Auburn native Kellie Guthrie of the social enterprise Re-Invention has taken her company to a new level with its "Anthropologie meets TOMS Shoes-like" line called G.E.A.R., now sold in Kinnucan's.
G.E.A.R. (Go! Everyone, Everywhere and Re Invent) is a collection of upcycled and repurposed goods that have been transformed into home accents and handmade accessories made in Alabama.
Guthrie employs women in transitional programs that teach them useful skills.
"G.E.A.R. allows the women a reason to stay and not run away," said Rachel Fisher, director of communications for Re-Invention.
"It is very consoling for them," she said. "It is a form of therapy for them, for them to learn to sew and cut. It provides a work aspect to the program and gives them a purpose. I just know it has been a huge encouragement."
G.E.A.R. started with repurposing plain burlap coffee sacks, but Guthrie saw much more than that.
"\0x1FThat would be the most incredible garment bag, because that is the natural shape of it," Guthrie said. "\0x1FThen I thought what a cool messenger bag. It would be very strong. I was thinking more like having something on the mission field that I could take out of my North Face and just throw things into and carry it, while still being kind of snappy and cool," Guthrie said.
\0x1FThe line uses bright, fun fabrics and materials like burlap for its unusual texture.
"G.E.A.R. is sustainable in every way," Fisher said. "It is a sustainable product, and we are helping create sustainable lives."
Fisher explains the net profits accumulated through sales of G.E.A.R. products are reinvested into Re-Invention. These are then funneled into organizations like Friendship Missions in Montgomery.
\0x1FThis money supports women within transitional programs.
Kinnucan's began selling G.E.A.R. Aug. 27.
"It's very humbling," Guthrie said. "It's amazing to be able to have a collection and be able to serve. I love it because of the opportunity with Kinnucan's, with 120 stores that we're in throughout the country."
Guthrie believes they are "taking the conventional business model and turning it on its ear," she said. "It is not about the getting, it's about the giving."
Re-Invention is a social enterprise, meaning its main focus as a business is to overcome social or environmental issues. Guthrie's interest in this type of business comes from her desire to help others.
Re-Invention began as a sales group intent on creating a better business model for this type of industry. It evolved into a collection July 2010.
Guthrie's journey began in the offshoot of devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.
"I wanted to be able to run to a place like that and know I was doing something," Guthrie said.
After that moment, she traveled to Thailand and served with NightLight International for a month. \0x1FThere Guthrie experienced her first strong social enterprise.
"What I saw, what I was a part of, what I was able to do, I left there going, 'It pisses me off," Guthrie said. "From sex trafficking to a little child beating rocks in a quarry, it pisses me off. \0x1FThat's where I was like, '\0x1FThis is not going to happen on my watch."
Guthrie's experience in the fashion industry prepared her for the type of work she wanted to pursue.
"Where I was at that point of my life, I could help these social enterprises build more sustainable businesses by opening that market for them," she said.
She wanted to be a part of "something bigger."
For Guthrie, that something bigger is providing a solution to poverty and the exploitation that comes out of it.
"I thought of work," she said. "You have to offer an alternative to the poverty. If you don't offer an alternative to what they're in, it is a losing battle."
\0x1FThe University recently revamped its apparel lab, and Re-Invention was able to take seven leftover industrial-sized sewing machines.
Kate \0x1FThornton, director of hunger and sustainability initiatives for the University, directed the apparel lab to Re-Invention.
The department decided the machines would be better utilized at G.E.A.R. than becoming surplus.
\0x1FThe gift was overwhelming for Guthrie.
"For me, it is confirmation for what I'm doing," Guthrie said.
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