In the spring of 2010, then-freshman marketing major Patrick Oseni came up with the idea for a philanthropic lifestyle brand after seeing an ad for Toms Shoes. Oseni liked Toms’ concept of giving back to children in developing countries with every purchase. Inspired by this he took the idea, adapted it and made it his own, calling it Our Good Karma (OGK).
“Every Our Good Karma t-shirt, hoodie or crewneck sweatshirt has a design that correlates to a charity in which a percentage of the proceeds gained will be donated to,” Oseni said
Our Good Karma’s staff consists of Oseni and 11 other Howard University juniors.
The brand seeks to use fashion as an outlet to raise awareness on college campuses nationwide to a variety of world causes.
With many of today’s youth being more preoccupied with things such as Twitter and the latest music, the OGK crew believed fashion was the best way to effectively convey messages to their peers.
“The brand is all about giving back and doing selfless acts for those around you, that’s where the name Our Good Karma comes from. One does good deeds and they comeback full circle,” said Kobie Clouden, a junior marketing major and director of PR for Our Good Karma.
Our Good Karma has lent a helping hand at several charity events of Howard’s campus. “We cleaned up Howard’s campus, picked up litter and pulled weeds,” Oseni said. OGK also traveled to New York last Fall for Macy’s charity day to participate in its “Shop For A Cause” event. The brand donates 10 percent of all profits to charities, with designs ranging from a pink women’s logo for the American Breast Cancer Foundation to a Mickey Mouse-esque glove with a halo over a “thumbs-up” gesture going towards Teach for America.
“I try to purchase OGK clothing whenever they put out new designs, I support the Our Good Karma movement 100 percent, I believe that them giving back to the less fortunate with every sale is great,” said Jean-Sebastien Andre, a junior physical therapy major.
Currently, Our Good Karma is working with Goodwill to sell its line in Goodwill stores across the United States and, separately, to get its fall collection put in the Howard University bookstore in late October. Our Good Karma’s aim is to lend a hand toward global prosperity and help those in need wherever they may be.
For more information on Our Good Karma clothing contact ourgoodkarma@yahoo.com.
