A Pride Month Giving Roundup: Let’s Support These Businesses That Support Our LGBTQ Community
Pride Month may be over, but our continued fight for equality is far from through. As always, the month of June saw several big-name businesses “step up” to support the LGBTQ community, and while all the special sales and rainbow-colored products may come off as exploitative, some corporations, small businesses and even individuals are really putting their money where their mouth is. We’ve put together a shortlist of LGBTQ-supportive businesses who are doing what they can in the name of liberty and justice for all.
Support these LGBTQ-supportive businesses and individuals who support our community:
Levi’s
Having been one of the country’s most LGBTQ-supportive businesses for decades now, it’s no surprise that Levi’s was supportive of Pride Month. This year’s Pride Month collection of clothing and accessories consisted of everything from socks to graphic tees. And best of all, 100% of the proceeds were donated to the Harvey Milk Foundation and the Stonewall Community Foundation.
shopDisney
The House of Mouse got in on the Pride-giving action with its Rainbow Mickey Collection, a campaign that ran from May 14 to June 30, but there’s plenty of ROYGBIV accessories and apparel still available, which resulted in a donation to GLSEN of $50,000.
Shake Shack
One of the tastier LGBTQ-supportive businesses on our list, Shake Shack launched a capsule collection of limited-edition Pride merch (a shirt, a tote bag and a towel), with 100% of the proceeds benefitting the Trevor Project.
J.Crew
The preppy retailer debuted these “Love First” T-shirts, 50% of the proceeds from which support the Human Rights Campaign.
Shrill Society
Shrill Society — known for its “Nasty Woman” shirt that went viral in 2016 — donated 50% of proceeds from its pride items to local nonprofit Breakout! (predominantly run by POC and trans members), which aims to end criminalization of LGBTQ youth in the New Orleans area. This was Shrill Society’s first year for Pride shirts during Pride month, but the company plans to make the effort an annual tradition while partnering with different small nonprofits to create a large impact with the contribution.
2(X)IST
The always LGBTQ-friendly 2(X)IST launched its first-ever Pride collection (who knew?), which consists of underwear, tanks and swimwear adorned with rainbow stars or stripes. You can check out Instagram influencer and 2(x)IST Pride model/spokesperson Max Emerson showing off his “pride” for the collection here. Also, the company supported The Trevor Project last month with a $15,000 donation.
Eaze Marijuana Delivery
San Francisco-based cannabis technology company Eaze is committed to creating workplaces that are welcoming and supportive of LGBTQ employees. Last month the business donated 5% of its proceeds to Out & Equal, a nonprofit dedicated to achieving LGBTQ equality in the workplace.
Abercombie & Fitch
Maybe Abercrombie is trying to woo back all the ‘90s and early aughts gay kids it lost thanks to reputation-killing former CEO Mike Jeffries, but its effort was valiant in its Made For Love Collection that supported The Trevor Project, itself a big recipient of many LGBTQ-supportive businesses.
Brendan Urie
Panic! at the Disco’s not-shirtless-enough Brendon Urie pledged $1 million recently to help GLSEN provide resources, training and support to students working to create student-led GSA clubs in their K-12 schools through his Highest Hopes Foundation. Karma reciprocated by debuting the band’s new album, Pray for the Wicked, at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart.
Zenni Optical
In celebration of Pride month, Zenni launched its #SeeMoreLove campaign, a limited-edition line of eyewear with 100% of the proceeds supporting the It Gets Better Project. The company sold over 10,000 of its three Pride styles (still available here) and made a donation of $20,000.
Celeb Hair Stylist Andrew Fitzsimons & Friends
Celebrity hair stylist Andrew Fitzsimons partnered with the L.A. LGBT Center last year to found the Trans Cosmetic Donation Program, an ongoing initiative in which anyone in the beauty industry –— glam squads, brand ambassadors, influencers and even individuals — can donate their unopened, unused personal care products to the Center, which are then distributed to organizations that service disadvantaged trans women, particularly trans women of color. At launch they secured recurring donations from brands like L’Oreal, Bioré, Alterna Haircare and Mane Addicts to keep the program fully stocked throughout the year.
For Pride month Fitzsimons secured big donations from several brands — plus his celebrity clients Khloe Kardashian, Shay Mitchell and Kylie Jenner — for a total estimated value of more than $35,000 in June alone.
Threes Brewing
For a second year the Brooklyn, New York-based craft brewery Threes Brewing released a Pride-inspired Gender Neutral pale lager (the beer’s all gone, but you can still cop the coordinating swag here), with 10% of the proceeds supporting the Anti-Violence Project, an organization that works with LGBTQ and HIV-affected communities to address all forms of violence through education and support. The beer was released at a Brooklyn Pride party hosted at the brewery’s Gowanus brewpub in early June, and proceeds topped out at a few thousand dollars for the charity.
