Shopthemag.com shows support for UN Women's SNOW

8 October, 2011 – Last evening, the 6^th annual SNOW 2011 Gala Benefit took place at Capella Singapore – a fundraising dinner organised by Unifem Singapore and strongly supported by both business leaders and Singapore’s high society. Every dinner guest was given the special privilege of having a personalised lookbook created for them by shopthemag.com, in the hope that they will discover Asian designer brands that place women’s interests at the heart of their operations.

Says co-director of shopthemag.com, Low Shu Ming, “When you’re doing business in Asia, it’s hard to ignore the plights of women in less developed Asian countries like Indonesia. You see women who aren’t allowed to work, haven’t been educated and just don’t have the skill sets and confidence to break out from the trap they’re in.”

Which explains why shopthemag.com seizes every opportunity it can to support Asian brands that make efforts to empower women. Two such brands include Vietnam’s Song and Indonesia’s Jewels Rock.

SONG, a Vietnamese label by French designer Valerie Gregori-McKenzie is an eco-friendly brand that chooses to outsource its embroidery work to skilled rural Vietnamese women instead of opting for machine-embroidery, even though the latter option would result in lower production costs for the brand.

Jewel Rocks, an Indonesian brand specialising in handmade accessories, employs female village artisans and teaches them the art of weaving and beading so that they may find future employment outside of their rural work.

SNOW, which stands for “Say No to the Oppression of Women”, is a fundraising platform for United Nations Development Fund for Women (Unifem), which is part of United Nations Women. Funds raised over the years have been channeled to causes such as helping the women in Aceh, Indonesia, rebuild their lives after the 2004 Asian tsunami and supporting crisis centres for women and children rescued from human trafficking in Phoem Penh.

Among the guests at last evening’s SNOW 2011 Gala Benefit was Singapore’s new first couple, President Mr Tony Tan and Mrs Tony Tan.