On December 7th, Pasadena-based software innovator Evolution Design Lab (EDL) broke the Guinness World Record for the largest donation of shoes in a 24-hour period.
Partnering with Youth Philanthropy Council (YPC) teens in the kid-run nonprofit’s third annual St. Nick’s Kicks initiative, 21,000 pairs of Jellypop brand shoes valued at $1,100,000 were donated to Southern California families in need.
The precise wording of the official awesomeness from Guinness: “Largest donation of shoes in 24 hours.”
Jellypop is a woman / minority-owned footwear brand for women and girls founded in 2009 by Pasadena resident and co-CEO Jennet Chow as an expansion of a family-owned shoe business.
Chow developed Jellypop as a proof-of-concept, offering versatile styles at affordable prices. For example, the white, platform-sole, canvas-upper sneaker called Energy White is priced at $39.99. A similar shoe in the Martha Stewart-endorsed Skechers line retails for $70 to $110.
Drake Lim, marketing manager for the brand, says, “Jennet’s tech expertise revealed that the business model for the footwear space was dated and archaic, and she discovered that many untapped opportunities existed for superior product development and brand management. So EDL began developing design software that we now offer to branded and private-label footwear companies.”
Brand partners of EDL include Famous Footwear, JCPenney and Nordstrom.
Lim says, “Our women’s line includes wide sizes which are great for working women who are on their feet all day, especially wait-staff, nurses and other health care professionals.”
Jellypop also reduces the waste and toxicity that scourge global fashion manufacturing. The all-vegan shoes feature repurposed memory foam scrap and fiber made from recycled, single-used plastic bottles. Using a manufacturer certified by the Global Recycle Standard (GRS), Jellypop shoes are dyed without using water, another significant improvement in an industry that is notoriously rough on the environment, and Jellypop packaging uses post-compost materials to reduce waste further.
The brand also participates in various forms of philanthropy, including B1G1 (buy one, give one), where a donation to a vetted charity chosen by the shopper is made every time a pair of Jellypop shoes is purchased. The brand also partners with the Two Ten Footwear Foundation, Feed the Children, Soles 4 Souls, The Goodness Web and Union Rescue Mission.
For a broader understanding of the impacts of EDN’s efforts, the U.S. Department of the Interior reports that each year, Americans discard at least 300 million pairs of shoes. These discarded shoes go into landfills, where they may take up to four decades to decompose. Nashville-based Soles 4 Soles specializes in diverting these worn but still wearable shoes to community outreach teams, simultaneously reducing environmental damage and providing footwear to those in need.
Lim comments, “Part of why we’re so excited about this most recent accomplishment is that since joining with YPC earlier this year, it has expanded from its home base in San Diego to form a new Los Angeles chapter led by 17-year-old Jacob Chow. We’re so happy to be part of this milestone that illustrates what can happen when youth leadership and local business meet local social justice advocacy.”
Augustus Holm, founder of YPC, adds, “Under Jacob’s leadership, YPC LA has become a model of youth-driven philanthropy, engaging hundreds of volunteers and fostering a culture of giving that has inspired other youth nationwide. No one has managed a youth-led donation event of this scope before, spanning city permits and thousands of recipients in the nation’s busiest cities. Our aim is to create an inspiring and meaningful experience for our youth volunteers while spotlighting the power of youth-led philanthropy.”
At 7:00 AM on December 7th at the Spectrum Center in San Diego, months of planning and coordination hit paydirt when the 21,000 pair mark was met and perhaps surpassed, according to Lim.
“We actually donated about 4,000 additional pairs,” he says, the mix of new, unworn women’s and girls’ shoes all going to communities in need.
And these boots are made for walkin’. Purely from a style POV, the William Lt. Gold selection is a modern Western silhouette encrusted with heat-set rhinestones, ideal for those of us who like to say this ain’t our first rodeo, perfect for a post-Beyoncè cowgirl do-si-do. And when shopping for a sweet sandal for a young fashionista, we’re partial to the Yvette Natural Multi, which rocks a groovy, granny-square-woven upper on a rope-espadrille platform sole.
So, next time you need a new pair of go-go boots (and who doesn’t?), consider brands that help make the world a kinder, greener place, one stylin’ step at a time.
