Tommy helps the poor

By Neslihan
I've always believed in being yourself. It's important to stay true to who you are. Certainly when you own a blog. It's about stating your opinion but also leaving some space for other point of views. So, when I stumbled into Tommy Hilfiger adds for their Millennium Promise Collection I was highly skeptical. This collection is inspired by African prints and the full profit of it goes to the 'Millennium Villages Project' in Africa. When charity oriented organizations state things like this I always get critical and wonder which share of it truly goes to that good cause. Because we donate our money in order to help people in need not knowing what happens with it. In lots of cases a small part really goes to that cause because those organizations have employees and shipping costs. So, what really is left is only a fraction of the totality of this huge sum. And of course it's logical that they too have their own costs but this whole charity thing is one big, black blur to me.

So, you can probably guess my thoughts on this collection. I think it's wonderful that lots of fashion companies care about global problems like those concerning our environment but also poverty. These companies already have a public and fame so it's easier to reach people. Still I felt something wasn't right. I surfed a bit on the web and found out that every single penny of income would go to MVP. I was amazed, I mean do people (read mega brands) like that exist? Or am I just too pesimistic to think that wealthy companies really are willing to help the less lucky in our world? Or are organizations like this one too idealistic? What's wrong with that? As long as they're realistic, everything's still ok, right? And you have to start somewhere. You can't have it all at once. It's about work, hard work.

But let's take a look at the clothing. I've never been quite fond of Tommy Hilfiger. It's really preppy, totally not my style either. The soft pinks, greens and blues are so in contradiction with my own taste. This collection though is nice. I mean, I wouldn't wear the whole collection but there are three pieces I'd definitely wear: the two tees and the last shorts. And ok, I'd give the dress a shot but that's about it. You either like their charity collection or don't.

And I know, me sitting here, writing about it in my comfortable chair, doesn't exactly make me a hero. But I'm always way too skeptical to donate money to organizations but -this is going to sound extremely stupid, I know- I do buy clothing from Anti-Aids collections like those from H&M's. I don't do it because I want to support the organization to be honest, I just like the clothes. So, the risk with collections is that people often forget or do not know what the concept is. As for myself I still have to find a way to be involved and more conscious about Third World problems. The clock keeps ticking.

 More info at http://be.tommy.com/hilfiger/millennium-promise,nl_BE,pg.html.