Fashion is frivolous. This is a fact. Fashion is fickle, it is self-interested, and perhaps sometimes even a little unethical – (Fur? Leather? Snakeskin?). But fashion is not all this and nothing else. Like the trendy yet modestly-priced collections it produces, big-name retailer H&M is proving its relevant altruism in the launch of its fifth annual Fashion Against Aids collection, a line of clothing aimed towards raising awareness of HIV/AIDS among youth.
Lest you raise a brow about what an industry so seemingly removed from Aids might be capable of accomplishing, the past four years of Fashion Against Aids has raised more than $6.5 million for HIV/AIDS prevention projects. Buy a t-shirt, support a cause. H&M breaks it down to make putting your drop in the bucket exceedingly easy – as easy as shopping, actually – and when have you ever found that difficult?
So, where are the donations going?
The donations – the ones you can contribute to through the simple purchase of any of these pieces – are divvied up between four organizations, all of which work with HIV/AIDS youth prevention and education on the global level. They are: United Nations Population Fund, MTV Staying Alive Foundation, YouthAIDS, and Designers Against AIDS, and all you need to do to support them is shop! A more-than-reasonable excuse, no?
Oh! And there’s one last thing. H&M is also donating an additional $1 for every entry they receive into their kiss campaign, which asks you to upload a picture of you kissing your guy/girl/bestie/cat(?)/whomever(!) to bring awareness to the topic of safe sex, a key tenet in the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Check the campaign out at: http://campaign.hm.com/faa2012/ and don’t forget to shop the collection and upload a pic of your kiss! It’s all for a good cause, you know.