good deeds ~ be sustainably fashionable

hey remember this gal?  

if not, please let me share with you one of my favorite things that ever happened in blogland.  the uniform project was started by sheena matheiken, a regular working girl who pledged to spend an entire year wearing one little black dress, while still creating a unique look each day, and without buying anything new.  the point in doing this was not to draw attention to herself, but to the fact that we can be sustainably responsible, and still look really great!  she also used the challenge as a fundraiser for the akanksha foundation, a non-profit dedicated to bringing education to children living in the slums of india.

in the end, she was able to raise over $100,000 for the kids!!  i absolutely loved checking out her outfit each morning and i think she was rather successful at pulling off unique looks with so little.  i've included a few of my favorites in this post, but you can also check out all the other outfits here.

sheena ended her challenge in april 2010, but the uniform project is not over.  it has become a platform where anyone can take part and raise money for a good cause.  the mission statement reads: 

"Use fashion as a vehicle to make acts of charity more inspired and playful, 
enabling individuals to rise as role models of style, sustainability and social consciousness."  

i love this!  if you want to participate, you can submit a worthy cause to the uniform project and they'll send you a dress, or a pattern to make the dress, at a discounted rate.  from there you have 1 month {no you do not have to commit to a full year like sheena did} to participate in the challenge and raise money for your cause.

you can also support the people who are already participating, by donating a few dollars to the charity of the month.  right now, donations are going to charity water, but in a few days, there will be a new month, a new challenger, and a new charity, so make sure to check it out on friday!

****

of course, you don't have to participate in the uniform project in order to help the world through fashion.

we spend an enormous amount of money on materialistic goods, yet there are so many people suffering and starving in the world.  maybe if the next time you see a cute shirt or dress you can choose to spend that $30-$60 on a good cause instead.  i mean, don't you already have so many cute shirts & dresses in your closet that your husband can't fit his suit in there? {yup, that question was meant specifically for me.}

and if you want to find a nice challenge for yourself that isn't quite as intense as the uniform project, how about the 30 for 30 remix challenge?  i just discovered this over on scenic glory {lindsay is chronicling her wardrobe remix on her blog}.  the rules are as follows:

what a cool way to get creative and sustainably responsible with what you already have! this is such an amazing idea and i love how accessible it is for all of us.  i know i've felt inspired seeing these remix posts popping up around blogland {especially right now while i'm unemployed and don't have money for shopping}, how about you?

are you participating in anything like this?  
if not, do you think you could survive it?



ps - if you know of a good cause you would like to see featured here, please email me at fillyourwell{at}gmail{dot}com.