Aneesha Raghunathan and Hope Line Fashions

I am always encouraged when I see young people like Maddy Cerra and the teens who founded 4Others’ African Water Project getting involved and finding ways to affect change in the world. When I read the story of New Jersey native Aneesha Raghunathan, however, I was impressed with this 17-year-old who is taking on the Goliath of the fashion industry: India’s sweatshops.

Aneesha saw the working conditions in sweatshops during her travels to India, and instead of just forgetting about it or making a donation, she decided to take action. She founded Hope Line Fashions, a non-profit clothing company that employs Indian women and pays them a living wage. Proceeds from the clothing sales also go back to the woman’s own projects and business endeavors, and each shirt comes with its own ID number so that the customer can find out who benefited from their purchase.

Hope Line Fashions has been smart about its marketing and has utilized Twitter, DoSomething.org, and IndieGoGo, a website we covered on Tribal Truth in our article “Social Networking and the Future of Philanthropy and Indie Art.”

To read more about Aneesha’s work and purchase shirts from Hope Line Fashions, check out the Hope Line Fashions website at http://www.hopelinefashions.org/.