item details
A1 Embroidery & Screenprint Ltd.; embroiderer; 2017; Petone
Gildan Activewear; manufacturer(s)
Overview
This NOPE tee was designed by Brittany Cosgrove of NopeSisters Clothing to raise money for Sexual Abuse Help which supports survivors of sexual abuse and assault in the Wellington region. It is an excellent example of a social enterprise which was successfully launched via social media.
NopeSisters are Johanna and Brittany Cosgrove. They make clothing with a message and share their profits with charity organisations that align with issues they feel strongly about. Their ‘mission is to design fashion for a cause, making a positive difference to real people, one tee at a time’ (Nopesistersclothing.com).
Through their clothing, they address key ongoing feminist issues and contemporary zeitgeist movements, including: sexual abuse and gender-based violence and the #metoo movement; period poverty and access to affordable and sustainable menstrual products; breast cancer awareness; mental health issues which lead to suicide.
‘Girls – we’ve got things to say. Wear it on your chest – you don’t have to talk’ (Bette Cosgrove, 2018)
Their t-shirts act as walking billboards and conversation-starters. T-shirts have long been used for this purpose, and are a useful tool for protest and social movements - they are affordable, popular, and easy to print and embellish. In the case of NopeSisters' t-shirts, they are machine-embroidered with a specially prepared stitch by A1 Embroidery in Petone, Lower Hutt. Stitching is more intensive than printing, and evokes NopeSisters' conscious design approach.
'Nope' is slang for answering 'no' to a question, and is particularly popular on the internet and social media. The hard 'p' indicates a full-stop with attitude - an emphatic end to the conversation.
This particular t-shirt was worn by Matariki Williams who recalls: 'I was first told about these shirts from a friend who had purchased one and informed me that a percentage of the proceeds were donated to charities working with victims of sexual abuse. Immediately, I wanted one and my sister ended up getting me one for Christmas as she also supported the kaupapa. Aside from the t-shirt, I also follow the company on Instagram and appreciate how they maintain that women should be able to dress and act how they want without the fear of sexual violence, it is crucial that we understand that one does not cause the other, that violence stems from the abuser not the victim. It is also gratifying to see them re-gram other wearers of their t-shirts, it shows the way in which they are building and nurturing a community around them' (2018).
NopeSisters added a new kaupapa to the tee in the wake of the Christchurch terror attacks on 15 March 2019, saying 'NOPE to racism on all levels'.