Shop for a Cause!

Happy Thanksgiving y'all! Hope everyone has enjoyed a great day with family, friends, and delicious food! As you give thanks and kick off the Christmas shopping season, think about ways in which you can give back. In addition to donating your time and money, you can buy products that directly or indirectly support organizations that help people (or animals) in need. Several preppy companies I love have done this in the past or present.

One thing I love about my favorite brand, Lilly Pulitzer, is that in addition to designing cute clothes and accessories they also give back by donating proceeds from select products to various charities. In Spring 2010 they designed an adorable black and white panda print called "Pandamonium." This collection included a classic shift dress, skirt, large and small tote bags, a girls' Little Lilly shift dress, and an insulated travel mug. Lilly Pulitzer donated ten percent of the proceeds from Pandamonium items to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), which supports conservation efforts of threatened and endangered species worldwide. Since I am obsessed with pandas, I bought almost everything in the Pandamonium print, and it felt good to know I was supporting conservation of the beloved giant panda at the same time. In fact, I was inspired to "adopt" a panda through WWF's symbolic adoption program. This collaboration between Lilly and WWF remains my favorite partnership between fashion and charity. Although the Pandamonium collection is no longer available directly through Lilly Pulitzer you might still be able to locate pieces for purchase on eBay or the Re-Lilly Facebook page.

Lilly Pulitzer Pandamonium shift dress

Lilly Pulitzer Pandamonium small tote 

Lilly Pulitzer teamed up with another great organization in Fall 2010 when they designed this beautiful limited edition Murfee scarf for Breast Cancer Awareness. Last year they donated approximately five dollars from the purchase of each of these scarves to the American Cancer Society. This scarf is no longer available directly through Lilly Pulitzer online but you can contact their customer service to see if they can locate one in stores. There's also eBay and the Re-Lilly Facebook page too!

Lilly Pulitzer Breast Cancer Awareness Murfee Scarf Fall 2010

In addition to these previous partnerships Lilly Pulitzer teamed up with the Breast Cancer Charities of America in Fall 2011 and designed a breast cancer awareness print called "Butterfly Kisses" which is available in a beautiful Murfee scarf. You can currently purchase this scarf on the Lilly website and at Lilly stores. Click here to learn more about the collaboration between Lilly and Breast Cancer Charities of America.

Lilly Pulitzer "Butterfly Kisses" Murfee scarf

 Lilly Pulitzer also recently worked with Palm Avenue, a Lilly via shop with four locations, to design another Murfee scarf for a great cause. This particular scarf supports the Amani Children's Foundation, which partners with New Life Home Trust in Kenya to place orphaned infants into adoptive homes. This cause is particularly dear to the owner of Palm Avenue, as she and her husband adopted their two youngest children through Amani. This vibrant Lilly print depicts the wildlife of the Kenyan landscape and the scarf is available exclusively at Palm Avenue stores-located in Raleigh and Greensboro, NC; Charleston, SC; and Savannah, GA. If you do not live near one of these stores they will gladly take orders over the phone and ship it to you! Click here for Palm Avenue contact info. If interested, you can read more about this collaboration among Lilly, Palm Avenue, and Amani.

Palm Avenue Lilly Pulitzer Murfee Scarf for Amani Children's Foundation

Vineyard Vines, another one of my favorite preppy brands, has a Tied to a Cause program in which they design custom totes, ties, and other products that support various charities and non-profits, donating 100% of proceeds to the particular organization. They usually highlight a different one each month, and this month they are featuring Robin Hood, a charity that works to fight poverty in New York City. Click here to learn which organizations Vineyard Vines has supported in the past through Tied to a Cause.

Vineyard Vines Robin Hood Foundation Classic Tote

Although sandal weather is over for the year (unless you live in Florida or someplace with a tropical climate), I want to highlight a great partnership that my favorite preppy sandal brand, Jack Rogers, had this fall. The Navajo leather sandal is perhaps their most well-known style of shoe, and Jack Rogers donated 10% of proceeds from all pink Palm Beach Navajo sandals sold in October 2011 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. 

Jack Rogers Pink Palm Beach Navajo

I am sure many more fashion companies have collaborated with charitable organizations, but these are a few of my favorites that I wanted to share with y'all! What are some fashion/charity partnerships you have seen in recent years?