The S.T.I.T.C.H Project

The "S.T.I.T.C.H" Project

Students Together In Tackling Child Hunger
"PAYPAL" OPTION COMING SOON . . . AND MORE CHOICES IN TUNICS!

Have you ever seen beautiful tunics, such as the ones on this website, sold in expensive US stores? The shirt’s label usually says “Made in India” and is sold in trendy stores for ten times the price it was purchased in a developing nation. The S.T.I.T.C.H Project buys beautiful hand-embroidered georgette, linen and cotton shirts from India and distributes them in America for +$20 donation to UNICEF. All (100%) of the profit made on each sale goes towards global poverty-relief efforts. Malnutrition is a silent emergency that causes the deaths of over 6 million children in developing countries each year—a tragedy that can and must be prevented. The S.T.I.T.C.H Project strongly believes that poor people, not ridiculously lucrative Western companies, should profit from global inequality.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

How do I purchase a tunic and support your efforts to reduce global child malnutrition?

Wow, that's a GREAT question! We’re very glad you’re interested in supporting our grass-root movement. Ordering a Tunic is simple:

1. Write out a +$20 check to “U.S. Fund for UNICEF” and, in the memo, put “Malnutrition Relief.” (Your donation is tax-exempt). You may also make the check out to "Oxfam" or "Doctors without Borders" (secular charities with low overhead costs).
2. Tell us the ID number of the tunic you wish to purchase as well as your snail-mail address (for shipping) and e-mail address (so we can confirm your order)
3. Include $4 (cash) to cover shipping/handling and the original cost of the tunic
4. Place the check, money and request in an envelope and mail to:

The S.T.I.T.C.H Headquarters
C/o Deena Guzder
623 W. 136 St. Apt. 15
New York, NY
10031

We will mail you the requested tunic and re-direct your check to UNICEF within 1-3 days of receiving your order.

Hey, how do I know the money goes to UNICEF? How do I know S.T.I.T.C.H isn't some sort of internet scam?
Good question, my skeptical friend! To ensure you know your money goes to a good cause, we ONLY accept checks made out to UNICEF (et al); in other words, no cash or it will be returned! The reason you can’t send your check directly to UNICEF is because we need to verify you are, indeed, making a donation and not simply getting a beautiful tunic for nothing. For this reason, you must send us the check along with your order; we will then re-direct your check to UNICEF’s headquarters (obviously we can’t cash a check that's not in our name so no need to worry).


How much did you originally pay for each tunic? Wow, it looks like days and nights of work went into the stitching so why don’t you give the profit back to the laborers who made the tunics instead of to UNICEF?
We paid an average of 148 Rupees for each tunic so, depending on the day’s exchange rate, that’s around 3 USD. We would love for the profit to go back to the individuals who did the arduous, intricate stitching; however, unfortunately, the logistics are too complicated for a project of our scale and it would be difficult to convince customers we are a legitimate nonprofit organization without affiliating ourselves with a well-established charity. For now, we feel directing the profit towards UNICEF is preferable.


How much would these tunics sell for in a US store?
We can’t say for certain but consider the fact that J.Crew is selling a similar sleeveless tunic for $218!! And, of course, we can guess who’s pocketing the bulk of that sale. Here’s the link to their oh-so-cool (sarcasm), ethnic, trendy clothes: J.Crew Tunic


I’d like to buy a tunic but I’m a poor student and $20 is kind of steep . . . do you have “student discount”?
Errr, wellll . . . $20 works out to five or six cups of over-priced Starbucks coffee so we don’t think our donation requirement is unreasonable. Yet, since all of us here at S.T.I.T.C.H are over-educated and under-paid students ourselves, we understand your hesitation. So here’s the deal: If you send us a photocopy of your student ID, we’ll only require a $15 donation to UNICEF (although you’ll still have to cover shipping/handling). Even if you are a student, we are assuming you will pay in full if you come from a mega-rich family so don't be a scrooge, ok? good!


What is the range of sizes available for the tunics?
The tunics are “one-size fits all” because they are meant to be loose and flowing. Unless you’re exceptionally large or small, you shouldn’t have a problem.


