One day, a bunch of surfers who had happened to start a clothing line decided that they should do more than just surf the destinations they were visiting around the world. Christian Kauhana Kalama, Hawaiian-born brand manager of Jedidiah clothing and previously one of Jedidiah’s sponsored surfers, put it this way, “So much of the contests we go on, people go there and it’s almost like exploiting the culture—you’re there for a little bit, but you’re not really giving back to the culture. It’s like, if we’re going to all these places, let’s try to actually make a difference there.” So the Christian and art lifestyle clothing brand, Jedidiah, expanded the goals of their clothing line to benefit communities in need.
From its very start, Jedidiah was created with the intention of supporting the surf, art, and music community that it served. The brand, run by a core group of about five people, grew up organically, developing strong followings in the San Diego, Augustine, FL, and Hawaii surf scenes, though it is now carried in 300 stores across the US. The company works with many artists for their t-shirt designs, including a few from Hawaii’s Ground Up Movement, and encourages creativity and expression. Jedidiah supports musicians through their brand, sponsoring bands with their clothing and even designing shirts around lyrics to build exposure for the bands. Of course, Jedidiah also sponsors surfers.
The makers of Jedidiah put as much care into the production of the shirts as they do in the designs and concept. They are able to do a lot of screen printing in-house in California and, when they use overseas services, a Jedidiah representative travels to the factory first to ensure that “the labor is honorable.”
When Jedidiah’s creators had the revelation that they could be helping the communities that they visit, they created the Hope Collection in 2004. While Jedidiah already donates 1% of their profits from all their clothing lines to organizations they support, the Hope Collection goes further. A shirt design is created for each charity that they wish to support. Every time a shirt with that design is purchased, $5 is donated to the cause. The Hope Collection currently has designs supporting Street Angels, a ministry in San Diego that works with homeless teenagers (StreetAngelsMinistry.com), Invisible Children, a media organization that strives to educate the Western world about children living in war in Uganda (InvisibleChildren.com), and Gabriel House, a non-profit home in Mexico that takes in profoundly handicapped children or children with AIDS (GabrielHouseofMexico.com).
Jedidiah’s website states that, since 2004, with the advent of the Hope Collection, they have donated over $328,963 to 10 organizations that have been supported from the sale of t-shirts. For this holiday season, if you purchase any shirt from the Hope Collection from their website, www.JedidiahUSA.com, $10 per purchase will be donated to the respective cause.Jedidiah can also be found in surf stores around Hawaii and at a surf sample sale on December 12th at Kapolei High School from 3-6 pm. Not only will sales of the shirts benefit Jedidiah’s charities, but the entry fee at the door will be donated directly to the children of Kapolei High School. Information about additional surf sample sales in December can be found at www.DynamicClothing.com.
It seems appropriate to end this article with a touching story about just how Jedidiah has made a difference for these organizations. Kauhana tells, “We went down to the Gabriel House this past Christmas, and they’re telling us this story about how, when the economy started heading south, it got difficult because they’re funded by individual donors and they don’t have a consistent revenue stream coming in. Two months went by when they couldn’t pay any of their staff, late on all their bills, and were being forced to make really difficult decisions about whether they’d be able to continue going. It came down to a day where they were considering just closing it all up. On that day, the owner got a check from us. We just had a random stint with a really successful shirt and all the money got donated to them. The amount of the check that got sent to them, was, to the dollar, the amount that they needed to pay all their bills for that month.”
