Fashion designer Francisco Costa is helping raise $1 million for the Brazilian Amazon

Brazilian fashion designer Francisco Costa, the founder and CEO of beauty brand Costa Brazil and the former women’s creative director of Calvin Klein Collection, is onto a new project: He’s the ambassador of Amazon Forever.

“Amazon Forever is a fund that was created by Conversational International and BrazilFoundation. And the goal here is to raise a million dollars to help bring PPE, medical supplies, all the support to Amazon regions being affected by COVID-19,” Costa, the chair of Conservation International’s Americas Council, tells Yahoo Life. The money will benefit local organizations working on the frontlines to combat the pandemic as well as support vulnerable families.

According to data by Johns Hopkins University, Brazil has more than 4 million COVID-19 infections, trailing the United States which has more than 6 million.

The BrazilFoundation is an organization that mobilizes resources for ideas and actions that transform Brazil. It works with leaders, social organizations, and a global network of supporters to promote equality, social justice, and opportunity for all Brazilians. And Conversation International uses science, policy, and partnerships to protect the nature that people rely on for food, freshwater, and livelihoods. Costa said in a press release that he is “humbled and honored to help inspire the #AmazonForever campaign” with the organizations.

Amazon Forever is also contributing to the long-term sustainability of local communities and nature to help protect forests, enhance biodiversity, and secure resilient livelihoods. “Indigenous people, they hold the keys, right?” says Costa. “They do hold the keys to the Amazon and by protecting them, [we are] actually protecting the forestation. It's a must to protect them.”

The inspiration for Amazon Forever came to Costa on a trip. “I spent about 10 days with Yawnaawa...a tribe located in the state of Arkray on the West coast of the Brazilian Amazon. You know, as COVID hit, they never left my mind. In the forest, no PPE, no medical supplies, nothing. You know, the middle of nowhere.”

Costa, who has dressed celebrities like Reese Witherspoon, Emma Stone and Kerry Washington, says the pivot to philanthropy was a no-brainer. “I haven’t switched gears really,” he tells Yahoo Life. “...I think of the world as a community.”

To make a donation to Amazon Forever, visit its website.

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