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International Women's Day: 20 brands that are giving back
International Women's Day takes place on 8 March this year
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Your support makes all the difference.International Women’s Day (IWD) is nearly here, with people around the world gearing up to celebrate female empowerment and women’s rights.
In the US, the celebration isn’t just limited to Sunday 8 March, as the whole of March is Women’s History Month, when the country honours women and all they have accomplished while also raising awareness of the work still needed to be done to reach gender equality.
As with every year, brands are joining in this year’s IWD celebrations by offering deals, discounts and donations.
These are 20 brands that are honouring women and giving back for International Women’s Day.
Jewellery designer Kendra Scott is launching a friendship bracelet in celebration of International Women’s Day, with 20 per cent of the proceeds benefiting various women’s organisations.
According to WWD, the Everlyne Friendship Bracelet will be available in six colours and include stones such as rose quartz, turquoise and mother of pearl.
In addition to the bracelet, the brand is hosting a Kendra Gives Back shopping event from 4 to 8 March, with 20 per cent of all purchases made in store benefiting female empowerment organisations.
In celebration of IWD, Net-A-Porter has teamed up with 20 female designers to create a limited-edition capsule collection of shirts and sweatshirts, with the proceeds going to Women for Women International, a global charity that helps female war victims in developing countries.
The collection includes collaborations with Isabel Marant, Stella McCartney and Alexa Chung.
Clothing brand Sundry is donating 100 per cent of proceeds from the sale of its Femme Vintage Tee to women’s empowerment organisation Step Up.
To celebrate women, Oak + Fort is launching a collection of t-shirts, with all proceeds to be donated to IWD’s official charity, Catalyst.
The brand will also donate an additional $5 for every t-shirt selfie posted on Instagram with the hashtag #Ofchangemakers.
This year, the French skincare brand is marking IWD with a new shea butter balm called the Solidarity Balm, with 100 per cent of profits donated to the L'Occitane Foundation to fund non-governmental organisations that support women’s leadership in Burkina Faso.
Inclusive bra company Harper Wilde has teamed up with bullying prevention nonprofit Kind Campaign to celebrate IWD.
On IWD, 100 per cent of the proceeds from the sale of the Be Kind bra will go to the Kind Campaign.
The watch brand is celebrating IWD through a collaboration with illustrator Bijou Karman for a collection of watches, earrings and tote bags featuring illustrations of women.
25 per cent of the proceeds from the collection will benefit Girls Rising, a charity that promotes education for young girls.
On 5 March, the Tory Burch Foundation will be hosting an Embrace Ambition Summit focusing on “confronting stereotypes and creating new norms,” and featuring speakers such as Gloria Steinem and Ashley Judd, according to WWD.
The handbag brand will also release an Embrace Ambition bracelet and tote bag, with 100 per cent of proceeds going to the Tory Burch Foundation, which supports female empowerment and entrepreneurship.
In honour of IWD, Allen Schwartz is donating 100 per cent of all sales made on 8 March to the Downtown Women’s Center (DWC) of Los Angeles, which focuses on empowering women who are experiencing homelessness.
Clothing label Ba&sh is celebrating IWD with its “Beautiful & Strong” t-shirt, with 100 per cent of proceeds benefiting Women for Women International.
The brand will also donate an additional one dollar for each post shared on social media with the hashtag #bashstrongertogether.
Kate Spade has partnered with author Cleo Wade to launch a capsule collection of totes and sweaters featuring motivational quotes in honour of IWD.
The collection is part of the brand’s On Purpose program, which works with a leather production facility in Masoro, Rwanda that employs more than 230 women from local communities.
Organic feminine care company Cora is asking its followers to share stories of personal evolution with the hashtag #formercurrentchallenge.
For every post, the brand will give pads and health education to young girls in Kenya and India.
The brand is also selling a Fearless Necklace, which provides a whole year's supply of pads and health education to a young girl in Kenya.
Gap has partnered with Rebecca Alexander and Hannah Corderman, two women who have Usher Syndrome, to create limited-edition t-shirts in honour of IWD, with a portion of proceeds benefiting the company’s global program PACE, which provides education and life skills training to women.
In honour of IWD and the 100th anniversary of equal voting rights, Kind has launched a limited-edition Kind Equality bar to support gender equality, with 100 per cent of the proceeds donated to the Alice Paul Institute, a nonprofit organisation dedicating to advancing gender equality, with a minimum of donation of $10,000.
Beauty brand Benefit is celebrating IWD by offering free head shots to women in eight countries across three continents in its boutiques.
The “Makeover Their Profile” initiative aims to help women improve their LinkedIn profiles, as profiles with pictures are viewed more frequently.
The workout brand is honouring women this IWD by giving away a t-shirt that reads: “It’s 2020. Women Wear the Leggings” with every purchase in-store and online on 7 and 8 March, according to WWD.
Fabletics is also donating $25,000 to Girl Up, the United Nations foundation that works towards gender equality.
To celebrate IWD, the designer is hosting her third annual InCharge Conversations event at her store in New York City, which will feature speakers including Jameela Jamil, Gloria Steinem and Girl Scouts of the USA ceo Sylvia Acevedo.
DVF will also launch a limited-edition collection of clothes and accessories inspired by InCharge, with a portion of proceeds going to nonprofit women’s leadership training organisation Vital Voices.
Von Furstenberg has teamed up with Amazon as well, to launch the Amazon x #InCharge page, which will feature a curated page of products from 20 female-owned businesses.
In honour of IWD, the brand is working with nine female photographers, who have created self-portraits for the brand’s #herimageherstory campaign.
For every post shared on social media with the hashtag, the brand will donate €1 to CARE, an organisation that promotes education for young girls, with proceeds from the sales of the self-portraits, which will be sold as posters, also going to the organisation.
The phone accessories maker is celebrating IWD by donating 100 per cent of proceeds from its Her Impact Matters Collection, designed by female artists, to the Malala Fund.
From 2 to 8 March, bridesmaid dress company Birdy Grey will donate a dress to The Princess Project, an organisation that provides free prom dresses to girls in need, every time a mauve dress is sold.
During the initiative, all mauve dresses will be marked down to $49.
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