California Apparel News

The California apparel industry is known for its glamour and glitz, but behind the scenes and often less recognized, there is another “g” at work—giving. The industry has a long history of charitable works, from the immigrant Russian tailor in 1913 who marshaled his peers to create a sanitorium for tuberculosis victims that became the City of Hope medical center, to small start-up companies today who dedicate percentages of their profits to charity. Even when margins are small, hearts can be big. In this season of giving, and giving thanks, the California Apparel News celebrates the stories of just a few of the many generous souls that make up the California apparel industry.

Apparel Industries Group

OrganizationAn association of apparel industry manufacturers, textile producers, factors, attorneys, and accountants, created in 1995 by the merger of The Merchants Club and Professions and Finance Associates, two of City of Hope’s oldest auxiliaries.Charity SupportedThe City of Hope, one of only 39 National Cancer Institute–designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the United States. The hospital provides premier treatment of, and research into, cancer and other life-threatening diseases such as diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and other immune-system diseases. It is estimated that apparel industry–related charities have raised in excess of $30 million for the hospital over its 90-plus-year history.Charitable EventAnnual Award of Hope gala held in June, honoring a member of the apparel industry. This year’s honoree was Michael Ball of Rock & Republic, who helped raise at least $5 million this year and has pledged 100 percent of the profits from sales of designated items in his collection.Mission The link between the City of Hope and the apparel industry goes back to its beginnings in 1913 when a tailor named Sam Cook, distressed by the death of a 21-year-old garment worker from tuberculosis, marshalled support from colleagues to set up a tuberculosis sanitorium in two tents on 10 acres of land where the railroad tracks ended in Duarte.Today, thanks in great part to the generosity of the apparel industry, City of Hope encompasses 114 acres, dozens of buildings, and 300 doctors and research scientists. Director of Development Csynthia Savage has worked with the AIG for 10 years and never ceases to be impressed by the group’s commitment.

“They talk to their network of friends and colleagues and spread the word,” says Savage. “Some get involved by being involved in the gala, others because of their own involvement with one of the diseases. Unfortunately, cancer has touched a lot of lives. When people visit our campus, they want to get involved because they see first-hand the cutting-edge work we do, the compassion and commitment of our physicians and scientists. They realize we are a premier institution for cancer research and patient-centered treatment, dedicated to advancing research and finding cures for cancer and other serious diseases.”

The Ben B. and Joyce E. Eisenberg Foundation

PhilanthropistJoyce Eisenberg-Keefer, owner of The New Mart.Charities SupportedJoyce Eisenberg-Keefer and her late husband, Ben, have donated close to $100 million—“and more coming”—to various charities over the years. Among their beneficiaries: bull; Jewish Home for the Aged, including donations to its medical center and creation of the Joyce Eisenberg-Keefer Residential Medical Center.bull; The Wellness Community, in support of this group of counseling centers for cancer sufferers, located throughout the United States, Israel, and Japan, offering those afflicted with free psychiatric help and an empathetic peer group. bull; Weitzman Institute in Israel, which does breast cancer research, with donation money coming from the royalties of the highly successful multiple sclerosis drug copoxin. bull; Shaare Zedek Hospital trauma center, Israel.bull; Thalians, which supports programs for children with mental illness. bull; Israel Tennis Centers and Israel Children’s Centers—14 centers in Israel and a Los Angeles inner-city tennis program designed to provide lessons for children free of charge.bull; USC Band, with new musical instruments as needed. bull; Skirball Museum, for an art teaching area for children. bull; Joyce Eisenberg-Keefer Center at St. John’s, which creates a comfortable and friendly living-room style breast cancer center within the St. John’s Hospital complex to encourage women to have mammograms. bull; Various fashion industry charities, “when we get an invitation.” bull; Disney Concert Hall, to support the Israel Philharmonic. bull; UCLA Medical Center, for a research fellowship for Israeli heart specialist Dr. Hillel Laks. MissionBefore his death, Ben Eisenberg and wife Joyce decided to put all of their substantial property holdings, including The New Mart, into a charitable trust. Today, with the exception of a small amount set aside for overhead, all monies generated by those properties are turned over to charities.“I was not born rich,” Eisenberg-Keefer says. “I could have been a basket lady, you know? I’m lucky to be able to give where it counts. I’m helping to make the world a better place. That’s what we love to do—help the elderly, medical research, and the children. I’m on the boards so I can watch what’s going on to make sure people are contributing. I worked all my life, and I’m still working. I’m teaching the young ones around here how to give. They’re all doing well. My staff loves giving.”

