Nashville non-profit WeAreDAR is releasing its first children’s clothing line, aDARable, to the public beginning Sept. 4. The organization hopes to pre-sell at least 750 pieces of cause-driven label by October 2013, and is imploring the local community to help spread the word.
WeAreDAR partnered with O’More College of Design this past spring. School of Fashion Design students created the Spring 2014 aDARable collection in their “Designing for a Cause” class, and the first line debuted during the annual Eloise Fashion show on May 10.
In the following months, the WeAreDAR team traveled to Ti-Bouk, Haiti to interview and train 10 village women. Each was taught to sew and manufacture the line. Once the women completely manufacture the line, pieces will be sent back to the United States to be sold, both in boutiques and online.
Though the team at WeAreDAR has been globetrotting in recent weeks, their current goal is to pre-sell 750 pieces of aDARable in September.
Crista Hooven, one O’More designer of the collection and current WeAreDAR intern, says the designed line is based on future fashion trends in the spring of 2014 and encouraged the public to get behind the cause.
“We are more than excited to unveil aDARable online, and hope that our community will do some ‘guilt-free shopping.’ How many times do you get to say you fueled the passion behind college education, gave jobs to women in third-world countries and put your child in the sweetest clothes on Earth?” Hooven said. “Help these girls, help women around the world. WeAreDAR gives hope and sustaining life.”
WeAreDAR operates under fair-trade conditions, and the participants have never been employed. The opportunity allows each to work a normal 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. job, excluding weekends and holidays, just as those do in the United States.
Once items from the aDARable collection have been sold, 100% of the profits go back to the WeAreDAR project, giving the Nashville team the opportunity to not only employ, but to also empower, women and children in need all over the world.
To learn more about WeAreDAR’s mission and the aDARable clothing line, visit its website at www.wearedar.org. Or, email WeAreDAR founder Martha Montiel-Lewis at Martha@wearedar.org.
About WeAreDAR
WeAreDar is a nonprofit organization, which has created several relationships with clothing companies willing to donate a portion of their surplus. WeAreDAR takes these donations to 3rd world countries, and helps individuals set up small business enterprises within their communities. WeAreDAR’s goal is to facilitate long-term development, as opposed to short-term relief. To learn more, visit www.wearedar.org
