You may not use the term social consumerism, but you probably wear it: a rubber wristband, a lapel pin, or another show of support for a charitable group that shares in the proceeds generated by your purchase. Pittsburgh graphic designer Shea Mullen has applied the concept to a line of funky vintage event T-shirts that she markets through national retailers and online through her three-year-old firm,
Give and Take.
Sold in Bloomingdale's, Urban Outfitters and other chic boutiques, Mullen’s designs help nearly two dozen charities. Most are U.S. based. A growing number are associated with celebrity charities, such as Comic Relief. The firm is working with actress Charlize Theron’s Africa Outreach Project and Live Aid.
"Charlize found us through the Entertainment Industry Foundation [which helps celebrities associated with charities]," explains Shea. Give and Take’s practice of plowing 20 percent of its net proceeds to its charitable partners makes it unique nationally.
Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Give and Take has launched a new collection dubbed Glad Rags. The graphics on the new line are traditional hobo signs. The markings and codes used by vagrants to communicate with one another during the Great Depression have an added layer of irony during the current recession. Proceeds from the line will benefit the
National Alliance to End Homelessness based in Washington, D.C.
With a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, Mullen is well aware of the impact of charitable gifts for medical research and other worthy causes. The 40-year-old entrepreneur also runs
Coco’s Cupcake Cafe, a specialty bakery in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood, and says her next venture will combine ideas from the two businesses.
Source: Shea Mullen, Give and TakeWriter: Chris O’Toole