My name is Tintin Vesterholm. I am an international student from Sweden, and I decided to dedicate my final major project to a cause I am passionate about, and that cause is injustice and gender discrimination against women.
Since moving to the UK in September 2020, several once-in-a-lifetime events has taken place, which in turn has impacted the content of my academic journey, and what I often discovered is the negative impact these events have on women (COVID-19 pandemic, cost-of-living crisis, Roe V. Wade, Mahsa Amini, etc.).
Gender injustice and discrimination against women is a major issue, however, not enough is being done against it.
My project, NAIV, is a non-profit organisation that supports women exposed to gender-based inequalities and injustices. The organisation composes of two quite different strands, one proposing a service for women and one proposing a unisex product. These support each other through marketing, branding, and funding through profit. Different markets, trends and consumers will be analysed, exploring the strands separately to prove that they can be of value to each other.
In short terms, NAIV is an UK organisation supporting women in vulnerable situations by referring to recourses, donating funds, and spreading awareness on the issue.
Referring to recourses: Through their website and social media channels, NAIV will provide links and contact information to different organisations supporting women regarding various issues (such as domestic abuse, mental health, eating disorders, etc.).
Donating funds: NAIV offers the choice to donate money, which in turn goes to women in need and supporting the organisation.
Spreading awareness: Through social media, current issues are spread across the world in seconds, making it highly relevant. This also sometimes lead to petitions, demonstrations, and protests. The problem is that the issue often does not stay relevant for long. This is something NAIV is trying to fight, by constantly providing information on the topic, keeping it relevant enough for actual change to be made.
NAIV also offers a modest range of unisex branded merchandise, where a lot of thought has been put into material and design, creating clothes and accessories deviating from the typical plain and monotonous merchandise often seen. The aim is for the merchandise to, not only appeal to shoppers with prior knowledge of NAIV, but also to those without, simply by being physically appealing. Customers will purchase products from NAIV because they support the cause, because they support the cause and desire the product, or simply because they desire the product, either way, a profit is made in favour of the cause and NAIV gets a chance to recruit allies through creative and calculated branding.
The research behind NAIV shows how the fashion industry can be used as a tool for change, as well as how a purpose can be used to generate customers and stronger bonds for businesses within the fashion industry. The two can lean on and support each other, creating a stronger business and society.
Customers are further starting to value the purpose and values behind the brand rather than just product, resulting in a win-win situations for businesses reaching for positive change.
I am interested in working in Marketing and PR roles in the future.
Talitha Ward | Business & Management
