Charity Works: Koio Raises Money for Racial Equality Movement + More

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June 12, 2020: In support of the recent wave of protests for racial equality, luxe sneaker brand Koio is partnering with Young Chicago Authors, which cultivates young voices through writing, publication, and performance education, for a style printed with an award-winning poem from the 2019 Louder Than a Bomb spoken word contest, digitally printed on the Capri Triple White style. The poem’sauthor, Taisaun Levi, is a student at Crane Medical Preparatory High School in Chicago. Available for pre-order today, all proceeds for the sale of the shoe will be donated to Young Chicago Authors, GoodKids MadCity, and Black Lives Matter. The style retails for $248 and is available online.

June 12, 2020: On Monday, Kurt Geiger will open 24 of its 57 stores across the UK and the brand has committed to donating the first month of all store profits to ‘NHS Charities Together’ to help it reach its target of $1.25 million for the NHS by Christmas. “We are obviously excited for our stores to start reopening and get back to work. However, as the ‘new normal’ way of life begins, we want to keep recognizing the staggering efforts made by our incredible NHS throughout the pandemic,” said CEO Neil Clifford. He has also pledged to donate all profits from a collection of T-shirts and masks he will be selling — on an ongoing basis and not just for a month. Designed in London, the masks are created in an outer fabric made of heavyweight interlock certified against Covid-19 (according to National Health System guidance issued in April 2020). This fabric is certified as grade 3 providing at least 70% retention of bacteria. A soft jersey lining has also been added for comfort and there is an accessible pocket in the masks so that customers can add their own filters.

More from Footwear News

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• UK Retail to Reopen With Cutting-Edge Apps, Connected Mirrors + Quarantined Shoes

June 5, 2020: As part of its new Pair for Pair donation program, sustainably made Brazilian sneaker brand Cariuma will plant a pair of trees in the Brazilian Rainforest for every sneaker purchased on its site. The efforts aim to support reforestation and preserve the natural habitat of many of the country’s endangered species.

May 28, 2020: Italian sneaker label Diemme resumed its production earlier this month at its northern Italy factory in Montebelluna. To kick start business and give something back to the Veneto region where it’s located co-founder Dennis Signor has created a limited edition shoe and is donating all the profits to Veneto’s civil protection body which ensures the safety of frontline workers and protects the country’s economic infrastructure. His team reworked one of its bestsellers, the Marostica Low trainer in white leather, customizing its heal collar with a hand-painted rendering of the Italian flag. Priced at $349, it is available at diemme.com.

May 27, 2020: Chinese Laundry and Franco Sarto are teaming up with along with Jenn Barthole from Shape Magazine and her organization Sneakers for Heroes to give shoes to frontline workers. Sneakers for Heroes is an initiative to donate free footwear to medical professionals during the pandemic and together with Chinese Laundry and Franco Sarto, it will give over 100 more pairs to hospitals across the United States. As of May 20th, over 5,000 pairs of sneakers have been donated to over 100 hospitals nationwide through this iniative.

May 26, 2020: Bearpaw is extending its #BearpawCares nomination-based charitable campaign through June 19, the company announced today — with plans to give away 1,000 pairs of slippers in addition to the 1,000 it has already donated. Bearpaw social media followers can go to the brand’s site to nominate a front-line worker to receive a free pair of shoes.

May 26, 2020: Oofos, known for its offering of comfort-driven recovery footwear, is launching a limited-edition DF OOlala style to benefit the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and honor the memory of longtime company employee Duncan Finigan on the first anniversary of her passing. The style is a version of the brand’s popular flip-flop, featuring Finigan’s initials in bold pink and green. All profits from the sale of the sandal will be donated to DFCI to further advance cancer research. In addition, Oofos will double its Project Pink contributions to DFCI for all sales through Oofos.com today. A long-time supporter and partner of DFCI, Oofos donates 3% of all online sales to the institute.

May 26, 2020: Luxury footwear retailer Chuckies New York is joining the COVID-19 fight by reaching out to health-care workers and newborns at Lenox Hill Hospital. The store has introduced a collection of tie-dye scrub and bibs, to be donated to the maternity unit. In addition, 10% of sales from the collection — which also includes a range of women’s, kids and babywear — will be donated to the facility. The range is available by special order through @chuckiesnewyork.

May 25, 2020: Paris based shoe brand Chatelles Slippers has launched an online charity archive sale in aid of Les Hôpitaux de Paris. 10% of proceeds from each purchase will be donated to the French capital’s hospital fund to help in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The sale will run until the end of the week with over 500 styles to choose from in a full range of sizes from European 34 to 43.

