Five years ago, Grant Blvd was founded—not just as a company, but as a radical movement, using fashion as a social statement and a means to improve the situations of women in our community. Since our founding, we have created thousands of hours of living-wage work for women who have been negatively affected by the carceral system or unhoused. Our goal in creating these jobs is to disrupt the cycles of poverty to which these women have often been subjected. In order to supplement this work, we also launched the FFF (Fashion the Future Forward) Program, a progressive approach to providing these women the skills needed for industrial sewing, as well as a guaranteed living-wage job at the end of the program, and giving them access to weekly self-care workshops focused on improving their physical and mental health. These programs included yoga class, barre class, and a nutrition seminar. We have also strengthened our community ties by providing a pop-up space for dozens of local businesses, including Perade and Sununor. It has been an honor to be able to help our West Philadelphia community and the people who are part of it in so many ways.
During our first 5 years of operation, we have been thrilled to develop and release 16 collections, all from our Philadelphia workshop. Through creating these collections, we have established in-house sampling, cutting, and sewing capacity. Grant Blvd is a Black-owned B-Corp, meaning that Grant Blvd has been certified by B Lab as a sustainable company through a rigorous process, which includes releasing an impact report and using a triple-bottom-line approach to focus on people and planet, rather than profit. We are also making strides as a Black-owned business on UPenn’s campus with our flagship store, located at 140 South 34th street. We are thankful for everyone who has supported us to this point, and excited for a future with more fashion activism. Forward is the motion!