In pursuit of social justice

Doing the good work
I got an email the other day from local clothing company Young Love Outfitters announcing the launch of its new website. Besides looking even more attractive (I love the new coastal shots), the site also offers a revamped payment system and cost for shipping ($7 flat rate to anywhere in the United States), as well as a fashionable assortment of T-shirts, sweatshirts and cloth tote bags, and a snappy, practical “Neil 5-Panel Hat” (pictured), named after astronaut Neil Armstrong and the first hat in Young Love’s new Pioneer Series.

For those of you not familiar with Young Love, it is the brainchild of local entrepreneurs Ken Swain and David Zoppi, who quit their mall jobs last year to start up a socially responsible online business (see “The goodness of their hearts,” CN&R, July 12, 2012). Central to Young Love’s philosophy is that 15 percent of each purchase goes to one of three worthy causes, which change as the financial goal for each is reached; currently, customers can choose to donate to either LeapingStone to provide desks and chairs for classrooms in West Africa, Plant With Purpose to plant 500 trees in deforested areas, or charity:water, which helps bring clean drinking water to people in developing countries.

As Young Love’s new-and-improved site says, “Our mission is to create quality goods that look good, do good, and inspire good. … Collectively, we are inspired by street culture, California lifestyle, classic designs, and disruptive ideas. All our clothing is designed to spark conversation, inspire creativity, and to make a difference where difference is needed most.”

Zoppi offered in a recent email: “We are working on new designs including some small accessories like wallets and more bags that are set to come out this summer. … We are [also] being sold on Roozt.com (an online marketplace for brands that give back), and are now working on getting into physical stores. … Our main focus is just growing the brand, reaching as many people as possible and expanding our products. We are looking forward to the Thursday [Night Market] and other markets in California!”

Go to www.younglove.co to find out more about Young Love Outfitters.

Mark your calendar
On April 11, from 7-10 p.m., the Chico Peace & Justice Center is joining with the Chico State Political Science Department and Drug Policy Alliance to host a free screening of the award-winning documentary film The House I Live In, “a powerful journey into the prison-industrial complex and the war on drugs,” as CPJC director Chris Moore-Backman wrote in a recent email. “Both the LA Times and the NY Times called the film the best documentary of 2012. Melinda Shopsin, producer of the film, will be our guest and speaker for the evening.”

The House I Live In will be shown at Chico State’s Rowland-Taylor Recital Hall (PAC 134).

“The ends you serve that are selfish will take you no further than yourself but the ends you serve that are for all, in common, will take you into eternity.” — Marcus Garvey

“Social advance depends as much upon the process through which it is secured as upon the result itself.” — Jane Addams