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Fashion for a good cause 

Sonova employee and Slow Fashion designer Morena Rüfenacht designed a cool t-shirt to support the Hear the World Foundation. Sonova brand ambassador and popular French model Sophie Vouzelaud presented the t-shirts at a fashion show attended by employees at the company’s headquarter in Stäfa. The t-shirts can be ordered online*, and part of the proceeds will go to the Hear the World Foundation. We sat down with Morena to find out the story behind the shirt.

Hear the World (HTW): How did you come up with the idea for the t-shirt?

Morena Rüfenacht (MR): Sophie Vouzelaud, Sonova’s new brand ambassador, is a model who wears Phonak hearing aids. The media relations team had the idea of organizing a fashion show to introduce Sophie in her role as the new Sonova ambassador to the employees. Alongside my part-time position at Sonova, I am an independent designer and producer of sustainable fashion. That’s why I was asked if I could develop a collection for the fashion show. The heart of the collection is the Hear the World t-shirt, which is available in black, white, dark blue, red and green in my online shop*.

HTW: What do you hope to achieve with this t-shirt?

MR: By using the “Hear the World” slogan, I'd like to motivate people to move through life more consciously. The meaning is partially literal, as in “I myself hear the world”, and partially figurative, in the sense of making decisions in our day-to-day lives in a more conscious manner. By buying this sustainably produced t-shirt for 59 francs (including free shipping when ordered online*), the buyer draws attention to the issue of hearing and finances ten hearing tests in developing countries.

HTW: Sustainable production is very important to you. Where do you have the t-shirts made?

MR: We decided on the fair and sustainable production offered by Continental Clothing. The t-shirts are made from organic cotton as part of Continental Clothing’s EarthPositive collection, which is manufactured using only renewable energy.

HTW: The print on the t-shirt turned out very nice. Can you tell us what your thoughts were when designing it?

MR: The letters are arranged in a very straight way yet also have an abstract look. I designed it like this to show that there are different approaches to things and that different perspectives exist. I would like to inspire the buyer, through wearing the t-shirt, to take their thoughts further, to think outside of the box! The letter “O” in the print represents the world. Because when we make decisions, it is often not just about us, but our decisions can have an impact on other people in the world. The sun depicted on the shirt represents the warmth and brightness that connects us all to one another.

*The shirts can only be ordered within Switzerland. If you are outside of Switzerland and want to order a shirt please write us an email on info@hear-the-world.com