The True Cost behind Fashion

In December, AfG's Associate Board hosted a successful event called Good Views: The True Cost. We showed the groundbreaking documentary film, The True Cost, that provides a look into the untold stories of the fashion industry and asks people to consider, who really pays the price for our clothing? 


We recently invited a few members of the Allowance for Good community to reflect back on the event and the lessons they took away from the documentary. We'd like to extend our thanks to Associate Board members, Erica and Megan, and AfG youth, Ross, for sharing their experiences and thoughts.

What were your initial reactions after seeing The True Cost?

Megan Bowen, AfG Associate Board member After seeing The True Cost, I think my initial reactions were similar to many of the other individuals in the room. The movie was devastating. It is difficult to understand how our habits in the US, something as small as going shopping for clothing, can have such a global impact. The movie definitely opened our eyes to the consequences of discount clothing shopping.

Ross, AfG youth It was incredibly thought provoking, making me put my own shopping habits into perspective and consider the rest of the world. However, I knew that I was still imprisoned in the grasp of consumerism. Another 20% off coupon or promotion for a $3 t-shirt and I’d be perpetuating the toxic cycle that is the garment industry. What would solve this? More accessible world-conscious clothing, less expensive world-conscious clothing, and a more constant stream of awareness regarding the wrong-doings of big fashion. In the internet world we live in, important things can easily be swept away in the deluge of cat videos and list articles. 

Erica, AfG Associate Board Co-Founder and memberThe True Cost was one of the most eye-opening documentaries I’ve seen in a long time because it forced me to confront the part I play in the fast fashion industry. Before the event, I was blissfully unaware of how my shopping habits were contributing to the devastation and exploitation of communities across the globe. The True Cost changed everything. First, I was shocked to learn of the damaging effects of donated clothing. I always feel proud when I take my clothes to Salvation Army or Goodwill, thinking that I am helping the environment by recycling, as well whoever shops at the discounted stores. I was appalled to learn that those clothes either end up in landfills or overseas where they cripple local economies. Second, I learned that companies claiming to be sustainable – companies that I regularly shop with – are fooling their consumers. It doesn’t matter how sincere they are with their efforts to go green; fast fashion companies’ mass production will never align with sustainable, eco-friendly practices.  These are lessons that good intentions are not enough. As global citizens, we are obligated to learn about and respect the interconnectedness of our world. Buying socially conscious clothing is a change we all can make that will exponentially improve the world we share.

How did the movie build your awareness moving forward?

Ross While it really did make me think, I was right in my presumption that a lasting effect wouldn’t come from one showing. But I’m going to do more research. Look for the more world-conscious retailers. Find out how I CAN help. Because it’s a cause that matters. I am in the direct path of a tidal wave of data every day, and it takes a lot to hold on to the bits that matter. This is why the world needs more organizations like AfG. To pull out the crucial stories and causes, showing them to people and making a difference. One person can never catch all the honest pleas for action that fly by in a day, and Allowance for Good makes more of those pleas heard.

Did your experiences affect your thoughts around shopping or your purchasing habits?

Megan I think I am trying my best to be more aware of the products I purchase and where they were manufactured. If every person that watched The True Cost avoids just one store that was mentioned in the movie, I think I would call our event a success. For me, I decided that I would not shop at Forever 21 anymore, and so far, that has been a success.  

Erica Since watching The True Cost, I have made changes to where I buy clothes, how often I shop, and how I donate and recycle old clothes. It was surprisingly difficult to find a program that handles donated clothes responsibly, though it seems that donating to local thrift shops or directly to women’s homes and churches are the best choices. My biggest take away from The True Cost is that I can afford to shop better, but the world cannot afford fast fashion. 

Did you share or talk about what you learned with anyone else (perhaps someone who hadn't attended the event)?

Megan I did talk about it with friends and urged them to watch The True Cost. Though I found it difficult to put the movie’s events and stories into words that did it justice. 

Erica I recently shared what I learned with my mother, and she was incredibly concerned about her own shopping and donating habits. She hadn’t even seen the documentary, but just listening to me compelled her to change her ways. The conversation was proof that basic awareness is an easy first step to curbing our overconsumption. 

Understanding How We Spend Money

By: Charles

Charles is a participant in Allowance for Good's 2015 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy class in the Elmhurst location. 

"I am a Catalyst for Good because....I want to make a change"
Charles at AfG's ELP class in Elmhurst this week. 

