“Our Home” Merchandise Launch!

Refugee Week celebrates the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. This year, the campaign’s theme is “Our Home.” With this theme, Refugee Week hopes to commemorate all the characteristics which take us to the state of peace and happiness that we call “home.” “Home” transcends borders or cultures. Instead, the idea of “home” expresses itself through our clothing, music, food, cherished memories and comforting physical spaces.

Moved by the theme of “Our Home,” Hope for the Young partnered with Tegan Price to host a workshop where we brought mentees together and asked them, what does “home” mean to you? We watched as these young people individually produced beautiful and inspiring artwork centered around their meanings of “home.” Then, Tegan, an experienced illustrator who has worked with brands such as Nike, Gucci and New Balance, used our mentees’ sketches to finalise the design for our Refugee Week 2024 collection.

One mentee drew a heart with stairs and said “love grows step by step,” and “home is where there is love.” This mentee expressed that Hope for the Young’s mentoring programme helped their communication and confidence because they had a support system behind them and did not feel alone. Another mentee wrote “don’t be hopeless” to encourage others to remain positive through tough situations. They also included “home” written in different languages. We love this idea because our ideas of home are universal, and despite linguistic or geographical differences, our definitions of “home” remain the same.

We’ve launched this collection through an online store with TeeMill because of their commitment to sustainability and the Earth. All items consist of Certified Organic Materials using renewable energy. TeeMill’s plastic-free packaging and recyclability also help eliminate waste. The best part? These products are designed from the start to be remade when they’re worn out. This is fashion’s Circular Economy. When your 100% cotton apparel becomes unwearable, return your items to TeeMill. From here, they’ll reprocess and respin your items to be made into new products.