Swami Safari: Shirts Do Good

The idea of using clothing as a storytelling vehicle is not new. Neither is charity through clothing. But you combine the two, invite guest artists (James Hancock is the first) to participate, and have full disclosure of your business costs and profit margin and you have me listening. I recently received the first of a monthly series of t-shirts from the Swami Safari line from Australia. Each shirt tells a story (both visually in the design and with words printed on the inside) of a spiritual man named Swami and his adventures while he takes a much needed vacation after teaching his disciples in the Himalayas. Not surprisingly, a child from India is supported by the project and a dollar from each shirt is donated to help the efforts. The shirt is extremely soft to the touch and the front design is printed in what feels like a quality process. The printing inside is done with a silver ink that reminds me of a Sharpie used for autographs. It features a Norse Mythology story. It is a bit difficult to read so I am hoping they’ll have the story online or optionally will send it in a nicely formatted email to their subscribers. It’s refreshing to see such forward thinking in an otherwise boring fashion segment. I applaud them for their candidness, originality in execution, and for choosing India as a focus for aid. If you are interested in buying the first shirt (one per month), subscribing (have them sent to you automatically), or checking out their accessories (none at the moment, but they’ll produce one quarterly), head on over to Swami Safari today.