I learned how every little thing I buy really adds up. Almost all the things I am spending my money on is something that is not necessary and I can live without. I was really surprised tracking my spending because I spent a lot more than I even realized. I will definitely spend my money differently now that I realize that I don't need to spend as much money and use it to donate because I know how much farther the money goes in third world countries than it does here. Financial literacy is very important to philanthropy because if everyone realized how unnecessary a lot of the things they are buying then we could use it to change the world.

Philanthropy in Depth

By: Moira
Moira is a participant in our Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy: Changemakers class. 

In Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy: Changemakers, we have the ability to delve deeper into philanthropy. At our last meeting, we went into more detail about the grant-making process, an extremely important part of the health of nonprofit organizations. The grant-making process starts with a healthy grantor-grantee relationship which must be mutually beneficial. Secondly, we learned about the mechanics of the grant-making process. Specifically, we learned about Request for Proposals which are documents created by grantors that describe the possible funding opportunities. After this, grantees are able to submit their proposals about what they intend to do with the funds and then the grantor will decide which grantee to allocate their funds to. One interesting fact that we learned about the grantmaking process is that there is no singular correct way to go about it: each different grantor/grantee will do it differently. 

A second topic of our class was exploring and learning more about nonprofit governance and accountability. A nonprofit is accountable to the public since their goals have to do with improving quality of life for some sector of the public. Within individual non-profits, there are many people that help the organization stay on the right track. For example, the Board of Directors is a group of people that oversee the actions of the non-profit in order to ensure that they are staying true to their mission and values. Without these people, there would be no third person perspective that has the organization's best interests in mind which would have a detrimental effect on the organization. 

In class, we did an activity in which, as a group, we had to decide where to allocate funds to as if we were grantors. Some of the most important factors we looked for in organizations were transparency, accountability, financial health, and efficiency. It is important to consider these criteria because they will ensure that a grantor is giving to a non-profit organization that will be responsible with the treasure given to them. The idea of criteria for organizations to give to ties into being an educated philanthropist in order to effectively give your time, talent, and treasure. 

Microfinance: An Overview

By: Sam Crawford-Cloonan
Sam is a participant in the Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy: Explorers class. 

Microfinance is when many donors, each giving a small amount, loan a relatively large sum of money (say, a thousand dollars) to an individual in need (usually in a developing country) in order to make a significant development in that individual's life. The development helps the individual pay off the debt incurred from the loan, and the money is given back to the donors.

I, personally, would invest in microfinance because it's an efficient and effective way of improving the quality of life (QL) of someone in need. The micro-entepreneurs are then able to break the cycle of poverty. Most of those asking for loans have just enough resources to support themselves  sufficiently, but not enough to improve Quality of life. This leads to a lack of ability to support oneself.

Individuals receiving microfinancial loans become able to support themselves and improve their QL. Loans are also more beneficial than a hand out because there is the added responsibility of being able to pay money back, thus the money is required to be used as a means of financial development rather than directly being used for day-to-day support.

For investors, microfinance is a way to give help to someone in need while still being able to make their money back. In that way, it's a very safe investment. A person can donate time and time again as their funds are replenished by micro-entrepreneurs who pay back their loans. Thus, if managed properly, the exchange is fully sustainable.

In conclusion, microfinance is a necessary part of today's world when it comes to linking local philanthropists to global issues on an individual scale, making the 'treasure' section of the pillars of philanthropy (giving time and talent and treasure) easily transferable and available. The next step? Bringing time and talent to that level of availability--and I'd love to see what this generation does to do so.

On an entirely separate note, my favorite experiences in ELP are the ones in which the students are able to have a natural discussion over previously discussed topics. Being able to ask questions and learn more about philanthropy, both local and global, is both necessary and freeing. 

Expanding Philanthropic Outlook and Contribution

By: Nina
Nina participated in Allowance for Good's 2014 Global Philanthropy Summit program. 

How is it possible to continue to give back to society as we pursue different paths in life? On Tuesday, we had the opportunity to explore the answer to this question: social enterprise. We kicked the day off with an informative and engaging presentation by Elizabeth Coston of the Kellogg School of Management, where she introduced us to the 5 categories on the Social Enterprise Spectrum-we then proceeded to categorize a variety of for-profit and non-profit businesses and organizations into each of the 5 sections as follows:

Traditional Non-Profit: NPR, Smithsonian

Income-Generating Non-Profit: The Girl Scouts

For-profit Social Venture: Jail Education Systems

Socially Responsible Business: TOMS

For-profit Business: Home Depot

This presentation exposed me to the different ways in which you can incorporate social impact into a business model, something that is often overlooked, as we tend to classify businesses as either traditional nonprofits or businesses in a very black-and-white view.