May 21, 2020: Ralph Lauren is donating about 1.5 million apparel products — including loungewear, sweaters and T-shirts — to hundreds of thousands of frontline workers and families in need around the world. The offering will be made through its charity networks as well as many of the company’s longstanding Pink Pony partners focused on cancer care. What’s more, the brand is providing complimentary coffee and baked goods to hospital workers across its hometown of New York City. Its Ralph’s Coffee truck was recently stationed outside the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Care Center and will continue to stop at additional hospitals in the metro area over the next few weeks.

May 21, 2020: K-Swiss is teaming up with Heal the Bay, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the safety of coastal waters and watersheds of Los Angeles, to create a new style inspired by California’s state fish, the Orange Garibaldi. The shoe pays homage to the fish with bright orange fish scale textured material on the uppers made to imitate the appearance of the species. It also employs eco-friendly materials, including cellulose-based water-soluble and bloom foam algae-based midsoles. The pair launches on May 27 with adult sizes retailing for $80 and kids’ sizing selling for $50 at KSwiss.com. All proceeds from the shoe’s sale will go towards Heal the Bay’s efforts.

May 20, 2020: Kenneth Cole has teamed up with Just Salad, the fast-casual food concept. After executives at Kenneth Cole noticed the work Just Salad was doing to support families and frontline workers in New York City during the COVID-19 crisis, they decided to work together to design, create and provide free face masks to all Just Salad employees and delivery personnel. According to the footwear company, the face masks will be given to 750 employees in Just Salad’s 45 locations across the greater New York City area, Chicago, Philadelphia, North Carolina and Florida. The masks, which will come in Just Salad’s signature shade of Navy blue are being produced in Los Angeles.

May 19, 2020: Bearpaw is extending its #BearpawCares nomination-based charitable campaign benefitting frontline workers. From May 22 – June 19, it will engage social media followers and brand loyalists to nominate someone they know working on the frontline to receive a complimentary pair of slippers. This follows its earlier donation of 1,000 pairs of slippers. Bearpaw followers will be able to nominate one person by filling out a nominee form at bearpaw.com/bearpawcares. Entries must be following Bearpaw on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to enter. Nominees must be based in the U.S. Every person selected will receive a congratulations email with directions for ordering.

May 19, 2020: A Common Thread, part of Vogue and the CFDA‘s fundraising initiative to support members of the American fashion community, announced a new “ACT for Good” campaign today in collaboration with online fundraising platform Omaze. Through the partnership, they will be offering individuals the chance to in unique experiences related to the American fashion community. Starting May 18th, a new experience featuring fashion powerhouses like Annie Leibovitz, Anna Wintour and Huda Kattan, will be announced each week. With every donation to the “ACT for Good” campaign through Omaze, you can be entered to win one of these experiences in supporting A Common Thread. The first prize is joining in on a Vogue photoshoot with Leibovitz in addition to receving a signed print and a signed collection of the photographer’s books.

May 15, 2020: QVC and HSN parent company, Qurate Retail Group, has partnered with the National Retail Federation to help support 20 small businesses, including Saxon Shoes in Virginia, impacted by COVID-19. This week, QVC and HSN “Small Business Spotlight”, an initiative donating air-time, a spot on their respective websites where consumers can connect, and production resources to help drive shoppers to their businesses. Market reach for QVC and HSN is 92 million households. “Like many small businesses around the country, the impact of COVID-19 has affected us greatly,” said Gary Weiner, president of Saxon Shoes. “The niche that we have lived in for so many years, came to a screeching halt in the early part of March, resulting in the need to lay off 57 of our 60 staff members on March 17. Because we are an in- store service-oriented business, with minimal ecommerce, our sales have been devastated, off close to 90% over the past 30-40 days. Being selected by the NRF Foundation and Qurate Retail Group to be featured in the Small Business Spotlight program on QVC, HSN and Zulily, creates an unparalleled opportunity for us to tell our story to customers both locally and nationally as we navigate through these challenging times.”

May 15, 2020: Crocs is expanding its give-away program to COVID-19 health-care workers to include a wider range of essential workers such as grocery store attendants, delivery drivers and line cooks that have been impacted by the event. Dubbed “Pairs That Care” the initiative will kick off on the brand’s website at 12:00 pm ET today and run until the day’s free pair allotment has been fulfilled. It is uncertain how many pairs are available. The offer is targeted toward those in need who aren’t sure where their next paycheck is coming from and individuals who require easy-to-clean shoes in their line of work.

