Backpacks have been synonymous with school days and homework for countless decades. Now the backpack has teamed up with another fan-favorite: charity.
New York couple Scot Tatelman and his wife, Jacqueline Tatelman, started their company, State, when they saw that children from tough neighborhoods were carrying their belongings in trash bags because they couldn’t afford to buy a backpack.
For every backpack bought by a tenderhearted fashionista, one is donated to a child in need. However, instead of taking the supplies to third world countries, the backpacks stay right here in the United States, where school supplies are still much-needed by many low income families and school systems.
State backpacks are a chic way to conceal all of your schoolbooks. Simplistic in design and often bright in color, these packs have a style for almost anyone. There are color-blocked bags in the style of your typical first-grade classroom and solid colored ones for a toned-down look. If you’re wary of buying a designer backpack, don’t fret. Backpacks, with the help of designers like Alexander Wang and the Olsen twins’ The Row, are coming back in style.
State isn’t the only fashion label involved in charity work. Everyone’s heard of Toms’ “One for One” campaign, but now the comfy shoes aren’t the only things being donated to children in need. Toms recently launched a line of glasses and sunglasses. While the price tag of these glasses certainly warrants a splurge, you — and your pocket — can at least feel good knowing a child with vision problems is benefiting from your shopping trip.
Warby Parker, another eyeglass brand, has a similar “one for one” program. Every time a pair of their prescription lenses is bought, a pair goes to a person in need. Warby Parker distributed their prescription lenses to more than 500 million people in the United States, Africa, Latin America and Asia.
If you’re a guy, and aren’t up to rocking neon backpacks or Toms sunglasses, Figs, a bow tie company, has a donation program as well. When you snatch up a few novelty bow ties for the next Alabama home game or a silky one for that special date, Figs donates one tie to a child in Africa. While ties seem like an insignificant or even seemingly useless contribution, children in Africa can’t attend school unless they are wearing a uniform; a uniform most of the students can’t afford. That next houndstooth tie you buy can not only be your quirky statement for the big game, but also give a child the chance at an education.
