2020… Am I Right?

This year has been life, interrupted. So much of what we have understood as normal became completely upended and we were left to pick up the pieces — each of us looking intently for the goodness hidden amongst the wreckage.

You know what? For many of us, if we took the time to look closely, that good was found.

As for our community, you all helped us create meaningful impact in 2020 and we are eternally grateful for your ongoing support. As we wrap up the one of the most unexpected year of our lifetime, we wanted to highlight a few of the things that this year showed us.

1) Supporting Small Businesses

In the early stages of the pandemic we were all witnessing the devastation brought to small businesses through store closures and limitations. You helped us identify small businesses we could support through donating FREE custom merchandise for them to sell, this included an intentional focus on Black-owned businesses as well.

Locally, we were able to raise over $7,000 to support a coalition of coffee shops in our hometown of Costa Mesa, CA. Through the sales of an exclusive t-shirt and mug — designed by our friend Joshua Ariza — you showed up to stand in solidarity with these shops & their employees.

2) Connecting Our World

As we wrote on our blog back in March, one of the key takeaways from this global pandemic has been how connected we are as people, globally. And we believe this realization is a vital component to building empathy in all of us, and a kinder world as a result.

Thousands of customers were able to meet the person who made their KNOWN SUPPLY product, either through us or one of our KNOWN SUPPLIERS. Many of them visited the online profile of these talented makers and left them a note of thanks and encouragement. With each connection, our world getting smaller.

[Thank the person who made your product!]

3) Caring For Garment Workers

Unfortunately, another lesson clearly depicted this year was the disproportionate negative consequences felt by vulnerable people groups. Due to cancelled orders by brands and department stores garment workers were among those most heavily impacted by the Coronavirus, millions of them going without pay.

Thanks to the quick addition of face coverings early in the pandemic — and your generous support — we were not only able to help take up open capacity with some of our fair trade partners, but we also hired more people locally to upcycle our clothing and make more face masks.

Additionally, we were able to support the work of our friends Remake to continue advocating for garment workers’ rights. We gave our Cyber Monday sales to the organization and were able to provide $2,000 to their ongoing efforts.

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Thank you for an incredible year and for showing us the good and kindness amidst all the chaos.