Following suit of charitable companies like Toms, a UF student has created a clothing company that donates shorts to children in need for every pair sold.
Robert Felder, a 19-year-old UF business management sophomore, said he started Bearbottom Clothing with the intention of selling quality shorts as well as giving clothing to those in need. For each pair of shorts sold, Felder donates a pair to children in Bangladesh.
“I want people to buy them because of the quality of the shorts,” said Felder. “But I also want them to know that they’ll be helping children.”
Felder, who said he is self-taught in website design, launched the site, bearbottomclothing.com, last week. The website offers seersucker and twill shorts for men in a variety of colors. All shorts on the website are $30.
He said he only sells men’s shorts because he’s just beginning his line, but he’s looking to expand in the future.
Felder said after traveling to Bangladesh three years ago and seeing the conditions some of the children lived in, he wanted to do his part to improve their quality of life. He recalls driving past a pool of mud where children wearing nothing but shorts played with garbage.
“That was the image that really stuck with me,” he said.
For now, the shorts he donates will be given to the children of workers in the factory that produces the shorts, located in Bangladesh. Felder, who has visited the factory, said the employees work in good conditions, but the donations are welcome.
Although the shorts sold are adult-sized, Felder said the donated pairs will be specially made for young children. After a certain number of shorts are sold, he will ship a bulk donation.
He said because other charities already donate shirts and shoes, shorts seemed like a logical choice.
“If you’re gonna donate something to people in need, it should be something that should last,” he said.
He said his goal is to donate 10,000 pairs this year, which will allow him to expand the donations to schools and other organizations in the country.
Joey Schatt, a 19-year-old UF telecommunication sophomore, said it’s great a UF student found a way to help out a cause.
“I wish more people around campus would get involved in community service,” Schatt said.
This story has been changed to reflect an editing error: Robert Felder's last name was misspelled Feldman in paragraph 6. A version of this story ran on page 8 on 1/7/2014 under the headline "Student’s company not short on generosity"
