FollowBY: Anna Mathias
Columbia, SC native Hannah Davis proves that you can be your own boss in your 20s and more importantly you can also create change. As the founder and president of BANGS Shoes, the 26 year old uses her company to mix fashion with social causes. “BANGS isn’t just a shoe company,” Davis said. “There’s a huge mission behind the brand. It stands for a social change that we are trying to put into effect.”
In 2009, after graduating from Clemson University, Davis traveled to Jiangsu Province of Eastern China to teach English. While living there, she noticed many of the Chinese workers and farmers wearing olive green army-style shoes. This working class staple sparked Davis to form a brand that promotes and supports social issues through retail. The company’s name derives from the Chinese character for the word help, which is spelled b-a-n-g. In June 2010, BANGS Shoes was born.
The company works closely with Kiva.org, a nonprofit organization that helps to fund under resourced entrepreneurs. With focuses such as higher education and the support of aspiring entrepreneurs across the globe, the organization seems to fit in perfectly with Davis’ mission. “It was a matter of finding organizations that fit into the big mission of the brand,” said Davis when explaining how she chose which organization to support. When you buy a pair of BANGS, the company donates twenty percent of net profits from the purchase to kiva.org. BANGS Shoes has also recently started a Kickstarter campaign to further fund production. Some donation levels even reward the donor with the functional and fashionable shoes. The shoes do great things for the world all while looking stylish! “At the end of the day, people aren’t going to wear what they don’t like,” said Davis.
The company shows that individual action can actually make a huge impact. In the future, the founder states, “BANGS hopes to grow by producing amazing shoes by the way they look and by what they are doing for the world.” The company’s motto states their mission clearly: Stand on issues to help others stand on their own.
Check out BANGS Shoes Kickstarter campaign HERE.
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