Balenciaga tackles hunger through co-branded capsule

French fashion house Balenciaga is teaming up with the United Nations’ World Food Programme to fundraise through fashion.

The brand’s fall/winter 2018 collection includes WFP-branded items, which will give back 10 percent of the sale price to the organization to aid its goal of eradicating hunger by 2030. Through this initiative, Balenciaga aims to not only raise awareness for the cause, but also turn fashion into a force for good, taking it beyond its practical or style purposes.

Fashion for food
Balenciaga’s World Food Programme collection for men and women includes hoodies, T-shirts, fanny packs, scarves and baseball caps with the organization’s logo emblazoned on them. The tops include the phrase “Saving lives changing lives” in lettering on the back.

From Sept. 6 to Feb. 1, Balenciaga is donating 10 percent of the sale price of each WFP garment or accessory to the humanitarian group. This includes purchases made at Balenciaga boutiques, its ecommerce store and partner retailers.

Balenciaga notes that the sale of one baseball cap, priced at $390, could provide 200 high-energy biscuits to victims in an emergency.

The WFP provides aid to those affected by natural disasters and war. It also works to provide food to those who struggle with hunger throughout the year.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

From September 6, 2018, to February 1, 2019, Balenciaga will donate 10% of the suggested retail price from its Winter 18 WFP-branded products to the World Food Programme. In addition to this, Balenciaga has already donated US$250,000 to support the WFP in its mission to save lives and change lives around the world.

A post shared by Balenciaga (@balenciaga) on Sep 6, 2018 at 5:06am PDT

Instagram post from Balenciaga

Along with the collection, Balenciaga made a $250,000 donation to the WFP.

Fashion labels often use their design skills for the benefit of causes, selling specially made creations as a fundraiser.

Spanish fashion house Loewe is joining the fight against the ivory trade with a collection of handbags in support of the Elephant Crisis Fund.

As part of the Knot On My Planet campaign, Loewe worked with Samburu artisans to create special editions of its Elephant bags for the ECF. The fashion industry has been working to tackle elephant poaching, looking to prevent the extinction of the endangered species (see story).