Are the tunics for men or women?
The tunics are traditionally worn by women (unless labeled as “unisex” in our description) . . . but we think guys look REALLLLY cute in them too. Of course, they also make excellent gifts.


What is your return policy?
We will not return your donation to UNICEF but are happy to exchange any unworn tunic as long as you cover the shipping/handling fees (please remember that all of us volunteering at S.T.I.T.C.H are students scraping by and any extra costs will decrease our ability to buy our Ramen noodle dinners).


When are you getting another order of the tunics that say “Out of Stock”?
We only get more tunics when one of us goes to India (the last trip was made a few months ago and the next one will be early March 2007) but, if you send us an email requesting a certain tunic, we will make an effort to re-stock that order.


How can I support the S.T.I.T.C.H project?
Glad you asked! There are several ways you can help our efforts:
1. If you are planning to travel to an impoverished country and have extra room in your bag, buy a few items that are often marketed in trendy US stores. Send us an e-photo and a receipt so we can add the item to our web catalogue after tagging on the $20 donation requirement for purchasing. If it sells, we will reimburse you for the original cost of the product and shipping/handling after the customer verifies she/he received the item. (Ideally, we would like all consumerism to help the least fortunate so we are not restricting our merchandise to tunics)
2. PLEASE refer everyone you know to our website and help spread the word that large US corporations shouldn’t make massive profit killings in a world where one in seven people are malnourished.
3. If you have any information or expertise in website designing or hosting that you would offer for free, please contact us immediately at Support.S.T.I.T.C.H@gmail.com
4. If you have any advice for our project or want to help fill out paperwork to register it as a nonprofit, please contact us: Support.S.T.I.T.C.H@gmail.com


What is UNICEF and what does it do?
UNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. For more information, UNICEF. Also check out Doctors without Borders and Oxfam


Is malnutrition really a big deal?
Umm, yes!! Malnutrition increases dramatically, and kills most rapidly, in emergencies. Most children do not die due to conflicts or natural disasters themselves, but rather to resulting food shortages, lack of safe water, inadequate health care, and poor sanitation and hygiene. The vast majority of children succumb to measles, diarrhea, respiratory infections and severe malnutrition (Read more: Malnutrition is Terrible). Even in the U.S., by far the richest country on the planet, 38.2 million people lived in families that were classified as "food insecure" in 2004. A recent study by Dr. Timothy Jones of the University of Arizona found that almost half of the food produced in the United States is wasted at a cost of more than $100 billion a year." That statistic is pretty maddening considering one in seven people, or 852 million are malnourished worldwide according to the United Nations.


What is Fair Trade and where can I get more information on the movement?
The fair trade movement promotes protecting international labor, environment and social standards for the production of traded goods and services. The movement focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries —in contrast with "free trade," which is often protectionist in favor of wealthy nations. “Make Trade Fair” is a campaign by Oxfam International and its 12 affiliates, calling on governments, institutions, and multinational companies to change the rules so that trade can become part of the solution to poverty, not part of the problem. We know that real change will only come when large numbers of people demand it - in rich countries as well as poor. To join the campaign or learn more about the Fair Trade campaign, click here: Oxfam Fair Trade Campaign


How can I become a more socially-conscientious consumer and/or activist?
Here’s a comprehensive list of human rights resources provided by Physicians for Human Rights: Human Rights Organizations Visit “Ten Thousand Villages” to support Fair Trade: Ten Thousand Villages Here's a list of great organizations supporting Fair Trade that we helped compile for National Geographic Traveler magazine.


I still have a question (or want to report a typo!) so who

ID# tunic 108
Gauzy deep-red tunic with white border stitching (OUT OF STOCK)

should I contact?
We love feedback so please feel free to send us an email and we will respond as soon as possible. Please contact us . . .

Headquarters and Founder: Deena Guzder (dg2190@columbia.edu)
Marketing and Accounting: Lindsley Sturgis (thirdculturekid@hotmail.com)
General Advertising: Laura Kwan (llkwan@ucla.edu)
Promotional Advertising: Joanna Richards (joannarichards@hotmail.com)
Website Consultant: Neville Medhora (nev@mail.utexas.edu)
Photographer: Veera Sidhwa (v.sidhwa@gmail.com)

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