In 2009, brother and sister duo, Christian and Carmin Black started HALF UNITED, a humanitarian clothing company in downtown Wilmington, with  two hundred dollars, and a dream of fighting hunger by feeding children in need with a portion of the profits from every product they sold.

Two hundred dollars may not sound like much when it comes to business start-up, however when backed with the idea of feeding hungry children, their startup fund grew.

 

“Our designs were really basic and novice when we first started, but it didn’t matter,” said Carmin. “People would buy our merchandise because they knew they were feeding children.”

For every HU item sold, HALF of the profits are given equally to three organizations in the USA and abroad to feed children in need.

“Without our customers support, there were many days we would have just given up,” said Carmin.

This idea of giving back was inspired by TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie. TOMS works on a One for One business model, for every pair of shoes sold at Toms one pair is given to a child in need. HU works in a similar way, but instead of shirt for shirt or shoe for shoe, they give profits.

“The great thing about profit sharing,” said Carmin, “is that there is no cap on how much we can give. It’s a great feeling to know that as we grow, our giving efforts grow right along with us!”

When Carmin was 24, she worked with TOMS and spent six months traveling around the country giving speeches and participating in outreach while her brother stayed in Wilmington drawing up sketches for his clothing company “1989.”

“When I was traveling I called him (Christian) and asked to partner up,”  said Carmin.

The design-and-give process is simple.

Accessories designs are hand drawn and then discussed as a team. The approved designs are then rendered in Photoshop/illustrator.

“One thing we really pride ourselves on is hand making most of our merchandise, and in N.C. at that,” said Christian.

 

HU uses the profits to plant school gardens, give lunch meals to children in developing nations, host food outreach events, adopt neighborhoods, host food drives and participates in many other activities to make sure they “do their half.”

“We really want to grow and expand and reach as many people as possible,” said Carmin. “The more we excel the more mouths we’re feeding.”

HU has grown a tremendous amount since 2009. Their products are now sold online and in various stores around the nation. Nordstrom even decided to pick up their line and now sells HU in 58 Nordstrom stores in 21 states.

“Nordstrom buyers have been very supportive of our brand and our cause,” said Carmin. “They placed an initial order of about 3000 units, and then a week later order 500 Cambodian bracelets.”

The Nordstrom order allowed HU to feed more children than any order they’ve received before.

“We are so excited and thankful and are hoping our efforts continue to expand,” said Carmin.

Now 58 stores in 21 states are carrying the HU name, proving two hundred dollars and a dream can go a long way.

HALF UNITED (HU) is located on 1125 N. 4^th St. in downtown Wilmington. You can visit their HU website, and see what stores carry their products.