“What if we could close the circle and build a story for the shirt?”
The T-Shirt has always been a part of our story at Ryonet. They are the canvas of the print, the billboard of this generation. Screen printers bring stories to life on t-shirts. Your prints share a message, create pride, and build confidence. But the T-shirt that is behind every print seems to go without a story. What if we could close the circle and build a story for the shirt? The shirt that helps bring those who touch it, and those who created it, life. Ryonet is embarking on a purpose driven enterprise with 10 fellow screen printers to create a shirt that has a story and helps make the world a better place. One of these founding print partners is SandiLake Clothing.
Looking for a better way to dress her girls, Mel started Sandilake in 2014 to create children’s and mom-focused apparel to wear and, perhaps, to even make enough money to support a stay at home mom. Mel started screen printing on a Ryonet Silver Press using basic screens and plastisol inks. A year later she found out that Target had ripped her America design and decided to do something about it. The mishap garnered her national attention on Good Morning America which increased their fan base by 20 fold. Headed into their 3rd year, they have become a model example for Etsy success and will be featured on SharkTank this Friday, October 21st. Mel has already started making her own private label clothing with American Apparel and Portland Garment Factory so she was excited to be a part of something new. It seems having a say in how her shirts are made and making the world a better place is right up her alley! Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and as documentaries like Poverty Inc explain, the need for meaningful, well-paying local work is the answer to the poverty and orphan life cycle that currently envelops Haiti. “We just watched the videos with our little girls, and truly feel like this was all meant to be,” Mel said after seeing the conditions the orphans live within every day.
Mel has already jumped in and is making custom baby rompers for the Christmas season that are manufactured at our living wage LIFE facility in Haiti. At LIFE, Haitian workers earn up to 10x the average daily income in Haiti, they are able to take care of their families, adopt orphans from the community, and help build an economic foundation in their country. The rompers will be private labeled for SandiLake with this message stamped into every shirt! Through this living wage product, the local makers in these impoverished communities touch your life, and you help to keep their families together through dignified work.
Thank you for reading about this exciting new journey, we hope you will follow along closely! There will be many opportunities for you to help these communities by being knowledgeable of where your garments are created. While we push to shift the industry towards more earth friendly, and people friendly garments, we will need your help in spreading the word.
For more information on Sandilake, her coming appearance on ABC’s SharkTank, or about the exciting new LIFE project we’re working on, please follow the links below.
About our purpose for orphan prevention and our partner GoProject: https://goproject.org/go-project/orphan-care/orphan-prevention/
Interested in hearing more about our exciting new LIFE project? Contact Ryan: https://www.instagram.com/ryanmoor/
MADE IN HAITI
goproject.org
-Ryan Moor
