(October 2020 update - Pls continue to fund this campaign as it was damaged and derailed by a number of ethical fashion campaigners.You can read more here.  As founder Yasmin Choudhury, CEO of Lovedesh has published her Lovedesh 10+ Files.  She even attempted to create another campaign called #SaveJannat on Crowdfunder but due to Corona and being bullied and threatened she was unable to complete this). 

Hello

Yasmin C & Amber CK here. 

A British mother and daughter design duo.  We run an ethical fashion brand that is on a mission to #POP (Protect Our Planet) to help us all #BeKind. 

And to slowly change the world - one sector at a time. 

Starting with Fashion. 

We are a start up based in London. We are donating our fashion stock of Lovedesh Tee to fight Covid-19. And are inviting other businesses, fashion and beauty brands to join us to fight the impact of the pandemic by buying our Lovedesh Tee - possibly the "kindest" and "rarest" t-shirt in the world right now.

What Are We As A Mother & Daughter Doing?

Rather than spend our time sitting at home, we can urgently help.  But in a way that is ethical. And fair.  

We created the Lovedesh Tee - and donating it, to help ethical fashion fight Covid 19.

We decided to create a global campaign so we can help rescue more modern day slavery victims.  

Coming soon.You can listen to us chat about why we are donating our t-shirts. 

Until then, catch Yasmin on Twitter with her daily vlog via Periscope as she livestreams their journey to deliver fairer fashion. 

WHY YOU NEED TO BUY THE LOVEDESH TEE NOW. 

Lovedesh Tee helps these two key human rights causes. 

(1) Modern day slavery. Poorest artisans and garment & factory workers in the unfair, unethical global supply chain with focus on the emerging economies (eg. Bangladesh, Cambodia, Palestine, Kashmir) and regions in conflict. Covid-19 means millions will go hungry and homeless.

Watch Now. 

We also set up FITOP (Fashion In Time Of Pandemic). To insist fashion sector changes. 

And soon will kickstart PITOP (Produce In Time Of Pandemic) and TOITOP (Tourism In Time Of Pandemic).

© Photo kindly donated courtesy of Bangladeshi documentary photographer Salahuddin Ahmad.

(2)  Victims Of Domestic Violence in UK and around the world. As millions could die, suffer trauma and be at risk.

(1) ARTISANS, GARMENT & FACTORY WORKERS in the fashion & beauty supply chain with focus on the emerging economies (eg. Bangladesh, Cambodia, Palestine, Kashmir) and regions in conflict. As millions will go hungry and homeless.

Millions of garment workers in Bangladesh and others in SE Asia are about to go hungry and homeless.

30 March 2020. 

"A humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Bangladesh, with the fate of 4.1 million garment workers in the hands of western fashion brands, who have reportedly cancelled over $2.8 billion in orders as the COVID-19 crisis escalates." Read this Forbes Article by Fashion Journalist Brooks Robert Islam. 

2.  Victims Of Domestic Violence in UK and around the world. As millions could die, suffer trauma and be at risk.

Covid 19 will mean millions at risk of domestic abuse.

We can change this nightmare. Let us all urgently do so?

3. Slow food and tourism providers (more details coming)

Covid 19 will mean millions at risk of domestic abuse.

(4+5 ) Medics & Their Families & Non-Medical Workers & Their Families in UK and around the world.

It is SO unfair that millions of British NHS staff and non-medical key workers, are currently risking their lives to save their fellow humans, while many of us get to stay at home. Some have died.  They themselves are not only struggling to get PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) to protect themselves from Covid-19. We know it is also affecting others. 

What about the families of these NHS staff and non-medical key workers? Who is helping to protect them? 

We think not many, if at all. 

Here's A List Of Non-Medical Key Workers Currently Unprotected:

• Teachers & Support Workers 
• Postal Workers & Mail Sorting Centres
• Carers Of Elderly and Disabled
• Delivery Drivers 
• Refuse & Waste Collectors
• Independent Shop Owners & Sole Traders Of Emergency Supplies
• Independent Caterers / Food Outlet Workers 
• Local Community Volunteers Rushing In To Help 
• Children In Care Homes, Foster Carers
• General Public (Immuno Compromised Community eg Cancer Victims, Elderly, Disabled etc) 

Add all of the above and their respective families being left without protective masks...? This is a global crisis affecting millions.

Please help us help them?

1. We are donating our own stock of 100%, organic, cotton, not-for-profit remembrance t-shirts called The Lovedesh Tee we had planned to sell to raise funds for our ethical fashion launch. 

