Fashion & Shopping for Haiti: John Bartlett, Fashion Delivers and Retailers Help

Pictured: A Vintage World War I Poster for The Red Cross

As the week draws to a close the most important news around the world is of course the crisis in Haiti. If you can afford it, please help the people of Haiti by donating to the Red Cross. I am very proud that rescue crews have already departed from here in Los Angeles to reach out to the Earthquake victims. Here are a few ways you can help by wisely investing your shopping dollars.

Check out Designers who are Donating. If you are still shopping, check out designers with a desire to help. One designer, John Bartlett, a chum from Cincinnati, is chipping in to help. John notes that his store “will be donating 10% of all our proceeds from this weekend to the relief efforts already underway. Please stop by to say hello and help us do our part, however small.” John will be working at his store this weekend. He’s very hands on, working the cash register and talking to customers. So, if you love excellent menswear ( on sale for 40% off) check out John’s store in the West Village in NYC. Look for more news on John soon as he will be doing womenswear. It’s been 10 years since John Bartlett did womenswear. But he’s back with a capsule collection on February 10. I look forward to seeing it!

Donate to Fashion Delivers. If you are a designer or retailer who regularly reads my blog, please check out a charity called Fashion Delivers. Fashion Delivers is looking for donated clothing items to send to Haiti. This charity previously helped victims of Hurricane Katrina and Rita. Please, please don’t discard items, donate them!

Pictured: Daphne from the Maison du Lumiere orphanage, injured but still adorable in her heart tank top.

Check out the charity Child Hope International. My dedicated neighbors (Mimi & Andrew) go to Haiti every year to help children at Maison du Lumiere orphanage in Port au Prince. Fortunately, none of the children are seriously injured, but they now they need funds and medical supplies. I’m sure they would appreciate clothing items too. I made a donation to help the kids through eDivvy.com has offered to match 5% of whatever we raise for earthquake relief. If you would like to contribute to earthquake relief please go to: http://childhope-haiti.edivvy.com.

Shop at stores that are helping to raise donations. Stores that are helping are on The Recessionista’s Honor Roll.

If you love vintage as I do, check out Rice and Beans Vintage online. They are donating $10 for every item purchased to the Red Cross from through Sunday, Jan. 17th.

Lowe’s has announced that it will donate $1 million to support the American Red Cross International Response Fund. All of the chain’s 1,700 stores will serve as donation centers for the American Red Cross. Take your old clothes to your local Lowes!

Hilton Hotel’s Honors Program: HHonors members are now able to donate points to support relief efforts. For every 10,000 points you donate, Hilton will send US$25 to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. If you would like to support the victims of the earthquake in Haiti by donating HHonors points please click here.

Walmart operations around the world and the Walmart Foundation have announced a $500,000 monetary donation to the Red Cross emergency relief efforts in Haiti. The company is also sending pre-packaged food kits valued at $100,000 to Haiti at the request of the Red Cross. (If you go to Walmart Jan 15-17, receive coupons and tips for using L’Oreal Paris beauty products. Click here for participating stores. Help them help Haiti if you need some fabuless beauty products.) I am glad to see Walmart helping. Apparently, some products in Walmart stores come from Haiti. Margaret McKenna, the president of the Walmart Foundation, stated that Walmart has a responsibility to reach out to the victims in Haiti.

Amazon.com has a page on its website where customers can contribute to the international relief efforts by Mercy Corps. Click here to visit.

Target will donate $500,000 to the American Red Cross, also. In addition, Target Volunteers are working in partnership with students from The Fair School in Minneapolis and ImpactLives, a local nonprofit, to prepare more than 1 million meals to send to Haiti.

Designer Club Gilt Groupe plans to make a companywide donation to the international medical-relief agency Doctors Without Borders. Gilt CEO Susan Lyne says, “We’d like to encourage our brand partners, friends and the entire Gilt community to also join in the rescue effort.”

Shopping Club RueLaLa has halted their for Friday 1/15 designer sales, and asked shoppers to give instead of buying from their boutiques. Ben Fischman, CEO of RueLaLa says, “Out of respect for those who have lost loved ones, their shelter, and life’s basic necessities in this tragedy, we cannot stand by while relief efforts are underway without taking action. We are halting our Boutiques from now until Saturday at 8AM ET. We ask that instead you take this time – as we are – to make a donation to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief and Development Effort.

Thanks to all that are helping and to my subscribers for taking the time to read this! For more ideas and information about others, like Google who are helping, check out The Frugalista’s post on Haiti.

And leave it to my friend Dianna Baros to find a fashion item that would help Haiti. She’s not The Budget Babe for noth’in! Check her post on the T-shirt from LA-based t-shirt line Kid Dangerous. The “HELP HAITI” tee, is here with all proceeds going to the One Dome At A Time Emergency Fund. The fabuless BB is also donating for comments on her post, $1.00 US for each comment up to $100.00 US. She’s may not be Oprah yet, but she’s got a heart as big as Oprah’s viewership!

PS: I gave donations to both the Red Cross and the Child Hope International to help the orphans. No comments required.