In the afternoon, we went to Design for America, where we were given a variety of problems centered around sunscreen to creatively solve, using Design for America’s problem-solving processes. Such issues included a teenage surfer not applying sunscreen, a professional not being heard on the benefits of using sunscreen, and to help an overprotective mother let her children enjoy the summer. One of the exciting parts of this process especially was to see a number of people working collaboratively together even though we were from different schools, had different interests, and brought different ideas and experiences to the table. We completed the day with an art project based on the classic picture book The Giving Tree-we created our own giving trees in which the roots signified people and things that have guided and inspired us, the trunk represented our passion and goal, the branches represented our own values, and the fruit represented our own talents and assets.

Throughout the day, we were exposed to the idea of using what we have been given in life and how we are able to put it to use in order to make the world a better place. We learned that it is possible no matter what we decide to do in life, whether it be an entrepreneur or a computer scientist, an artist or a musician. These GPS experiences have taught me to expand my own views and look at philanthropy in a different light-one that is not limited to simply volunteering time or donating money, but which includes creating a new generation of smart, successful citizens who incorporate philanthropic acts into their daily lives and work.

Months of Change: An Update from Adonai

Co-Authored by: Pastor Aloysious Luswata and Bruce Karmazin.
Pastor Aloysious Luswata is the Director of Adonai Family Uganda and Bruce Karmazin is the President of US Friends of Adonai.

These are exciting times at the Adonai Child Development Center! And our US friends are the reason. We'd like to share just some of the important happenings over the past few months.

A New Strategic Plan Gives Us Direction for the Future 

They say that when you fail to plan, you plan to fail! That's why after nine years in operation, we are delighted to be coming to the end of our first strategic planning process. A strategic plan looks at an organization's goals and develops specific strategies and actions, and a budget, to accomplish those goals over several years.

It's been tough work over the last few months. With the help of a management consultant, paid for with a donation from a US donor, we talked with many people in the community – our friends and supporters, our faculty and staff, the parents of children in our care, and even the children! We looked at our strengths as an organization and our challenges and how to make the most of our situation. But we now have a roadmap for the future.

Kids Health and Community Health a Top Priority

Of course, one of the most important parts of our plan is making sure our kids – over 300 on campus – are healthy. It's amazing to people in the US that some of our children come to Adonai never having seen a toothbrush, or having had an eye test! We've done our best with modest donations over the years but we need to do more. And this year we're taking a very big step.

We’re equipping a small infirmary. And we’re hiring a village health worker whose job will be to make sure our children get what they need.

But more than that, our new village health worker will be doing outreach in the surrounding village. We'll distribute mosquito nets to protect people from malaria, and provide HIV/AIDS education.

Another priority will be making sure that girls who can't afford them have access to sanitary pads. Without sanitary pads, girls stop coming to school when they get their periods. They fall behind and eventually more than a third of girls in Uganda drop out of school. They give up their future and Uganda wastes an important resource in the country's development. That's not acceptable.

An important part of our plan to ensure the health of our children is to make sure each has safe drinking water. This year we will complete the water system with the purchase of two water tanks. We will lay the pipes that will allow us to pump water from our borehole to our tanks for storage and purification. We're very excited about that.

Our Friends in Illinois Are Key to Our Success! 

Like any nonprofit organization in the US, Adonai depends on the good will and support of our friends. None of our progress would be possible without your financial support. 

We have a growing number of people and organizations around the world but our friends in Illinois are leading the way – and are responsible for much of our progress.

The Northwestern University chapter of GlobeMed sent their first student mission last year. They did a health survey and identified the need for community health support. In August, a new group will return and participate in outreach on reproductive health in the village.

A faith-based organization called Fit2Serve, from Concordia University in River Forest, Illinois just got back from a school training program, spending two weeks working with the children and teachers of Adonai.

Finally, we are grateful to the kids of Allowance for Good, for your solidarity, and for making the commitment to our water system and helping us bolster our solar power capability.

Thank you!

Learn more about AfG's relationship with Adonai on our website.

Assessing Worldwide Human Rights

By: Jackson

Jackson is participating in Allowance for Good's autumn 2013 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy program.

