“I Didn’t Dance My Ass Off at Josh’s Bar Mitzvah,” reads the T-shirt that started Project Repat, a new Boston based non-profit group that buys old shirts in developing countries, resells them in America and then donates the proceeds to other nonprofit groups.
In a phone interview, Ross Lohr, a 2007 Boston University graduate and Project Repat co-founder, said the company was launched in January after co-founder Sean Hewens’ trip to Kenya.
Lohr said Hewens saw the shirt while volunteering in Kenya and realized how many American shirts are cast away to developing countries. He immediately contacted Lohr, who was volunteering in Tanzania, and together the two came up with the idea for Project Repat.
“Ninety-five percent of clothes donated to American Goodwill stores are actually sold to developing countries and vendors sell them there,” Lohr said. “We decided to buy these really incredible, amazingly ironic shirts and use them to generate revenue for nonprofits.”
The shirts are sent back to America, washed twice and rebranded with the Project Repat logo. Efforts are made to document the journey each shirt makes on its way back to the United States and the story is included with the shirt.
Each shirt sells for $25 and 100 percent of the profits go to support various non-profit organizations. Hewens and Lohr founded two of those organizations, Smallbean and the Newton Tanzania Collaborative.
Lohr started NTC in 2006 with the goal of improving educational opportunities in Tanzania.
“So far we’ve built libraries, started a scholarship fund and helped provide clean water,” Lohr said. “Smallbean, which was founded by Sean, is committed to improving the technology gap in developing worlds while still maintaining the local culture. They’ve built a solar-powered computer lab in Kenya.”
Lohr said Project Repat is steadily gaining popularity, especially among younger crowds.
“We launched a fundraising platform to raise $5,000 to make a documentary about Project Repat and actually raised the money in five days,” Lohr said. “We’re definitely seeing the younger crowd become involved with fundraising and philanthropy.”
While many may consider these ironic shirts an appeal to the hipster community, Lohr said they try to stay away from the word “hipster.”
“Each shirt is ironic and authentic and has a story to tell,” Lohr said. “If it appeals to a hipster, so be it, but that’s not why we’re doing this. These unique shirts are supporting people in Kenya and Tanzania.”
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