We now wish to use these to help others. As many of our events have since been cancelled.  And since we cannot post out the t-shirts, we now plan to either donate these to key-workers or chop them up to make anything that can be used as PPE

As an ethical fashion brand we have also created a dedicated donation option that will go straight to category of your choice -in country of your choice  eg workers in garment factories who are in urgent crisis.  

A Note Be Kind. 

Now, is not the time to bully big rich retail or fashion brands who cancelled orders. Everyone is in crisis.  It is upsetting. But we do plan, to lobby and write to them to ask they support this campaign. Because if we are ok to give away our own stock (our livelihood), hopefully they too can be encouraged to help in ways, we simply cannot. 

Protect Our Planet. 

We believe in circular economy and in sweat-free production. And why we like to reuse, repair and recycle where possible. And why we have taken the lead. To launch our campaign. And using #IRemember1136 to be kinder to our planet .

RECAP OF THE LOVEDESH COVID19 SEVEN STEP PLAN 

How YOUR Donation Will Help Fight Covid-19

Here is how we plan to do so ethically in SEVEN easy steps:

• FREE.  Your donation will help us make masks for free to be allocated via Local Govt Authorities (starting with our home town) & established charities who can donate to non-medical key workers, NHS staff's families, volunteers.  We will also create a "No Sew" video tutorial and PDF file for people to make non-medical grade masks at home. And run Q&A sessions with experts on ethical fashion and how we can better protect planet - even during the Pandemic. See example below.

• FAIR.  Many people are getting unemployed. While we will also explore urgent options of getting orders initially from China (as they can move faster on protecting people), we are also prepared to explore paying London Living Wages to anyone who can stitch the masks at home.  Many sewing bees have sewing machines sitting idle. This could be a great extra income. We just think it is unfair to use free labour to make masks in the UK. Plus this way we can ensure that the masks are made ethically.  But for those wishing to volunteer, they can of course donate their wages to this cause. But the choice must be theirs.   (FYI - When Yasmin was a young girl, aged 13, her father's business collapsed and she and her family turned to making garments to survive).  

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

• FACTORY WORKERS. In addition we have created a dedicated funding option for those wishing to help this community.  By the way notice how the digits 1136 are used for all our pricing and donation options.  Seems odd perhaps? That is because 1,136 is the number of garment workers who died in the Bangladesh factory collapse in 2013.   One more was later discovered but we are creating a special project.  

• FINANCIAL PEACE OF MIND. Many crowdfunding campaigns lack transparency.  We will pay for an independent accountant professional who will report to an impartial panel of Voluntary Trustees (so they are not under fear or favour), to keep track of donations and approve expenses we paid out, to ensure all monies are used appropriately. 

• FASHION FRIENDS  We will begin to invite other retail and fashion brands, platforms as well as volunteers to urge that they support this cause. Let's see how that goes :) As well as ethical and sustainable groups who may wish to volunteer.  We've even created a FB Group just for our volunteers on this cause - you can join here.

• FUND. We will fund materials and stocks. 

• FAIL? If none of the above works out, we will donate ALL proceeds to another campaign on here, or a vetted charity - less any out of pocket expenses incurred in running this cause.
  

SOME CAVEATS

We reserve the right to make changes to adapt this campaign to help different communities. Also change in delivery times. As given this is a pandemic, production schedule can change. But we will make reasonable adjustments along the way. And keep you posted - always. 

Please also know to create this campaign before it went live, all of us have volunteered up our own time.  So it might take a while to figure some things out. And why we don't want anyone carping at us. 

Why Us?

Amber was born very premature and NHS staff rescued her life.  Yasmin is also a grateful recipient of NHS workers many who helped her through great hardship.

As an ethical fashion brand, we could not sit back and do nothing.  

We want our world to be kinder to people, planet and plants. So we both saved up and used our own money to find a solution to fight modern day slavery, climate change and poverty. 

The solution we came up with is called Lovedesh.

Given we have already created, what some are saying is the "kindest" t-shirt, the Lovedesh Tee. It made sense we donate our stock to help fight the pandemic. 

Since the pandemic, did you know,  we also very quickly adapted our ethical business to volunteer and help other business owners fight Covid-19. We have created a FB forum for entrepreneurs and small business owners. That's dedication. To read more, click here to find out. 

Now we want to do the same for our beloved non-medical key workers. And the vulnerable in our society.

(Watch The Lovedesh Tee film below)

Our Story 

We have already won awards because of the way we work. Ethically and at grassroots.  

We have been caring and helping artisans and factory workers for over 10 years.  On 24 April 2020 it is the seventh anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse.  When 1,136 garment workers died in 2013. We even met some of the survivors who blessed The Lovedesh Tee and encouraged our idea. 