Bestswimwear.com

ProductOnline retailer of designer swimwear.

Charities Supportedbull; Disaster relief, to Peruvian Earthquake Victims this past summer, sending cases of U.S. Military Meals-Ready-to-Eat and potable drinking water packets; and to victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, through its donation to the Red Cross. bull; Friends of Animals Foundation, whose members rescue and place stray animals. bull; UrbanFarming.org, which is devoted to eradicating hunger and improving urban neighborhoods.

MissionClaude Daumer, president and founder of Bestswimwear.com, says the company has been donating “since we opened our doors in 1996. We feel that giving back to the community is not just a nice thing to do, it's the right thing to do.”

Brighton

ProductsAccessories and lifestyle.

Charities Supported bull; Breast cancer research, with donations through sales of its Power of Pink jewelry line; $567,000 this year, $2.5 million since 2003. bull; Heart disease, through donations to the American Heart Association ($272,000 this year) and the Go Red For Women movement (more than $800,000 since 2005).bull; Donations to four charities working toward peace through sales of its Peace bracelet; $250,000 this year.bull; Soles4Souls, an organization that provides shoes to those in need, by collecting 5,500 pairs of gently worn shoes in a single weekend.bull; Miscellaneous donations to California-based research organizations such as the Salk Institute and the City of Hope.

Charitable EventBrighton’s Go Red For Women, Jan. 12–Feb. 15, 2008.

MissionBrighton products are sold through a network of nearly 6,000 mostly family-owned specialty stores throughout the country. The 16-year-old company believes in donating to local branches of charities whenever possible, and encourages each participating retailer to decide where to donate the breast cancer and American Heart Association money in their communities.

Philanthropy has become a key component of Brighton’s business plan, according to owner and president Jerry Kohl: “Brighton is about working towards a better future, helping people, and standing out.”

California Fashion Foundation

OrganizationThe philanthropic arm of the California Fashion Association.

Charities Supportedbull; Operation School Bell, serving school-age children below the poverty line.bull; Inner-City Arts.bull; Apparel-industry teaching institutions, including the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Otis Art Institute, Cal Poly University of Pomona, the Fashion Center of Los Angeles Trade-Tech, Mount San Antonio Community College, Fashion Group International Scholarship Fund, the Textile Association of Los Angeles Scholarship Fund. bull; Disaster-relief donations to Habitat for Humanity and Hurricane Katrina.Money raised to date is estimated to be $250,000.

Charitable EventAnnual Hold ’Em Poker Tournament and California Fashion deck, with 100 percent of proceeds going to charity.

Mission“We regularly support educational institutions and other organizations that have met the criteria of our mission statement,” says Ilse Metchek, executive director of the California Fashion Association. “But we also respond to the moment. And because we are of the moment, there is a genuine ’What can I do to help?’ feeling when we call. The response is great. I can’t say enough about our industry. If you point to something specific and tell why they need to donate, they open their checkbooks.”

Divine Design

Charity SupportedProject Angel Food, the free meal-delivery program serving men, women, and children debilitated by HIV/AIDS, cancer, and other life-threatening illnesses throughout Los Angeles County. Since its inception 15 years ago, Divine Design has raised more than $10 million for Project Angel Food. This year, from the proceeds raised, Divine Design plans to donate to Beverly Hills charities as well, including $25,000 to the Beverly Hills Fireman’s Association (CHFA Children’s Scholarship Fund), and $25,000 to the Beverly Hills Police Officers Association ($15,000 to the Beverly Hills Bicycle Unit).

Charitable EventDivine Design, the West Coast’s five-day shopping event featuring among its offerings men’s, women’s, and children’s apparel items donated by hundreds of top designers across the country and offered at deep discounts, with 100 percent of the proceeds going directly to Project Angel Food.