May 15, 2020: Non-profit trade association FFANY and the Arsutoria School in Milan, Italy, announced the winner of the 2020 Joseph C. Moore Footwear Scholarship. The recipient of the 12-week shoe pattern-making and prototyping course in Milan is Edison Tran, a graduating senior from The Fashion Institute of Technology. He was chosen as the scholarship winner out of five finalists. The scholarship will cover free tuition valued at $11,700, accommodation and round trip airfare for a total value of more than $17,500. While the coronavirus pandemic continues, the timing of the program remains unclear but the committee is working closely to find a time for Tran to take the course when international restrictions are lifted. In addition, all finalists will receive the Arsutoria e-learning platform, valued at $600.

May 14, 2020: Falc S.p.A., the parent company of Naturino and Voile Blanche, is taking action to support frontline workers. The 50-year-old Italian company announced a $10,000 donation to the Two Ten Footwear Foundation, a footwear-oriented foundation responding to the crisis by providing emergency relief to footwear employees and their families who are directly affected. The company also is donating an additional $10,000 to a local food bank in its hometown of Civitanova Marche, Italy, as well as a $10,000 donation to a hospital in Knjazevac, Serbia, where it hosts additional factories. The company has dedicated half of its stitching lines to help with the production of masks for medical workers, too.

May 12, 2020: Old Navy announced that it is donating more than $30 million worth of clothing to vulnerable American families. To get the clothing to those in need, the retailer is working with a number of partners, including nonprofit organizations Good360 and Baby2Baby as well as transportation partner Penske Logistics. Additionally, the chain is donating 50,000 reusable, non-medical grade masks to Boys & Girls Clubs of America, one of its longtime partners.

May 11, 2020: As part of its “Responders in Motion” initiative, Rockport has donated over 5,000 pairs of sneakers and walking shoes (valued at over $500,000) to first responders. The brand has partnered with Massachusetts Ambulance Association to donate the shoes to its members.

May 11, 2020: Designer Ruthie Davis announced that her brand is donating $5 from every sale of her spring/summer shoes to the nonprofit Safe Horizon, now through July. “The COVID-19 lockdown measures are fueling a sharp increase in domestic violence, especially in New York,” the brand told FN via email. “With facilities in all five boroughs, [Safe Horizons] is the nation’s leading victim assistance organization whose mission is to prevent violence, promote justice and support victims of abuse and their families and communities. We at Ruthie Davis pride ourselves on empowering women. We are donating to Safe Horizons as this is an alarming situation, and the well-being of women is of utmost importance to us.”

May 8, 2020: In its ongoing efforts to help educate the public on creating a path towards greater sustainability, Reef embarked on a social media campaign this week encouraging people to pause and “do better.” As part of the initiative, on May 9 and 10, it’s added a give-back component designed to help protect the beaches and oceans. Consumers are asked to post what they would do for a better beach on the brand’s social media channels. Reef will donate $5 for each pledge to @surfrider and @robmachadoroundation.com

May 7, 2020: Comrad is using its compression socks for good. The brand launched a giveback initiative this week to support the crisis by donating its socks to healthcare professionals across the country who are on their feet all day. As of yet, the brand announced it has shipped to more than fifty hospitals in seven states with more than $130,000 worth of product so far.

May 6, 2020: To assist health-care workers on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis in New York, Uniqlo announced that it is donating 20,000 units of its AIRism innerwear to Montefiore Health System and NYC Health + Hospitals. The gift will include AIRism Sleeveless Tops for women and Short Sleeve V-Neck shirts for men. Hospital employees can wear the tops under scrubs or uniforms. The AIRism donation comes in addition to the 10 million masks that Fast Retailing, Uniqlo’s parent, has distributed to high-priority medical facilities.

May 6, 2020: Through Mother’s Day, Margaux will be offering a “donate your discount” sale in partnership with No Kid Hungry. Shoppers will be able to donate up to 20% of their purchase to the organization.

May 4, 2020: Vessi has announced a Community Funding Program as part of its series of initiatives for COVID-19 relief. The charitable push would allocate $1,000 a day to support 10 frontline workers — for a total donation of $100,000 — whether by delivering their groceries or providing much-needed personal protective equipment. Over the past few weeks, the DTC shoe brand has already given away 2,000 free sneakers to health-care workers and introduced a “pay what you can” model to donate 400,000 masks.

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