Partnership Guidelines
📌 Purpose of These Guidelines
These guidelines exist to protect the integrity of StandUp Tees, to ensure that every partnership we form — whether with nonprofits, creators, collaborators, or vendors — reflects our mission of social justice, ethical action, and inclusive advocacy.
🌍 Our Mission
We exist to create ethically made apparel that raises awareness, inspires conversation, and funds grassroots movements fighting for social justice.
✅ Ideal Partners Share These Commitments
🔥 1. Alignment with Our Values
All partners must actively support or be committed to:
- Justice — Social, economic, racial, gender-based, and environmental.
- Inclusion — Especially of trans people, people of color, disabled communities, and other historically excluded groups.
- Transparency — Financial, structural, and communicative openness.
- Empowerment — Centering lived experience, avoiding exploitation.
- Solidarity — Not charity from above, but mutual respect and partnership.
We will not partner with any organisation, business, or individual associated with:
- Hate speech or discriminatory practices
- Exploitative labor or greenwashing
- Government-backed violence, including militarism
- Gender exclusivity or anti-trans ideology
- Performative allyship without direct community impact
👕 2. Ethical Manufacturing & Supply Chains
We require:
- No forced labor or child labor
- Living wages paid throughout the supply chain
- Evidence of workplace safety and workers’ rights protections
- Eco-conscious material sourcing (organic, recycled, or fair-trade preferred)
Suppliers and private-label partners must provide documentation upon request.
💸 3. Charity / Nonprofit Partners
Charity or cause partners must:
- Be led by or in close consultation with impacted communities
- Use donations to provide measurable impact
- Provide clear reporting for donation allocation
- Support values-aligned services (e.g., trans rights, Indigenous justice, women’s shelters, youth housing, etc.)
We prefer:
- Grassroots orgs with transparent governance
- Registered nonprofits with ethical funding sources
- Organisations that support long-term systemic change
🎨 4. Creative / Artist Collaborators
We collaborate with artists, poets, photographers, and creators who:
- Have lived experience or a personal stake in the issue
- Respect the stories and identities they represent
- Agree to equitable compensation and shared ownership when applicable
- Sign our Creative Ethics Agreement (outlines consent, attribution, anti-exploitation)
We do not engage in “activist aesthetic” partnerships that profit from pain or co-opt causes.
📣 5. Influencers / Advocates / Ambassadors
Brand ambassadors and collaborators must:
- Genuinely align with the causes we uplift
- Have a history of responsible, respectful social media engagement
- Not engage in hate speech, cultural appropriation, or public harm
We encourage:
- Content creators who tell stories of resistance, healing, or community care
- People with lived experience or activist experience, not just visibility
- Non-traditional influencers (teachers, nurses, youth leaders, artists)
We do not engage in:
- “Pay for post” models with no community tie
- Tokenism or optics-driven partnerships
📝 Partnership Process
Initial Outreach/Proposal
Submit a short overview of your organisation, goals, and alignment with StandUp Tees.
Due Diligence Review
We will assess your governance, funding sources, social impact, and public actions.
Proposal Review
If aligned, we co-create a campaign or product based on shared impact goals.
Agreement & Terms
All partnerships will require signed agreements including:
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- Ethical sourcing requirements (if applicable)
- Mutual promotional expectations
- Reporting timelines and shared metrics
Ongoing Communication
We believe in building long-term trust — this includes honest feedback, updates, and shared storytelling.
📊 Transparency and Reporting
StandUp Tees commits to:
- Publishing donation totals and impact reports quarterly
- Crediting all partners transparently on our website and packaging (where applicable)
- Offering press and visibility support to amplify our partners’ work
🚫 Termination Clause
We reserve the right to end any partnership immediately if:
- A partner is found to engage in discrimination, harm, or unethical behavior
- The relationship becomes performative rather than purpose-driven
- There is a breach of any signed agreement or brand value
🙌 Final Word
Partnerships aren’t marketing tactics — they’re solidarity in action.
We seek long-term collaborators who believe that every shirt can carry a cause, and that justice is never out of style.
