Philanthropy
The number.
$3,805Set aside
$0Allocated
The Million-Dollar Message
One million dollars, set aside one purchase at a time, toward cleaning up the mess of a world on fire. We don't care if it takes ten days or ten years. The number above is the whole campaign.
Why a store is doing this
Because shopping is where the money already is. People spend on what they love every day, and almost none of that spending is asked to do anything else. Here it is. You buy the piece you wanted, at a fair price, and a fixed dollar amount from that sale goes to work.
Business should be part of the solution, not the problem. And people who want that should have somewhere to spend. This is ours.
How the number works
Every piece on this site carries a fixed dollar amount. It's calculated when the price is set, from that piece's own margin, and it's shown on the product page before you buy. When the piece sells, that amount is set aside into the Dark Yarn philanthropy fund. It doesn't change after the sale, it doesn't depend on whether we had a good year, and it isn't "a portion of profits" you have to take on faith. It's a number you saw first.
Where it goes
The fund is broad on purpose. The problems of the world move; the funding has to be able to move with them. We don't name causes in advance and we don't fund candidates or parties. At each milestone we put a short slate of options in front of the people who bought in, we decide, we send it, and we publish the allocation here with the confirmation. The first allocation happens at $10,000.
Allocations
| Date | Milestone | Amount | Where it went | Confirmation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | $10,000 | — | Announced when we get there | — |
Written by hand after each allocation, with the confirmation attached.
What this is and isn't
Dark Yarn is a business, not a nonprofit. Philanthropy is built into the price of every piece; it is not a donation by you, it is not tax-deductible, and nothing here is a charitable solicitation. The amount set aside is a share of Dark Yarn's margin on each piece, committed when the price is set and published on the product page. Allocations are decided by Dark Yarn, with input from customers, and announced on this page after they are made. Brands sold on this site are not affiliated with Dark Yarn or its philanthropy fund and do not endorse it.
Questions people ask
Why not just donate directly?
Please do, if you can. This is for purchases you were already going to make.
Is buying luxury the problem?
Buying less and buying better is great. We're not asking you to buy more, only that when you do, it does something.
How is the number set?
From the margin on that exact piece, by a formula, when the price is set. You see it in dollars before you buy.
Who decides where it goes?
We do, with input from the people who bought in, and we show the receipt.
Is this political?
No. We fund cleaning up the mess, broadly, and we don't fund candidates or parties.
Do the designers support this?
No, and we'd never claim they do. They make the clothes. You make the message.
Follow the number
The Edit, weekly: new designers, the number as it climbs, nothing you'll regret opening. And @darkyarn_ for the receipts as they land.