This week at EPL session eight, we learned about the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. These eight goals were set in the year 2000, to be completed by 2015. These goals include: eradicating extreme hunger and poverty, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and women’s rights, reducing child morality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability and creating a global partnership for development. A great deal of progress has been made towards achieving these goals, but there is still much work to be done in order to accomplish them by 2015. Whether or not they are entirely accomplished by 2015, these goals have set us on the right path towards bettering the quality of life for all, all around the globe.

This week Maya Cohen, the executive director of Globemed, visited us in class. Globemed is an organization that partners groups of university students with local organizations in less developed countries looking to better their own communities. These partnerships last through multiple generations of students, and focus on creating a tight bond between the students and the organization. The students typically raise funds for the organization, but also contribute physical service in an annual trip to visit the partner organization. Ms. Cohen explained this to us, as well as how Globemed’s focus is not only on the health of a community, but the quality of the community as a whole. Different organizations working within the same community can often achieve a greater affect than one organization alone.

It has been said that true philanthropy is done through the donation of one’s time, talent and treasure. This made me skeptical of Globemed’s credibility as a truly philanthropic organization, considering it is difficult to donate anything but treasure from thousands of miles away. What sets Globemed apart from other organizations though is the unique one on one partnering of students and organizations that lasts well past any one student’s time at their university. Unlike other charitable organizations, Globemed follows the money they raise and help the local organizations find the most efficient way to spend it. This truly makes it a philanthropic organization.

At the end of class, we partook in an activity titled “What is a Human Right?” In this activity, we brainstormed ideas of what are basic rights all humans are entitled to. Responses varied from basic necessities such as food, water and shelter, to more idealistic answers such as a right to representation, a right to fair compensation for services and a right to freedom from persecution. It struck me how many of these human rights we take for granted in the U.S., and how even if the U.N.’s millennium goals are accomplished there is still a long way to go to moral and social equality. Many people worldwide do not have access to what we consider basic necessities, and it is our job to advocate for equal rights for all.

This was one more excellent week at EPL, where we all learned a lot and engaged in meaningful discussion. There is no doubt in my mind that next week will be even more productive than this week was.

Jackson presents to his fellow ELP students.

Delving Into Venture Philanthropy

By: Orleana

Orleana is participating in Allowance for Good's autumn 2013 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy program.

Last Thursday at ELP, we discussed venture philanthropy. Venture philanthropy is defined as the utilization of techniques from venture capital finance and business of management, combining them to achieve philanthropic outcomes through business world means.  Essentially, venture philanthropy is the financial support of new, non-profit organizations/potentially risky social ventures with promise or a significant goal in mind that requires aid to be recognized. Venture philanthropy allows these young organizations to mature and ground themselves, hopefully achieving self-sustainability after a set amount of years. 

Venture philanthropy is focused around providing financial support for and promoting small, new or underfunded organizations. Venture philanthropy enables emerging nonprofits to flourish through the giving of grants over a period of time. Both old and new organizations apply to receive grants, which, after an inspection by the organization supplying the grants, are given yearly for a certain number of years.

This week we had a great guest speaker, Sejal, come to class to discuss her work with The Springboard Foundation, a volunteer run group that supplies grants to beginning nonprofit organizations, with a focus on after school programs.  While affiliated with a variety of organizations, (having worked in the nonprofit field for the last fourteen years) Sejal is currently the Managing Director of the Springboard Foundation, and during Thursday’s class explained the goals of the Foundation and described its interactions with other nonprofits.

What I thought was one of the more interesting points in our discussion about The Springboard Foundation was its careful maintenance of the organizations they supply grants to. They check in with the organizations to see that the money they give is being spent productively, and making a successful change in the program. The Springboard Foundation definitely puts a lot of time and effort into getting emerging nonprofits running steadily, and I think that making sure the grants that they give are being used to get the maximum results is really important.

Near the end of class, we carried out a group activity where the class split into groups to create our ‘own’ venture philanthropy based foundations. We discussed prospective foundation names, goals, statements, and fiscal requirements, and each group presented our finished results at the end of class. While our projects were pretty small scale, they really made me appreciate all of the planning and hard work that goes into venture philanthropy, (though that could be said about any philanthropy), and the people and volunteers who come together to make it run so that other nonprofits can flourish.

Orleana, bottom right, listens to an ELP guest speaker during the Thursday night class.