Shirts for a cause
Tom Wesselmann x Tombolo
In 2022 we first launched our ongoing collaboration with the Department of Sanitation of New York, donating a percentage of sales of our capsule collection to the Sanitation Foundation and to NYC & Company.
We also supported Edible Schoolyard NYC, GlobalGiving's Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund and donated over $25,000 to the Arctic Ice Project.
Learn more about each cause below.
Keeping New York City Clean
In April 2022, Tombolo launched a clothing collaboration with the Department of Sanitation of New York.
10% of all proceeds support the Sanitation Foundation, an organization devoted to celebrating and supporting the essential Sanitation workforce and advancing the Department’s ambitious zero-waste agenda.
Another 10% of all proceeds support the City of New York via NYC & Company, an organization founded to maximize travel and tourism opportunities throughout NYC and build economic prosperity.
The collaboration continues to this day and we've raised $100,000+.
Shirt for the Arctic
In March 2022, Tombolo launched a spicy, icy shirt.
We donated 100% of launch month sales to Arctic Ice Project (and 15% thereafter) raising $25,000 to help this organization protect Arctic ice and combat climate change. Learn more here:
Shirt for Ukraine
In March 2022, Tombolo launched a made-to-order charity shirt with 100% of proceeds going to GlobalGiving's Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund.
In total, this campaign raised more than $20,000 for Ukraine. Learn more about GlobalGiving's Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund here.
Supporting Food Education in NYC Schools
In keeping with annual tradition, we dedicated 100% of our 2022 Christmas Day sales drive to Edible Schoolyard NYC who work to address inequities by providing public schools with integrated food education and food support.
We kicked off 2021 with our Earth Day promotion, which helped us raise more than $33,000 for causes that support the world's oceans and rainforests. We also supported Riverkeeper, City Harvest, and One Fair Wage.
Each cause is detailed below.
Feeding Local New Yorkers
We ran our first Christmas Day sales drive, donating 100% of Christmas revenue to City Harvest, NYC's first and largest food rescue organization, helping to feed New Yorkers who are struggling to put meals on their tables.
Protecting the Hudson River
As part of our November 2021 artist collaboration with Rachel Sard, we purchased and auctioned off one of her works for charity. We sent the $4000 of proceeds from the painting along with an additional donation of our own to Riverkeeper, New York's clean water advocate since 1966, protecting and restoring the Hudson from source to sea.
Learn more about the Rachel Sard x Tombolo collaboration here.
Our Earth Day Promotion
In March and April 2021, 100% of sales of Earth Cabana (Blue) went to Oceanic Global to help safeguard the oceans. And 100% of sales of Earth Cabana (Green) were split between RainforestTrust and AmazonWatch to protect our rainforests.
We continued to pledge 15% of all sales of those shirts thereafter. To date, we have donated more than $33,000.
Our Earth capsule was based on William Morris designs from the late 1800s. In addition to his remarkable talents as a designer and poet, William Morris was also an early environmental crusader, which made him ideal for these two shirts.
Read about this initiative in the Robb Report or learn more about the three charitable recipients below.
All Profits from Mask Sales Donated
In early 2021, we donated all profit from every mask Tombolo ever sold to One Fair Wage, an organization that seeks to end all sub minimum wages in the United States and increase the sustainability of wages and working conditions in the service sector.
2020 was our first full year with commitments to '1% for the Planet' and '$1 for the People.' 2019 saw our first charitable initiatives.
We designed a limited edition shirt in collaboration with Save the Children that launched in May 2020. By the time we retired it the following year, we had raised over $11,000 for Save the Children's COVID-19 relief fund.
In June 2020, we donated $5,000 to Bronx Defenders, a public defender nonprofit that is radically transforming how low-income people in the Bronx are represented in the justice system. And we donated another $5,000 to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
In 2019, we paired our first-ever artist collaboration with a cause, donating 100% of the shirt's profits for launch month to the National Women's Law Center. You can read more about that collaboration and the early days of Tombolo in Vogue.