2011 Apr 19 Save Brand Nü Campaign: How You Can Help
Beijing’s first charity store is presently at dire risk of losing its space.
Chances are, if you ever visit Wudaoying Hutong, you've popped by Brand Nü (Brand 女) before. The do-good shop – where you can donate old clothes, books and trinkets, and pick up accessories of like kind – first opened two years ago, just in time to help cultivate the area into what it is today.
But now, Brand Nü faces being shut down unless it can pay for the next two years of rent (RMB 84,000) by June 2011.
The store, though small in size, has been a project devoted to promoting rural women and their products since 2008. All donated items are sold directly in the shop, recycled, redesigned or given to those in need. Owner Nathan Zhang occasionally teams up with local brands such as (na)too and 08/15, as well as minority village women, to create fresh new designs.
In the past, Brand Nü has participated in a variety of charity projects, including building two rural libraries in partnership with Dulwich British School, hosting an exhibition of works by artists from the Beijing Huiling Community for people with learning disabilities, and donating clothing to the Gansu region to help landslide victims. It also played host to Beijing's first ethical trade fair, with over 300 people in attendance.
Now, the store needs our help in return. As Zhang once told us in an interview on our blog last year, "In a city as big as Beijing, everyone has garbage that can be another person's treasure."
With that in mind, stop by and do some shopping, make a donation or order a corporate gift. If you're feeling super ambitious, you can even organize a fundraising event in support of Brand Nü. If you have any questions or ideas, contact Nathan Zhang at 150 1115 3421 or brandnuproject@gmail.com.
Tue-Sun 10am-10pm. 61 Wudaoying Hutong (just west of Vineyard Cafe), Dongcheng District (150 1115 3421) 东城区东城区五道营胡同61号
Photo from China Daily.
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