Launched in 2016, Chicago’s Wear The Peace has been making strides towards self-expression with a purpose through socially aware garments and accessories that make noise for the silenced. Murad Nofal and Mustafa Mabruk, co-founders of Wear The Peace, witnessed the imbalance and unfortunate circumstances that exist around the world and set out to correct the narratives surrounding topics such as racism, inequality, refugee support, and social justice. At its core, however, Wear The Peace illustrates a wholly human experience, tapping into the vulnerability and compassion that keeps us bleeding the same color. By going the extra mile to create a platform for change in their work, Wear The Peace is quickly becoming a leader in forward-thinking fashion that we can all learn from.
Nofal and Mabruk have each attained first-hand accounts of the injustices that populate many different corners of the globe and have harnessed their understanding of these lifestyles to grow Wear The Peace from a seed to a sprawling family tree with branches that reach far beyond their Chicago homebase. Nofal’s grandparents have been living in a refugee camp in Jordan since 1975, while Mabruk observed the bleak circumstances himself at the Zaatari Refugee Camp, also in Jordan, in 2014. War-ravaged camps like Zaatari were at once temporary stays for Syrians fleeing destruction, but have since become normalized and accepted forms of living. Nofal and Mabruk knew something needed to change, and real change is most potent at the local level where accessibility and influence are better served.
Today, Wear The Peace stands as an example of what is possible in business, fashion, and marketing. Using our platforms as a resource and a tool to provoke change is a no-brainer, but brands like Wear The Peace have taken their authority a step further by placing transparency, authenticity, and fierce allure at the front of their movement. The company has grown and developed into a powerhouse for telling the stories that ought to be told, but given its mammoth size and scale of influence, one would be surprised to find that Nofal and Mabruk have been nurturing the brand’s development on their own since its founding over six years ago. Wear The Peace is a labor of love and demands the same respect it serves to our communities.
Part of what truly separates Wear The Peace from other modern lifestyle brands is their commitment to hard work. Anyone can start a clothing brand, but it takes another layer of discipline, dedication, and determination to be better for yourself and for others. On their website, Wear The Peace proudly displays their humanitarian efforts in many different ways, perhaps most notably in their Donation Slips tab. Here, the brand routinely updates their catalog to illustrate their donation receipts, transaction numbers, and ID’s, humbly proving that they are true to their word. Likewise, they expect the same from their communities. Their suite of plushy garments and fashion accessories come in clutch with phrases like, “Spread Hummus Not Hate” and “Equal Rights For Others Doesn’t Mean Less Right For You. It’s Not Pie”, and 100% of profits collected from their accessories department are directly donated to various causes that send young girls to school in war-ravaged countries, install wells for clean drinking water, and provide food to famine-stricken families.
Together we’re better, and Wear The Peace offers a “Buy One Give One” initiative as well as The All Profits movement, making it incredibly easy for consumers to give something back to the people who need it most.
In addition to their humanitarian efforts, Wear The Peace puts in the legwork for sustainability and ethical manufacturing. For their part, Nofal and Mabruk chose to work with Culture Studio in Chicago, a company that has been spooling smart fabrics and apparel since 2008. This also allows them to visit the manufacturing space in-person and maintain close relationships with their partners. Similarly, Wear The Peace is printed on Bella Canvas, an LA-based fabrics company that prioritizes sustainability, clean energy, and an anti-sweatshop workforce.
For all of these reasons (and so many others), Wear The Peace is a breath of fresh air in the fashion world, designing and executing shapes and silhouettes that not only make a statement for the consumer but shed light on the darker realities of our world today. When making smart choices in our daily fit game, we are inclined to think critically and choose to Wear The Peace, because the truth is that we are the peace we want to see around us.
