Felicity Jones, June Ambrose, Olivia Munn and others come together for Force 4 Fashion charity T-shirt project
Joining forces with the premiere of “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” Disney and Target are launching a fashion and fund-raising initiative inspired by the themes of rebellion from the new movie that opens Dec. 16.
Ten influential names across film, music, fashion and sports have come together to support UNICEF Kid Power by creating a line of “Force 4 Fashion” T-shirts available exclusively at Target and target.com, beginning Nov. 27.
The influencers, Riz Ahmed, June Ambrose, Steve Aoki, Camilla Belle, Gareth Edwards, Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Olivia Munn, Kelly Slater and Brittany Snow, have all created T-shirts. Each of the T-shirt designs represent the theme of the movie, which is a group of rebels who choose to do extraordinary things and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves. The T-shirts, which retail for $12.99, each have a powerful slogan to represent the importance of standing up for what one believes in. Sayings include “I Rebel,” “Go Rogue,” “I Am a Force for Change,” and “Join the Rebellion.”
Five dollars from the sale of each shirt will be donated to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF in support of UNICEF Kid Power. Through this initiative, kids can complete physical activities and interactive challenges to earn points — which ultimately are used to provide life-saving packets of therapeutic food for severely malnourished children around the world. The more kids move, the more points they earn and the more lives they save.
Paul Southern, senior vice president of licensing for Lucasfilm at Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media, said “We’ve been really focused on expanding our fashion business and saw great success with last year’s “Force for Fashion” program which raised millions of dollars for charity with the auction of one-of-a-kind outfits that paid homage to characters from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and were designed by leading fashion designers.
“This year we wanted to continue the fashion-meets-fund-raising theme with a more accessible line and tying into the ‘slogan’ tee trend that’s popular right now,” he added.
Asked what he hopes to accomplish, Southern said, “We’re hoping that this campaign will help us spread the word to current and new Star Wars fans about the importance of standing up for what you believe in, and being a force for change in your community.”
Michelle Wlazlo, senior vice president, merchandising, apparel and accessories of Target, said, “We’ve established Target as the ultimate ‘Star Wars’ destination. Collaborating with Disney and the designers on these shirts allows us to reinforce our commitment to fans, while offering a great holiday gift that benefits an important cause.”
UNICEF Kid Power allows kids to learn about new cultures, go on virtual missions and support their peers. Since its launch in 2014, more than 190,000 UNICEF Kid Power Team Members have gotten active, earning more than 12.5 million Kid Power Points and providing more than 5.1 million packs of lifesaving therapeutic food for severely malnourished children.
Star Wars: Force for Change began collaborating with UNICEF Kid Power in May 2015.
In addition to purchasing the special T-shirts, fans can participate by sharing their own stories and posting on social channels how they are a #ForceForChange on “Giving Tuesday,” which is November, 29.
Gareth Edwards, director, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” who is also one of the participating influencers, added, “This program is a great way to embrace the themes of ‘Rogue One,’ — rebellion and standing up for what you believe in — whilst giving back to those less fortunate, especially during the holiday season. Being a Force for Change isn’t just about making donations. We can all be a Force for Change by being more considerate of others in our daily lives. Whether it’s helping a complete stranger or reaching out to a loved one.”
Caryl M. Stern, president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, said she was happy that Star Wars: Force for Change and “Force 4 Fashion” are supporting UNICEF Kid Power. “UNICEF Kid Power helps us to stand and give every child hope. With every step, kids get active and save lives, moving the world closer towards ending global malnutrition.”
“Rogue One” features Felicity Jones, Mads Mikkelsen, Ben Mendelsohn, Forest Whitaker, Donnie Yen, Riz Ahmed, Alan Tudyk, Diego Luna and James Earl Jones.
