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Pants to Poverty
YOUR UNION SHOP helps rid the world of bad pants
- Fairtrade Fortnight starts with a bang
- Local small ethical independent retailer to stock Fair Trade product with a difference
LSE SU are celebrating Fairtrade Fortnight as we hope to take advantage of the growing demand for ethically sourced products that is sweeping the nation. But rather than fall back on the traditional route of selling Fairtrade staples of chocolate, coffee and bananas, the LSE SU shop aims to grab locals attention and keep the most sensitive part of our bodies happy by unveiling Pants to Poverty’s range of designer, sweat shop free organic cotton Fairtrade pants for men and women.
The pants which use no pesticides or carcinogenic dyes are sourced from a Fair Cotton Growers' Association in the Mandvi area of Kutch, Gujarat in Western India with some of the profits reinvested by Pants to Poverty directly back to an Indian cotton farmer fund to sponsor community-based projects.
Latest figures from the Fairtrade Foundation show that more and more of us today care about where our food and clothes come as UK shoppers now spend £450m annually on Fairtrade. The backlash against big business that relies on exploiting small suppliers to make fat profits is gathering pace.
Kate from LSE SU said, “My customers want to support a local business and the community here as well as elsewhere in the world where poverty is rife. We’re really excited to be offering people in LSEsomething a little bit different from the standard Fairtrade bar of chocolate. These designer cotton pants, look and feel the part and help independent businesses rather than the giant supermarket. What’s more, Pants to Poverty’s transparent ethical supply chain means we know that some of the money from the sale of these pants goes directly to the farmers in India who made them”.
Working directly with farmers and factory workers and only selling through ethical outlets is central to Pants to Poverty’s business. According to the company’s founder, Ben Ramsden; “Even though 90% of Britons now know about Fairtrade, in the UK and across the world, bad pants are damaging people, the planet and our futures. Any pants – like most pants - made using pesticides, exploitation and carcinogenic dyes should not grace the most precious parts of our bodies! We aim to rid the world of bad pants and are calling on the people of LSE to dig out those bad pants shamefully festering in dark lifeless drawers and swap them for a pair of good pants”.
For more information or to join the movement, call Ben Ramsden on 0779 323 6115, email info@pantstopoverty.com or go to www.pantstopoverty.com.
Notes to editors
About SU Shop
Situated East Building, Houghton Street, WC2A 2AE
About Pants to Poverty
Established in 2005 by the youth group from Make Poverty History, this dynamic and exciting company is a new type of campaigning social enterprise that makes luxurious yet inexpensive Fairtrade, organic and sweatshop free underwear. Pants to Poverty works directly with farmers and factory workers and only sells through ethical outlets. All profits from the sale of our pants go directly into building a perfectly ethical supply chain right from Grain to Groin. This means that farmers earn appropriate money for their cotton. They don't get ill from using pesticides (none are used) and these pants support farmers, their families and their original techniques in farming and weaving cotton. £1 of every pair of retail-sold pants goes into a fund to sponsor community-based projects there so these are really the most ethical pants about.
Pants to Poverty currently competes with only Calvin Klein and meets the same standard of product with similar branding but the key differential is the Fairtrade, organic and sweatshop free supply chain, the campaign focus and the fact that our Pants are £9 cheaper per pair despite the fact that £1 per sale goes to a fund for mobilsation within the country of origin.
