Did you know that in Africa, a child dies every 45 seconds from Malaria? Join the mission with ING Activewear, Touch the World, and top fashion designers, all collaborating on a project that will help millions live a fuller life without fear.
There are more than 225 million cases of Malaria reported each year worldwide. This life-threatening disease is caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through bites of infected mosquitoes, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. ING Activewear created MOSKEETO Armor, a fabric that is mosquito repellent and certified for up to 50 washes! ING Activewear and Touch the World have teamed up with fashion designers Guy Wood of 5001 FLAVORS, Lawrence Pizzi, and D. Barak Stribling to launch this product internationally through the Code Purple Event.
February 16th marks the launch of the Code Purple Event during Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in New York City. The event will spread awareness and raise funds to distribute this product to every soul living in an environment where Malaria is a risk factor. The fundraising event will feature unique collections from the aforementioned designers, as well as special musical guest performances, a live auction, raffles, and giveaways.
Watch special video to learn more.
Check out my interview with ING Activewear founder Robin R. Crespo about how Code Purple got started and the inspiration behind Moskeeto Armor.
1)What was the inspiration behind creating Moskeeto Armor?
Moskeeto Armor is a product that took a lot of time to develop and create. At the time I’m not sure I, or anyone on our team, truly understood where we were goING to end up.
There are three things that are important to the Code Purple Event project that I believe are essential to life as well. First havING the FAITH to start somethING that may seem unachievable at the time. HOPE is the second key factor to this overall project. I believe that our product gives people HOPE; the hope to live with mobility and without FEAR. Lastly, the underlyING message of this product and my true inspiration comes from the purest form of LOVE. Love is an action word. We can live it out by simply using the resources afforded to us to help others. It’s hard to ignore the testimonies of the people who shared with me how deadly the malaria infection is. When you read the story of a woman named Innocent, and her two sisters, Aloyo, 10 and Ajok, 1, it’s hard not to become inspired to the call of “gettING ACTIVATED”.
Innocents’ story: “Uganda has a big percentage of wetland/swampy places, which gives the chance for mosquito breeding. Recently, I lost my baby sister due to malaria. Our family lives near the swamp and we are too far from the hospital. We couldn’t get there in time. After suffering an extreme fever one night, we found her dead the next day.”
2) How can a fabric be mosquito repellent?
Our Fabric is treated and certified for up to 50x washes , Fabric is now becomING a reflection of where we are as a society. As our command over technology increases, we are seeING a natural integration of it into the everyday products that we use. These advances in technology have allowed us to be able to take somethING OLD and make somethING NEW. All of our developed products (even from our first product, a 100% recycled bathING suit that we engineered back in 2006) reflect how technology and our own consciousness can align to create somethING new and innovative. When I approached my manufacturer about an idea to create a fully recycled bathING suit out of plastic bottles they thought I was crazy. That fabric that was created went on to be used in various shows around the world such as ‘The House of Dancing Water” at the City of Dreams in Macau, China, and the production of “Le Reve” at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas.
3) Besides the obvious application of helping prevent malaria, is this fabric available for general use, for example for hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts?
I believe that sometime in the near future this product will be carried by most of your house hold name brands, just as Gor-tex was integrated into some of the top brands we know today. However, our main focus is helpING people gain mobility without FEAR, while keepING our focus on fashion. We are raisING awareness by doing what we love to do, while remainING in the forefront of what makes things hot and trendy.
4) Why "Code Purple?"
Why NOT? Our creative team is amazING. When I asked them to come up with a tag line they came back in just 24 hours with “CODE PURPLE” and “GET ACTIVATED”. When I heard these tag lines I was immediately draw in because I felt that it called to somethING deep inside of me. I believe that when things happen like natural disasters people GET ACTIVATED. They don’t discriminate and say, “wait this guy is not like me”. No, we rise to the occasion, to the CALL TO ACTION. We cooperate, with all hands on deck (no pun intended), and put our differences aside. It’s the thought process in moments like those that struck a chord with me when the team presented CODE PURPLE EVENT and “GET ACTIVATED”. Right now is the time for the world to recognize that we can only truly move forward when we allow others to progress.
5) Can the products be purchased in stores, or only online? How about at Mood Fabrics?
We are currently workING on a beverage deal with Swatch, the most famous dog in the fashion community (he is even Googleable). Perhaps Swatch can make arrangements with Mood Fabrics on our behalf and we can see somethING happen in the near future, but for the moment our product is only available online at www.ingactivewear.com. For every Moskeeto Armor hood-e purchased, we’ll donate one to someone who faces the risk of malaria, and make you part of our movement to spread love to the world.
For more information on Code Purple please visit www.codepurpleevent.com, and check out the Code Purple social networks: Facebook.com/Codepurpleevent, @codepurpleevent, CodePurpleEvent on YouTube, CodePurpleEvent on Flickr, and the Code Purple Event blog.
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