Last year’s event raised $1.5 million. This year, Divine Design kicks off Nov. 29 with a celebrity-studded benefit dinner at the Beverly Hilton hotel honoring Ted Baker of Ted Baker London with a VIP shopping party that same night at the Marketplace in the old Robinsons-May building adjacent to the Beverly Hilton. General shopping days run Fri., Nov. 30–Mon., Dec. 3.

MissionThis is Lauren Gurvich’s second season as fashion director of Divine Design, after last year’s record-breaking event. “I’m thrilled to be working for them again,” she says of the West Coast’s largest nonprofit fashion event.

It’s Gurvich’s job to solicit donations from the fashion community to stock the shelves and “raise as much money through clothing as possible.” Some 10,000 shoppers regularly attend. The track record and high profile of Divine Design makes her job “a lot easier,” she explains. “People know this event.” But she is still blown away by the response she receives when she calls. “Everybody is willing to pitch in,” she says. “We have more designers than ever on board. I would say 60 percent are L.A.-based designers, but we get very strong support from New York–based designers as well. All the fashion community is really behind us.”

The apparel industry was one of the fastest to respond to the devastation wrought by AIDS. Divine Design was created 14 years ago to offer the basic comfort of good nutrition to the sick and dying. Now in its 15th year, Project Angel Food “feeds 1,600 people every day in Los Angeles County,” Gurvich says. “With a lot of charities, you don’t get to see where your money is going. Here, every $5 goes to a meal to feed someone.”

Eco-Centric

ProductsWomen’s and men’s 100 percent organic cotton clothing.

Charities Supportedbull; The Sierra Club, which receives10 percent of profits from sales.bull; American Forests, which plants one tree for every garment sold; $1,000 has been raised to date, for 1,000 garments, and it is expected 4,000 trees will be planted before year’s end.bull; Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Charitable EventsA participant in the October 2007 fashion show for Fashion for the Cure.

MissionWith Eco-Centric shipping its first collection this fall, and with its men’s line debuting in Spring 2008, the young company is just starting to explore ways to give back. Says CEO/president Laura Chambers, “Being able to work hand in hand with environmentally aware charities such as The Sierra Club and American Forests is what helps Eco-Centric live up to its ideals.”

Fashion for the Cure

Charity Supported Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Charitable Event Fashion for the Cure is an annual fashion show and silent auction event. The highlight of the evening is the fashion show that features breast cancer survivors dressed in inventory from FFTC founder Sharon Schlesinger’s Boku Mangos boutique. Several individuals from the community are honored every year; this year, FFTC gave Pink Ribbon Awards to seven researchers located in labs funded by the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. FFTC was fortunate to receive $25,000 from Aetna, which will fund diagnostic services for the underserved and uninsured in Los Angeles County. Money raised to date is approximately $200,000.

Mission “When I moved to California from New York and decided to open a boutique, Boku Mangos, in Woodland Hills, I was already a breast cancer survivor of over 10 years,” says FFTC founder Sharon Schlesinger.

“I had never been an activist or volunteer for any organization before. I decided it was time that I focused on something more than business, and raising funds for breast cancer research seemed to be a fit for me personally. I thought the store could become a springboard for fund-raising activities as well as a center for awareness and information.”

Schlesinger became involved raising funds for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The first Fashion for the Cure was held at the Sebastian/Wella corporate headquarters in the valley in 2001. “I built the first FFTC volunteer committee out of family, friends, employees, and clothing reps,” Schlesinger recalls. They raised $5,000 with a fashion show and silent auction.

Seven years later, the work continues with a changing cast of volunteers. “I have always felt the fashion industry with its huge female workforce and numerous fashion designers were a natural volunteer army in the fight to find a cure for breast cancer,” Schlesinger says. “I started FFTC because I had received a gift of over 10 years of life because of all the work that organizations and researchers had done previously. I wanted to ensure that people I knew and loved and people I didn't know could receive a gift of life, too.”

Fashion Industries Guild of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

OrganizationFashion Industries Guild of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a 51-year-old apparel industry organization, currently lists 30 executive board and board of directors members drawn from the apparel industry.

