T-shirts for empowerment

June 27th, 2008

In 2005 a young athlete called Jenifer Hoffman was assaulted by a neighbour.  It turned out that the man, who was already on probation, was sentenced to two years in jail. But Hoffman knew he would be coming back to live on the same street when he got out, so she persuaded neighbours to write letters suggesting the man serve a community sentence. ‘I knew he’d be angry after being in jail and that he would be coming back to live on our street. I thought it would be better for all of us if we gave him the opportunity to rehabilitate himself,’ Hoffman said.  As a result of her action she joined a domestic violence charity and began to change the world, one T-shirt at a time.

In 2006, Emotional Armor was launched with sixty messages on T-shirts. Before long, a local shop was selling over fifty a day and hospital gift shops picked up the line. What do they say? Well ‘Princess, Not in Need of Rescue,’ quickly became a top seller, as did, ‘My Scars Are My Favourite Tattoo,’ ‘Write Your Own Happy Ending,’ and ‘Happiness Is Free.’ There are also baby T-shirts with such messages as: ‘Destined for Greatness’ and ‘Milk and Love’. One of Hoffman’s favourite messages is: ‘Off to Save the Dragon.’ It reminds her of her assailant. ‘If people are treated with love and kindness, they won’t breathe fire,’ she says. Each product comes with a card that explains that the net profits go to violence prevention and children’s empowerment programmes.

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Entry Filed under: T-shirt news, Fashion, T-Shirt Printing, Printing