sparked a local following (the area newspaper dubbed them “Krochet Kids”). Once college came around, though, the three friends parted ways, and their crafty venture was put on hold.

With college came volunteer trips to developing nations, where the guys experienced poverty first hand. They knew they wanted to help in some way, but weren’t sure how – until Stewart took a life-changing trip to Uganda.

With rebel armies having wreaked havoc in the north, people in northern Uganda had been living in government-run camps for 20 years, meaning 20 years spent relying solely on outside help for, simply put, everything.

Enter: the hook and yarn. Employing these people to crochet hats, the guys realized, would not only give them their own income, but an empowering sense of self-reliance. And they were right.

Krochet Kids international earned its non-profit status in 2008 and has been thriving ever since, with more than 150 people in Uganda and Peru working on its behalf (not to mention receiving mentorship and education). Those crocheted hats from the guys’ high school days? They’re still a pivotal part of the brand – which has since expanded to include tees, the perfect work-out tank, crocheted bow ties, a partnership with Vans, and more. Proof that passion can make anything possible? You’re looking at it.

By Sarah Stanley, Staff Writer

Want to learn more about stylish acts of charity? Check our blog’s In Good Fashion column, every Thursday.

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Images via Sseko Designs

By this point in the summer, we usually feel as though we’ve seen every sandal style on the planet – which made stumbling upon Sseko Designs‘ one-of-a-kind creations absolutely thrilling.

Not only are these sandals beyond unique (their interchangeable straps can be styled more than 100 different ways), but they also boast the exact colors, textures, and lines we’d choose if designing our dream sandal was in the cards (the people at Martha Stewart are with us on this one). Once we learned that these stunners are sending Ugandan women in need to university? Let’s just say – ownership went from “yes, please” to bona fide non-negotiable.

Founded by Liz Forkin Bohannon in 2008, Sseko (pronounced “say-ko”) Designs’ mission is to provide young Ugandan women with a sense of dignity and empowerment in a society where most opportunities are reserved for men.

How does the company achieve this? By hiring women who’ve reached their nine-month gap between high school and university, then directing 50% of the women’s respective salaries to accounts that cannot be accessed until tuition payment is due. As Sseko Designs explains, for every dollar a woman in a developing economy earns, 90% of it goes straight to her family, instead of toward her education; but by keeping funds secure, higher education is a possibility for promising young women who wouldn’t have access to it otherwise.

And it’s working, to say the very least: every woman who’s graduated from Sseko Designs is currently pursuing her college education.

(That certainly justifies buying a few more pairs.)

By Sarah Stanley, Staff Writer

Want to learn more about stylish acts of charity?  Check our blog’s In Good Fashion column, every Thursday.

Not a Member and like The (Style) Guide? You’ll love Rue La La. Join now. 

So, we ducked out of work a few minutes early the other day. But a night of shopping and cocktails awaited on Boston’s Newbury Street! And it was all for a fantastic cause.

At Alex and Ani, the brand behind those charm-adorned bangles (the ones that celebs love to wear in piles), we got caught up on the latest iterations of this beloved wrist candy, tried on at least 10 different frocks from Christina K. Pierce‘s portfolio of up-and-coming designers, sipped on cocktails, and tucked more than one of Crema Cafe‘s brownies into our purses for the Uber ride home. Best of all? 15% of the night’s proceeds went to Boston-based Rosie’s Place.

Established in 1974 as an emergency shelter for women who aren’t able to get into, or simply don’t feel safe at, co-ed shelters, Rosie’s Place provides women with meals, an on-site grocery center, short-term housing, literacy and arts programs, and more to get them back on their feet. While our night was a total blast (and our bracelet lineup certainly benefitted from it), an opportunity to support this life-changing organization made it just that much more amazing.

Interested in getting involved at Rosie’s Place? Giving and volunteer opportunities are available on their website.

By Sarah Stanley, Staff Writer

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Images via HALF UNITED

The other day, Rue marketing maven Ashley was racing around the office with what may be one of the coolest necklaces we’ve ever seen – think long chain, mismatched gold pendants, vintage-military vibe (and did we mention the shock of neon?). When we learned that this bauble stands for even more than accessorizing, let’s just say an obsession was born (and frenzied online ordering followed).

Founded in 2009 by brother-sister duo Christian and Carmin Black, HALF UNITED‘s goal is simple – to fight hunger through apparel profits. As an intern for TOMS shoes, Carmin quickly learned just how little it costs to keep a child well fed (in most developing nations, it’s a dollar a day; in the U.S., only a few dollars more), and she and her brother decided it was time to get in on the fight.

Every one of HALF UNITED’s sales is tracked to ensure that half of its profits are set aside for a food-related cause. Take their signature bullet necklace, for example (yes, the one we can’t stop obsessing over): with its purchase, a child may receive a week’s worth of school meals, or a food outreach event may be further supplemented. Working hand in hand with humanitarian groups in the U.S., Liberia, Fiji, and Cambodia, the Blacks’ mission to change lives is global in scale – and we can’t wait to see where it goes from here.

-By Sarah Stanley, Staff Writer

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