Charity SupportedCedars-Sinai Medical Center, with a focus on children’s pediatrics. Projects at the hospital complex include construction of the 7th floor of the South Patient Tower; the Barney Morse Rehabilitation Center; the Harvey Morse Conference Center; the Florence and Duke Becker Building; the Ruth Bregman Pediatric Clinic; and the Pediatric AIDS Clinic, including funding for staffing; the Guess? Chair for Community Child Health Care; the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Wing; the Child Neurology and Neurodevelopment Program in the Ruth Bregman Health Clinic; and this year’s project, the Fashion Industries Guild Pediatric Acute Care unit. Money raised to date is close to $25 million.

Charitable Event The primary fund-raiser for the Fashion Industries Guild is its annual black-tie gala—an apparel industry event put on by apparel industry people—spotlighting the year’s honoree, with all proceeds going to Cedars-Sinai. George Rudes of Not Your Daughter’s Jeans was honored this year, in early October. Barbara Fields is the honoree for 2008 and will be feted on Oct. 4 at the Beverly Wilshire hotel. The record amount raised by a Guild dinner was the $1.6 million brought in when Maurice Marciano of Guess? was honored.

Mission“Ever since I became president, my desire was to zero in on pediatrics,” says Ken Weinbaum, who has headed the Fashion Industries Guild for 16 years. “When I took my first tour of the hospital, that department touched me the most. I felt it necessary to get involved there.” It’s been the same for the many honorees who have spent time getting to know the facility. “We’re doing a tour for Barbara, and when she sees what she’s getting involved in, she’s going to be very moved. She’s already got the bug. She’s a very energetic lady—she wants to get started and roll up her sleeves.”

While the honorees are used to the satisfaction of business success, they often are unprepared for the feelings they have working for this charity, Weinbaum notes. “You come to work every day, but when you get involved with a charity, it’s a whole different feeling,” he explains. “You’re getting a bigger payback. You’re seeing the results of kids who have gotten better through your efforts. You keep wanting to help. It’s a nice addiction.”

!IT In The Loop

ProductContemporary men’s and women’s denim

Charities Supported A member of the Comfort to Need Campaign, it is partnering with the Hunger Project, a charitable foundation committed to ending world hunger by empowering rural villages to create and run their own sustainable resources. Comfort to Need was started by a group of business owners to raise awareness of various need-based issues facing the world’s poor. Comfort to Need then helps businesses launch their own philanthropic efforts through partnerships with existing charitable groups. !IT In The Loop contributes 10 percent of total sales to the Hunger Project.

MissionFounder and CEO Kimmy Song has traditionally been a silent philanthropist, but with the start-up of !IT In The Loop, she wanted to make a statement.

“Joining the Comfort to Need Campaign has allowed our company to explore various ways of how to best help people, using out-of-the-box ideas,” Song says. “As a business community, we challenge ourselves and others to be better, more conscientious people. By pulling together other companies that provide products and services, we can expand our sphere of influence to initiate greater awareness. This is very much our philosophy. Just as our name says, we want people to be in the loop on what is happening today. It spurs us to do better on a business level so that we can help even more people.”

Knitworks Design Zone Inc.

Products: Childrenswear and junior sportswear

Charities Supported:bull; Inner-City Arts, which provides funds for arts programs that have been cut in Los Angeles public schools. bull; School Bell, which provides clothing for schoolchildren who live below the poverty line, in conjunction with the Junior Assistance League.bull; Textile Association of Los Angeles, through an annual contribution to its scholarship fund.bull; Los Angeles Mission, annually feeding 5,000–7,500 people each year at Thanksgiving and Christmas.bull; Junior Blind of America, donating T-shirts and sweatshirts for the Junior Blind Olympics and Camp Bloomfield games.bull; Adopt-a-Family Program, adopting 5–10 families for Christmas, providing them with gifts, trees and decorations, dinner and other items. bull; Disaster relief, through its support of major disasters with clothing, medical supplies, blankets, and food; it recently gave donations to children of Darfur and adopted an orphanage of children under 14 in southern India.bull; Assorted orphanages in Southern California, through supplies of clothing.

Charitable EventInner-City Arts Fund-raiser, being held Nov. 13 and honoring Knitworks Design Zone Inc.’s Vera Campbell, is expected to raise more than $700,000.

MissionOwner Vera Campbell is well known for her wide-based and deep philanthropy in an industry that, she says, “is incredibly generous and philanthropic.

