Giving Back Helps: This Is Your Brain On Plants

Photo courtesy of This Is Your Brain On Plants

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Written by Cassell Ferere in partnership with Kulture Hub

Streetwear is usually an easy route to becoming a fashion designer, as it uses what is available to create garments at the lower end of the market.

No one thinks of streetwear as a conscious point of the industry, especially one that has the prowess to undertake a charitable effort.

This Is Your Brain On Plants is altering that narrative and going beyond trends in their production and the fight against COVID-19.

Photo courtesy of This Is Your Brain On Plants

Founder of TIYBOP, Zale, and his design partner and stylist, Stacey Lee, has been drawing up plans to create a lane in the streetwear fashion market for those with urges to be more conscious.

Their brand aesthetic is no different from their own lives. Vegans who are always finding sustainable processes for a living have found sustainable processes for their brand and a way to help those during the COVID-19 crisis.

“Our brand puts sustainability and creating a circular economy first and foremost.”

- Zale

Using 100% sustainable materials, TIYBOP is creating GRS 100% recycled cotton masks for essential and hospital workers in their hometown of Toronto, Canada. The mask is washable and reusable by nature.

Not stopping there, the facemasks themselves are fully sustainable in that they use strings - not elastic bands - to fasten the mask to the face. That's a step up from most facemask bearing the elastic bands that go over the ears.

Photo courtesy of This Is Your Brain On Plants

Like most brands, creating facemask that would meet CDC guidelines right now are quite a necessity for a good cause. But seeing the need for sustainable masks in the market sparked an effort that other brands likely overlooked. 

Photo courtesy of This Is Your Brain On Plants

Partnering with OVO/REPS UP artists Preme and Bioraw, the design duo behind TIYBOP donated 600 reusable masks, as well as other materials necessary for hospital and essential workers to function during the pandemic this past Mother's Day.

The streetwear duo are continuously making donations as their facemask campaign is "buy one - give one" as part of their marketing and goodwill efforts.

They have also donated 1200 Certified Organic Plant-Based meals to those in need around the Toronto area.

In continuum, they have plans to help out other communities in the U.S. that are suffering from the inaction of the Federal Government to donate necessities and other essentials for communities and institutions.

Photo courtesy of This Is Your Brain On Plants

“We are doing a big donation in Chicago with rapper Rockie Fresh to a retirement home that got hit hard by Covid-19. Also we are currently organizing a few more donation days with some close friends in the music industry.”

- Zale

TIYBOP is a fully sustainable streetwear brand to the core. They only use clean inks for creating t-shirt prints, free of Formaldehyde, heavy metals, and Alkylphenol Ethoxylates (APE).

Their printer, Kornit DTG Printers are 100% waterless, skipping the washing, steaming, and pretreatment process. They save, on average, 2.700 liters of water in their production process.

Photo courtesy of This Is Your Brain On Plants

“We are constantly looking at new technologies and fresh ways to upcycle materials that are destined for landfill.  We want our brand to be defined not only by our aesthetic but also by our creativity on the material side.”

- Zale

The world we live in is supply and demand and Zale and Stacey Lee are well aware that it has to start with individual goals that resonate outward to our family, friends, and ultimately the industry.

Zale on Instagram

“I think there will hopefully be a silver lining  from this pandemic and a chance for us as a society to put the health of our planet before financial gains and convenience.”

- Zale

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