Strategy March 10, 2017
Ryonet Launching Socially Conscious Apparel Line
Screen-printing supply company Ryonet and a group of 10 screen-printing firms are working together to launch a socially conscious, environmentally friendly apparel line. Allmade shirts will be sourced from fabric spun in the United States and sewn at a factory in Haiti.
Initial styles in the new line will include a unisex T-shirt, a ladies’ crew-neck and a ladies’ scoop V-neck. Each style will be offered in U.S.-grown cotton and a triblend made of 50% Repreve polyester from recycled bottles, 25% organic, U.S.-grown cotton and 25% Modal.
Allmade is working in cooperation with the GO Exchange (GoEx), a subsidiary of The Global Orphan Project, a Kansas City-based group committed to caring for children and families in crisis. Too often, according to Ryonet, Haitian families are forced to put their children in orphanages because the parents can’t provide basic living needs. -The Allmade project will pay workers $16 a day, rather than the typical $3 a day, enabling workers to support their families. The factory will also offer training and development opportunities for workers, to enable them to advance and earn more money.
Ryonet organized a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to raise the capital needed to fund the initial sourcing of fabric in the U.S. and apparel construction in Haiti. Since the launch earlier this month, the Indiegogo campaign has already raised more than $57,000, more than halfway to its flexible goal of $100,000. Perks of the campaign include limited edition T-shirts, postcards from Haiti, the chance to be a screen printer for a day and the chance to visit the GoEx factory in Haiti. Visit Allmade’s website or the project’s Indiegogo page for more information.