Feeding A Good Cause: Michael Kors' Watch Hunger Stop Campaign Returns For Its Tenth Anniversary
Sales of the luxury brand’s special-edition watch and accessories will help the World Food Programme deliver meals to children in need.
By Annabel Middleton - published
A selection of merchandise marking Watch Hunger Stop’s 10th anniversary.
Those who live in a developed, first-world country often take food for granted. The next time you enjoy a fancy meal or tuck into a lavish buffet, spare a thought for the many hungry kids elsewhere in the world who don't have access to even one decent meal on a regular basis.
According to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), it is estimated that 349 million people in 79 countries are sliding towards starvation, including 153 million children and young people. That's why world-renowned designer Michael Kors has chosen to partner with WFP in a concerted effort to help fill hungry tummies and work towards achieving the goal of a world with Zero Hunger, as set out in WFP’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Watch Hunger Stop initiative, spearheaded by Kors' eponymous label, is now in its 10th year and still going strong.
Related article: Michael Kors Celebrates The Spirt Of Community With Employee-Led Watch Hunger Stop Campaign
Making a difference one meal at a time
The award-winning designer not only runs an internationally successful luxury fashion house, but is also greatly charitable at heart. For over 25 years, he has been a passionate supporter of a New York City-based non-profit organisation called God’s Love We Deliver, which provides nutritious meals to people with critical illnesses who are too sick to shop or cook for themselves. On the global front, the pioneering philanthropist established Watch Hunger Stop in 2013 to help raise awareness of the global hunger crisis, and funds for fighting its growing effects around the world.
Since its inception, Michael Kors’ Watch Hunger Stop campaign has helped WFP deliver over 30 million school meals through the organisation’s school meals programme to vulnerable kids in food-insecure countries such as Cambodia, Honduras, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nicaragua and Uganda. In recognition of his philanthropic efforts, Kors was named a WFP Goodwill Ambassador in 2015 and was also awarded the McGovern-Dole Leadership Award by WFP USA in 2016 for his efforts to alleviate hunger around the world.
Related article: Kate Hudson Teams Up With Michael Kors To Support Watch Hunger Stop
Kate Hudson and Halle Berry star in Michael Kors’ latest campaign for the Watch Hunger Stop initiative.
Time for change
This year, celebrities like Halle Berry and Kate Hudson – who were involved in the initiative's earlier campaigns – have returned to show their ongoing support. “I truly believe that the fight against global hunger is one we can win, and I am grateful to everyone who has joined us in our cause over the years, including Halle and Kate,” said Kors.
Back in 2013, the campaign kicked off with a special-edition watch – so it's only apt that Kors has created a new special-edition piece of wrist candy to mark 10 years of Watch Hunger Stop. Featuring a sparkling blue face with a tonal globe design, the dazzling silver stainless watch is engraved with Kors' signature on the back along with the acknowledgement “10 Years And Counting”.
For each special-edition Watch Hunger Stop watch (US$325) sold, Michael Kors will donate 200 meals – the equivalent of US$50 – to WFP. In honour of its 10th anniversary, Berry and Hudson are pictured modelling the special-edition watch – a nod to the very first Watch Hunger Stop product – as well as T-shirts and tote bags designed in collaboration with New York-based creative agency Sang Bleu.
The brand’s Watch Hunger Stop T-shirts, priced at US$40, are made with 100 per cent recycled cotton.
Michael Kors’ Watch Hunger Stop tote bag comes printed with the WFP logo.
The special-edition Watch Hunger Stop watch.
Give them food, show them love
Maxime Plescia-Buchi, Sang Bleu’s creative director and a tattoo artist who is known for his geometric design sensibility, put his signature touches on both the T-shirts and the tote bags, which carry the imprint of a futuristic graphic that features a globe in the shape of a heart. The heart symbolises Kors’ belief that “food is love” – a key theme of Watch Hunger Stop – while the bright blue is WFP’s identifying colour.
“I wanted our Watch Hunger Stop design to be a celebration of the community it takes to build a better future,” explains Plescia-Buchi. The T-shirts are made with 100 per cent recycled cotton, while the tote bags are made from recycled canvas. Both feature the same blue heart graphic and WFP logo.
For each Watch Hunger Stop T-shirt (US$40) or tote bag (US$98) purchased from a Michael Kors retail store or the brand's official website, Michael Kors will donate 100 per cent of profits to WFP.
You can make a difference, too
The special-edition Watch Hunger Stop watch, T-shirt and tote bag are now available online and in select Michael Kors Lifestyle stores globally. Be it a gift for yourself or a present for your pals, do your part for hungry children while upping your fashion cred at the same time.
Throughout the month of October, you can also make a donation to WFP at select Michael Kors stores. Just $5 feeds a child in school for an entire month. Or go to www.watchhungerstop.com to donate to WFP directly (select countries only).
Together, we can help contribute towards a world with Zero Hunger.
To purchase the special-edition Watch Hunger Stop watch, T-shirt or tote bag, visit www.watchhungerstop.com. Explore the world of Michael Kors here.