Take Action Against Period Poverty, Shop the Perfect White Tee on Giving Tuesday

Celebrity stylist and cofounder of The Period Abundance Foundation Karla Welch has teamed up with the Michael Stars Foundation’s Suzanne Lerner to raise awareness.

Suzanne Lerner and Karla Welch / Courtesy of Suzanne Lerner and Karla Welch

In the U.S., one in four teen girls struggle to afford period products, and studies have found that one in two teens will drop out of sports due to having their period. In honor of Giving Tuesday, stylist Karla Welch and activist-entrepreneur Suzanne Lerner have teamed up for the ultimate cause: raising awareness and creating change where period poverty is concerned.

Welch, who serves as cofounder and CEO of The Period Company and cofounder of The Period Abundance Foundation, is on a mission to support people with periods while eradicating period poverty through her 501(c)(3) organization. Meanwhile, Lerner is the cofounder of Michael Stars and the Michael Stars Foundation, the latter of which is a non-profit that engages in philanthropy and sustainability practices to create a more equitable world.

Together, the organizations have teamed up to raise awareness for period poverty and sustainability. Today, Michael Stars, the Los Angeles-based apparel company, released an exclusive T-shirt designed by Welch. Deemed the perfect white tee, 10% of the purchase of each T-shirt will benefit The Period Abundance Foundation.

“It’s an amazing T-shirt and it’s going to make such a huge impact in people’s lives because what we do [at The Period Abundance Foundation] is we provide sustainable period care, [including] a bag of reusable, sustainable products that’s going to last someone over eight years of their lives,” Welch says. “It makes a huge, huge, huge difference both for dignity and for economics, for bodily autonomy, just everything we’re talking about in the world today.”

The Karla Tee, $48 (michaelstars.com)

Courtesy of Michael Stars

As for the creation of the T-shirt, the 100% cotton garment is made in Southern California, furthering the Michael Stars brand mission of reducing the company’s carbon footprint.

“It’s really exciting because it’s a great fashion item and it is going to last a long time,” Lerner says. “It’s produced in L.A. locally. We have a woman-owned cutting service and we have a woman-owned contracting service and we are 85% women at our company. We’re very, very proud of that ... So many companies just don’t make T-shirts in the U.S. anymore, and we’re determined to stay here, to pay living wages, to pay proper wages, to take care of our people.”

In addition to donating 10% of each T-shirt sale, the Michael Stars Foundation provided the Period Abundance Foundation with a $50,000 grant to further the non-profit’s mission. Both the grant funds and T-shirt sales will go toward getting period products in people’s hands, per Welch, everywhere from the U.S. to Uganda.

“We work with organizations globally that are already on the ground to add to their impact by providing them with reusable items,” she adds. “Whether it’s underwear, whether it’s cups or pads, it just has to be sustainable.”

The classic white T-shirt itself is one Welch designed many years ago, with an updated boxy fit and vintage, brushed cotton fabric. Not only is the garment versatile and created to benefit a great cause, it’s also one that you can incorporate seamlessly into your closet.

“Tuck it into your jeans, put it under a blazer, wear it with a beautiful long skirt at holidays with a sparkly shrug,” Welch suggests. “It’s one of the most democratic pieces of clothing and it’s indispensable.”