We were due to kickstart a campaign but this is now cancelled.  With fabric and stock lying unused. We decided to donate our "kindest" t-shirts to help fight Covid-19 both in the UK and abroad.  

(Photo - Yasmin with weavers in Bangladesh). 

You can watch the full film (over 30 minutes) to see the lengths we go to create fashion that protects our people, planet and plants. 

Please donate now.  And share, share share as we cannot do this all alone.  

Thank you. 

Yasmin & Amber x

Our Background 

We are a British mother and daughter design duo based in London. On a mission to protect our planet. We have been working for over 10 years to fight modern day slavery, climate change and poverty.  Amber started when she was 8.  You can find out more here. 

Films 

You can watch all of our self made films here of how we have been working at grassroots for no-profit.   We had launched our brand on 8th March on International Women’s Day, by creating a not-for-profit    t-shirt made from 100% organic cotton. Stitched by women in a worker owned factory in Bangladesh.  But we are now donating our entire stock. To help raise funds and protect non-medical key workers and NHS staff and their families, who are busy fighting the Coronavirus pandemic. 

Our Team in UK & Bangladesh. 

We all donated our free time to create this fundraising campaign in a matter of a few days.

Yasmin C -    Founder, CEO & Creative Director  

Lovedesh was an idea borne after crying over the Rana Plaza Factory Collapse. A single mother with Bangladeshi heritage, she is also a trained actress.  And an Equity rep (actor's trade union) for the TUC's LESE region.  She has spent her own money to research root causes of poverty in UK and Bangladesh. And is passionate about ethical fashion and combatting modern-day slavery and poverty. 

Twitter: @yasminisyasmin. Insta: @msyiy

Amber CK - Assistant Creative Director & Stylist 

Currently studying at University.  And has been working with her mother Yasmin since she was 8.  She has created some of the Lovedesh designs in our online shops as well as visited Bangladesh to meet factory workers and artisans. 

Twitter: @AmberCK. Insta: @amberlovedesh 

Rocky Mahmud - Norway 

The financial and marketing brains (currently in Alesund, Norway as a student). He volunteered because he is a Bangladeshi citizen and having been born, raised and worked out there, worried for his fellow citizens.  Extremely bright and tenacious and endured great hardship. We reckon he will be a fab CEO one day.  And by the way - he learned his excellent English from watching Pirates Of The Caribbean over and over. 

Sushmita Ilango - UK 

An incredible illustrator who kindly helped create PDFs for our no-sew mask. As well as quickly take our not-for-profit prints, and upload them to our online shops.  She is a talented designer and a mother of one. She very kindly volunteered her time to help. And been working with Lovedesh since 2013. 

James Mobutu  - Kenya 

An IT expert who helps manage the Lovedesh Website. He has volunteered for us during lockdown remotely. And has been working to assist Yasmin & Amber for years. He is a single father and understands the pressures of surviving under great stress. Calm and steady hands that help to ensure our Lovedesh website communicates what we plan to do. 

Mamun - Bangladesh

He looks after Yasmin whenever she and Amber are in Bangladesh BY driving her safely to explore and hunt out ethical factories and artisans working in Bangladesh. He recently had a tragic loss in his family when his younger brother died in a crash in 2019. Sadly there is no NHS yet he has been helping Yasmin by giving her advice on this campaign.  Dry witted and stoic - he is one of our favourites and like family to Yasmin & Amber. 

Rahin Ahmed - Bangladesh

He is on standby to help deliver support to some of the most destitute garment workers. And with Dhrubo (see below), to liaise with factory owners and workers who have had to fold or are facing collapse.  Yasmin met him and began to mentor him as he lost his father as a young lad.  He has often volunteered and dreams of having a full time job. And has worked very hard to help rural villagers through the niche charity called Amcariza Foundation, run by Yasmin to help Bangladeshi people. 

Dhrubo Das - Bangladesh

Fluent in English and graduated with a diploma in Electrical Medical studies. Now an experienced as a tourist guide, Dhrubo is very well established to help on the ground. He too lost his father and learned English and studied hard to pull himself up by his own bootstraps

Saathi - Bangladesh

Our resident female expert seamstress.  Yasmin has been mentoring her for over 10 years.  Saati is a single mother. And has worked hard to create initial samples for Lovedesh ethical luxury collection.  Our dream is to bring her to UK and  train her up so we can help her make tons of money in the future. Now that is derailed.   She is ready to find out and support any struggling ffactory workers. Especially female garment workers who may need a fellow woman to speak to.