I’m so excited to announce that I was invited to join my voice with the #TOGETHERBAND campaign and the answer was an obvious yes! The purpose of the campaign is to use sustainable fashion, music, film, art and culture to generate mass engagement with the United Nations’ 17 Goals for sustainable development in partnership with UNDP, Project Everyone, Global Citizen and Founding Partner UBS. These goals were created in 2015 as a blueprint for humanity and a healthy planet by 2030.
We are setting out to engage over 1 billion people as we ladder up to September 2020. Also on the docket of ambassadors are David Beckham, Naomi Campbell, K Pop sensation Monsta X, Former UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, Alicia Silverstone and Rosario Dawson. Not a bad group of people to be fighting for change with, wouldn’t you agree? Watch trailer
The band that I’m wearing is a friendship band – remember the friendship bracelet you wore in Middle School? Well, this is the same thing but this one was, of course, sustainably sourced and ethically produced and comes with zero drama or jealousy from your other friends. We’re all adults here after all! #TOGETHERBANDs are made of upcycled ocean plastic collected on Costa Rica beaches and assembled by Nepali women who have been rescued from human trafficking while the clasps are made of recycled illegal firearm metal from El Salvador.
As an ambassador for Goal 12: Responsible Consumption & Production, I first dropped the news on my Instagram during the Black Friday frenzy to remind us all of the impact our holiday purchases will have on our future quality of life.
In America, we are conditioned to equate an abundance of stuff with a (false) sense of well-being which is too often short-lived. Let’s change the narrative and what we ascribe value to.
100% of the profits from #TOGETHERBAND go to grassroots projects like UK’s City Harvest which distributes food to the homeless. Get one for yourself and one for your bestie! To help you decide which one(s) to get, here are the goals and colors!
17 UNITED NATIONS GOALS ARE:
Goal 1: Ending poverty is key to unlocking our huge human potential. Learn more
Goal 2: Global hunger is one of the biggest challenges of our time. Learn more
Goal 3: In the last 15 years, the number of childhood deaths has been cut in half, but still millions of children die every year from diseases that are easy to prevent. Learn more
Goal 4: Education empowers people, unlocks imagination and creates opportunity. Learn more
Goal 5: Gender bias undermines everyone. It’s not only a human rights issue, but it’s also a waste of human potential. Learn more
Goal 6: One in three people still lack proper sanitation and are threatened with fatal diseases. Learn more
Goal 7: Renewable energy sources are becoming more affordable, reliable and efficient every day. Learn more
Goal 8: A growing economy should be a positive force for the whole planet, but we need to make sure financial progress benefits everyone. Learn more
Goal 9: A resilient infrastructure is the foundation of every successful community. Learn more
Goal 10: Too much of the world’s wealth is held by a very small group of people, this leads to financial and social discrimination. Learn more
Goal 11: The world’s population continues to grow. For us to survive and prosper, we need affordable, safe, sustainable and culturally inspiring places to live. Learn more
Goal 12: Our beautiful planet has given us an abundance of natural resources, but many of these are quickly running out. Learn more
Goal 13: Climate change is a serious threat to life as we know it. Learn more
Goal 14: Healthy oceans and seas are essential to our existence. They cover 70 percent of our planet and we rely on them for food, energy, and water. Learn more
Goal 15: The foundation for life on our planet is our plants, insects, and animals. We’ve caused severe damage to our planet through deforestation, destruction of natural habitats and land degradation. Learn more
Goal 16: Compassion and a strong moral compass are essential to every democratic society, and yet persecution, injustice, and abuse still exist. Learn more
Goal 17: The Global Goals can only be achieved if we come together. International investment and support are necessary for innovation, technological development, fair trade, and market access, especially for developing countries. Learn more
As you can see, each goal has it’s own color so feel free to get multiple bands to represent the goals that speak to you most. Then, post a photo of yourself wearing your #TOGETHERBAND. Don’t forget to share why this goal is important to you and use the hashtags: #TOGETHERBAND #GLOBALGOALS #SHAREYOURGOAL
