P&G was looking for a way to strengthen the emotional connection of its brands Ariel and Downy with the Filipino consumer. There was no real budget, so we looked at available resources—like their partnership with the Red Cross, which receives 18 tons of donated clothes yearly. A good number are fashionable pieces inappropriate for calamity victims. After a typhoon, when the hot sun is up again, Pedro in a leather jacket and Maria in a long gown become absurd.

Aid Couture sought to convert fashion into food, water and medicine. From the Red Cross piles, fashion finds were washed with Ariel and Downy. The country’s top stylists curated collections. Infographics depicted the life essential equivalent of each garment on price tags, promotional materials and receipts. The clothes were sold at a two-day pop-up store event. 100% of the proceeds went to aid for Typhoon Haiyan victims.

Aid Couture aimed to convert inappropriate fashion to life essentials. Fashionable clothes were segregated from tons of Red Cross clothes donations. These were washed and made fresh again with Downy and Ariel. Top stylists curated these into fashionable collections. The process was featured in videos on the Aid Couture website. Infographics were created to communicate how these clothes converted into aid. These appeared in posters and on social media. Press kits inspired by first aid kits were sent to the media which promoted the cause via print, TV and radio features. Celebrities also promoted Aid Couture. Each garment had a price tag with a life essential equivalent. The clothes were then sold boutique-style at a two-day fashion sale in a popular mall. A real-time sales tracker made every sale and conversion count and announced it on site, on the website and social media. All media efforts were done pro bono.

In two days, Aid Couture raised almost Php 600,000 from clothes that would otherwise have been left rotting in Red Cross warehouses.

The real-time sales tracker summarized this as amounting to 8,610 hot meals, 2,640 bottles of water, 255 medicine kits, 372 wound cleanser kits, 597 blanket and mat sets, 258 mosquito nets, 157 hygiene kits and 375 food supply packs. All these were provided to Typhoon Haiyan victims.

With this success, Aid Couture will be happening again very soon to help save more lives.