“Our industry is blessed with abundance, and many realize that there is no greater gift than the gift of giving back to the community. I have been active in the charitable community for many years and am passionate about working with smaller, local organizations where I can play a role in their development and growth. Being in the business of making kids’ clothing has opened my eyes, heart, and pocketbook to their needs. Fortunately, clothing kids is an easy and rewarding way to help.

“We donate thousands of garments each year to charities in need of clothing for underprivileged or distressed kids. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that the garments you make can also make the difference in a child’s life. The simple gift of new and fashionable clothing can nurture, create, and help develop self-esteem and confidence. What an easy way to help make a child’s life better.”

Lucky Brand Jeans

ProductsPremium jeans and vintage-inspired rock ’n’ roll–style clothes for men, women, and kids.

Charities SupportedThrough its 11-year-old Lucky Brand Foundation, the company supports primarily children’s charities, which this year includes the Pediatric IBD Center, The Smile Train, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Camp Sundown, The Bridge School, Ride ON Therapeutic Horsemanship, Camp del Corazon, Dream Street Foundation, Cornerstone House of Santa Barbara, and Inside Out Community Arts. Since its inception, the foundation has raised more than $7 million.

Charitable EventThe annual Lucky Brand Foundation “Black Tie & Blue Jeans Gala,” being held Nov. 9 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, features guest comedian Craig Ferguson, a musical tribute to the Beatles by The Fab Four, a surprise musical guest, plus silent and live auctions.

MissionCo-founders Gene Montesano and Barry Perlman explain their company’s dedication to children’s charities this way:“We both have been blessed with healthy children, so from the beginning, we have wanted to give back to those who are less fortunate and could use a little help. We feel our contributions have truly had an impact on the quality of life for many children and, in doing so, have given them some hope and some happiness—it’s all we ever wanted to do,” says Perlman.

Pierce Jeans

ProductsPremium-denim line of jeans, capris, vests, and skirts.

Charities SupportedFifty percent of all company profits go to the following charities: bull; Kids of Kilimanjaro, which provides day meals to more that 20 preschools and about 1,000 children in the Monduli District of Tanzania in East Africa. bull; World Vision, which focuses on reducing the effects of poverty and social injustice on children in Third World nations.

Charitable EventsKids of Kilimanjaro Annual Gala and the Salvation Army’s Labor of Love Fashion Fund-raiser.

MissionPierce Jeans was launched in 2006 by president David Hwang after his then-10-year-old son Pierson, who had accompanied Hwang on a charitable mission to Mexico and “saw children living in boxes,” asked his dad to start a business to raise money for kids around the world who were desperate, hungry, and unfortunate.

“Pierson inspired me,” says Hwang. “I’ve been in the industry for a very long time. At the end of the day, it’s not about doing business and making money, but about doing something to give back. Who’s the most unfortunate in the world? It’s the kids, because they are powerless. If we can do a small part, that is great.”

Privacy Wear

ProductWomen’s and men’s casual lifestyle apparel.

Charities and Events SupportedA variety of breast cancer research and awareness organizations, including Divas for the Cure, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, City of Hope, The Breast Cancer Foundation, Corona Breast Cancer Run/Walk, the Jean James Foundation, and Privacy Wear’s own program to provide free mammogram screenings. Privacy Wear has donated more than $500,000 since 2002.

MissionAfter losing her mother, Jean James, to breast cancer in 2000, founder Carolyn Jones created Privacy Wear with the specific purpose of providing a financial and publicity platform to raise breast cancer awareness. The company contributes 10 percent of its profits to recognized breast cancer–related charities and also provides free mammogram screenings for any woman unable to afford one. Its Web site gives current information on breast cancer research, a bibliography of breast cancer–related books, and brings in breast cancer specialists to respond to online questions.

“Many people are affected by breast cancer,” says Jones. “They might have someone in their family who has gone through that experience, so when they see what Privacy is all about, it may tie back to a personal experience. They call and say, ’Hey, I like what your company is doing. How can I help you, how can I volunteer my time at your events?’ It’s amazing. Overall, I feel like we’re really giving back. We’re not trying to change the apparel industry, we’re trying to be different. We have a good product, but there is a meaning and a message behind the product.”