Psst … do you know what an NFT is?

Well, even if you don’t, one great thing to know about them is that they can raise money for great causes … like advancing gender justice!

On March 30, 2022, Pros&ConsNFTs will be selling a collection of NFT couture dresses, with 20% of proceeds going to the Canadian Women’s Foundation. Some of the dresses will have a custom jewel that contains a coupon code for an actual custom dress.

Alana Pimm, the founder of Pros&ConsNFTs is passionate about ethically made clothing that supports equality and sustainability in the fashion industry. We talked to the artist about how and why she decided to bring her passions together to support the Foundation:

Q: Lots of us are confused about NFTs. How do you explain them to those of us who don’t get it?

Alana Pimm: Good question – I get this all the time! NFT stands for Non-Fungible Tokens. “Non Fungible” just means that it is unique and cannot be replaced with something else. For example, if you traded a one-of-a-kind artwork (e.g., Mona Lisa), you couldn’t receive the same artwork as part of the transaction.

Anything from digital art, media or even a physical asset can be turned into an NFT. When you create an NFT you create a certificate of ownership and authenticity for a given asset.

Q: How did the idea of using your NFTs to benefit the Canadian Women’s Foundation come about for you?

Alana Pimm: It is important to put our principles into practice. It is not enough just say that we believe in women’s empowerment, but we wanted to make sure that our project has a positive impact on the community as well. Our values closely align with those of the Canadian Women’s Foundation, so it was an easy decision for us to make. We hope to raise awareness about the issues that are important to us, while supporting programs that benefit women.

Q: You are also engaging people on the messaging app Discord to decide whether the proceeds will support the Foundation through programs for women’s economic development, gender-based violence programs, or girls’ programs. Can you explain why you wanted to engage your community this way?

Alana Pimm: With any project or company, success is almost always linked to how engaged your customers are or community is. Discord, over the years has been a popular communication tool, used by millions of people, because it allows you to create a fun and engaging community by incorporating voice, video and text chat, as well as games.

An important aspect of our project is about making impact. Our community shares this principle as well, which is why we wanted to involve them in helping us choose which programs we should fund through this project. Our community love this idea because they feel they are part of something that is more than just purchasing digital art. Together, we view our project as a medium to impact in the lives of all women, girls and people who identify as women.

Q: Tell us more about your creative inspiration for this collection.

Alana Pimm: This collection showcases several diverse models wearing variations of Pros&Cons designs and is inspired by ethically made fashion, gender equality within the garment industry, and empowerment of all female identified people. The inspiration behind the designs themselves comes from the idea that we live in a world with fast fashion, where we are told by big companies that we won’t be happy unless we keep buying new clothes. It is often looked down upon to wear the same outfit multiple times. The variations shown within this collection help bring attention to the fact that with slight changes we can continue to wear the same outfits in many different ways, thus reducing our impact on the environment.

Q: Why does the mission of advancing gender justice resonate with you?

Alana Pimm: The garment industry itself has a lot of concerns surrounding gender equality. Many manufacturing plants depend on a women-dominated workforce, often subjecting them to lower wages, forced overtime, and poor working conditions. Larger companies that outsource the construction of their garments have historically turned a blind eye to what is happening in these factories in order to protect their profit margin. It is important for us to bring attention to these issues in order to support women throughout the world, all of whom deserve gender justice. The hope is that through this project we will be able to reach a broad audience and have some impact on these big companies changing their practices, which will mean a better living for these women.

Q: What is the message you hope to inspire for people interested in supporting this?

Alana Pimm: This NFT project is a medium for the bigger issues at hand. The take-away is that it is important to be aware of what we buy. When purchasing new items, we should be cognizant of how they have been made, and who’s been impacted along the way. Wearing ethically made fashion is a great jumping-off point for someone who may be overwhelmed with how they can help. By re-wearing garments, clothes swapping, and buying from companies that treat workers ethically, we can make a positive impact on both the environment and working conditions.

Learn more about how to participate in the Pros&Cons NFTs Pre-Sale.