If there’s anything I love, it’s shopping for a good cause (see: Sevenly). I recently had the pleasure of being introduced to Dave Spandorfer by Jiabei Chen of Ampere. The 25-year-old and his college cross country and track teammate Mike Burnstein launched Janji, a running apparel supplier that benefits countries in need in May of 2012. The gear is already in 100 stores across the country.All Janji apparel is designed and inspired by a country in need, with proceeds helping that country “with needs relating to nutrition or clean water,” says Dave. The duo work on their company full time, and he says, “We’re really quick learners … we make our mistakes, and learn from those mistakes.” It helps that they have the support of the running community, who Dave calls “the most charitable group of people on the planet, it seems. They know the importance of having clean water and the right nutrition.”
“What we wanna do is be an alternative to Under Armour, Nike. We want people to say those are cool shorts. We want people to love the cause, know about the cause, tell people about the cause, and buy apparel that stands for something different. Last year, Under Armour spent 9 million a year to have Notre Dame wear Under Armour, we’d rather have that go for the cause.”
Right now, Janji works with different partners in Haiti, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Bangladesh, and the US (Boston). The long-sleeve pictured above supports the US. While the donation varies for each piece of apparel sold, the company claims it gives around 25% of gross margin on each item. The apparel is manufactured in China, but a full-time staffer lives in China overseeing production, and Dave says that the factory “does it the right way, pays fair wages.” In the near future, the new spring line will launch with a few first-time items: tank tops for women, singlets, and windbreakers.
“We just want to change the world. Whether it’s 10 people’s lives or a thousand or millions, hopefully.”
Dave sent me a pair of Janji’s Women’s Rwanda shorts ($42), pictured, which fit like luluemon speed shorts (medium = about a lulu 6) but provide 3 days of nutritional medicine to a malnourished Rwandan child. Proceeds fund MANA’s Ready to Use Therapy Food, a peanut butter based nutritional medicine that can help nurse a severely malnourished child to full health in just 6 weeks. They are cute—designed with the blue, yellow, & green of the Rwanda flag—and fit well.
Peruse the Janji online store here.