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Google PlayFor the fifth year in a row, Toronto-based clothing brand Kotn, known for their ethically-made, wide-ranging variety of minimal and comfortable clothing, will not be going on sale this Black Friday. Instead, they’re donating 100 percent of proceeds from their orders, from Black Friday through Giving Tuesday, towards building five schools in rural Egypt.
Founded by friends Rami Helali, Mackenzie Yeates, and Benjamin Seh, Kotn started with a goal of creating casually elegant clothes without sacrificing quality of the material or the integrity of the people who made it. To develop a closer relationship with the people crafting the clothing, CEO Rami Helali lived in one of Egypt’s cotton farming communities, Nile Delta, for six months. Helali’s time there has given Kotn a uniquely close understanding of Egypt’s cotton farmers, and has helped Kotn develop a an innovative supply chain through the creation of direct-trade partnership. By removing callous middlemen, the brand works directly with responsibly-run yarn mills, dye houses, and cut-and-sew facilities, ensuring fair wages and treatment throughout their supply chain, better prices for their customers, and 100 percet traceability from farm to store.
“This year marks a milestone for The ABCs Project, a Kotn initiative that was born out of the fundamental need for quality, accessible education for our farming communities,” said Helali while discussing the immense impact and importance of their mission. “Currently there are still half a million children without access to education in rural Egypt. By funding primary schools through The ABCs Project, our mission is to drive sustainable growth within these communities, bridging the socio-economic gap between those who wear and create our product. Opening the door for one child opens the door for their family, their community, and for generations to come.”
