Talbots Launches Gifting Necklace to Support Dress for Success
KEEP GIVING: The pandemic has reminded millions to be grateful for having good health and a good job. Now Talbots is trying to give them a good reason to give thanks.
For the seventh annual initiative to bolster Dress for Success, the specialty retailer has unveiled a “Gift It Forward” campaign. In line with that, the company has unveiled a “Gratitude” necklace that is meant to be gifted, not kept. The $99 limited-edition piece comes with a gift box and a personalized note to gift it forward. The accessory is meant to be given to a woman, who has helped the buyer in any of a number of ways over the past year.
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One hundred percent of the net proceeds (up to $50,000) will go to the organization that helps women reach their full potential. The Massachusetts-based retailer and online business has raised more than $7.2 million for the organization, which has helped 150,000 women get back on their feet and back in the workforce.
In January, about 275,000 women exited the workforce compared to 71,000 men, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. One in four working women, 15.5 million, has a child under the age of 14 at home, based on research by the Brookings Institution. The strains of remote learning, affordable child care, furloughs, layoffs and reduced hours have disproportionately impacted women. The unemployment rate for women jumped by more than 12 percentage points between February and April of last year due to the pandemic.
The necklace will be offered in Talbots stores and online through March 21. From today through March 21, Talbots will also accept monetary donations in its stores and online. In addition, shoppers can also help through the “Shop for a Cause” effort in stores and online, where 10 percent of all net proceeds from the sales will benefit Dress for Success (up to $50,000). As part of that shopping event through March 21, consumers will save 25 percent on purchases during this time.
Talbots senior vice president of brand marketing Bill Miller said in a statement, “This year because of the pandemic, it is critical that we all work together to help women, who have been disproportionately impacted, during these challenging times.” He also noted how 9,000 Talbots associates and “thousands of dedicated customers” have supported the partnership with Dress for Success.
Next month, Dress for Success will kick off its annual global campaign, “Your Hour, Her Power,” in honor of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day through a partnership with O The Oprah Magazine. Highlighting female leadership, the campaign will spotlight people including Talbots chief executive officer Lizanne Kindler, who will be celebrated on March 8, which is International Women’s Day. Kindler launched Haven Well Within, a site and concept shop in select Talbots stores last fall.
Some of the others who will be championed in the campaign include WW’s CEO Mindy Grossman, Ulta Beauty’s Mary Dillon, FedEx’s president and CEO Romana Hood, Urban Zen’s CEO Helen Aboah, Calvin Klein’s Cheryl Abel-Hodges, Herman Miller’s president and CEO Andi Owens and Blue Apron’s president and CEO Linda Kozlowski.
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