WHAT DOES FREEDOM LOOK LIKE? COULD YOU DRAW IT?
A few weeks back we were on the phone with a charity who help bring people to safety from modern slaver. They're called International Justice Mission (IJM).
They share incredible stories. One story was about a 13-year-old girl called Rajeshwari in South Asia who hand-drew a map of her family’s exact location so that police and IJM could find the brick kiln they were trapped in. Another was of a boy who was 17 when he was trafficked to make shoe soles in a factory in appalling conditions, unable to leave. With support from IJM, the police brought him to safety, and he’s now completed his education and is working a stable job in a hospital.
Their emails remind me of walking into a cinema, lights dimmed and a pitch black screen with stark white text that reads this-is-a-true-story. They work tirelessly, day in day out, to help police bring people to freedom from slavery, and some of those people are trapped in the fashion industry. So, naturally we wanted to work together.
We also had a dilemma.
As you may know, when we released our first batch of Yes Friends tees a few of them had very small marks on them. Not good enough to sell, but far too good for landfill. We called them “Wonky Tees”.
We put a few hundred online for you to work your magic adding your own designs. We gave another box to a refugee hub in Bristol who were looking for fresh white tees. But we still had 150 left over.
Here’s where you and IJM come in.
Together, we’re turning these wonky tees into the hottest and most generous printed tee on the internet. The Yes Friends and IJM audience got to work designing tees based on the word "Freedom" and 2,000 of you voted on your favourite designs. The competition was so outrageously close that we decided to release the top two. Congratulations to Klara Bilic and Lucy McClune on their incredible designs 👏
100% of the profits from the Freedom tees & hoodies will go to IJM UK to help bring children, women and men to safety from slavery. There are only 223 T-shirts available. When they're gone, they're gone. So move fast.
You've got 7 days to pre-order these limited edition Freedom tees & hoodies. Go, go, go 👇
Together, let’s help end slavery and transform the fashion industry 🧡
Sam & The Yes Friends Team