Utilising fashion towards a charitable cause

A little over a year ago Nusrat Rabiya Lubaba began her social initiative, Charity Scrunchies, in an attempt to help her parents provide for the underprivileged during the pandemic. Lubaba is an A-level student, determined to help those in need as much as she can to the best of her ability. We reached out to her to find out more about her work.

How were you inspired to form Charity Scrunchies?

My parents were arranging fundraisers for people who were suffering due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I thought of combining two of my ideas together to help out as well. There was a trend circulating in fashion called the VSCO girls and scrunchies, a type of hairband, is an integral part of that subculture. I made some scruncies for myself. Everyone around me, however, wanted to buy them, which motivated me to open my own online shop and help out my parents. Scrunchies might be easily available in most online stores now but they were not at the time. I made scrunchies in bulk and started selling them, considering I didn't have a source of income, as a student.

What kinds of challenges did face as you were running your business?

After I began selling scrunchies, I noticed other online pages bringing in scrunchies too, which shifted the sales for my business. So, I expanded my ideas, and brought in bandanas and head bands. Apart from that, I have had to travel occasionally during the pandemic to buy materials for my products and I had a hard time sourcing them so it felt like a risk every time.

Did you carry out any activities to help those in need during the pandemic? 

I tried to provide survival kits to the homeless, including masks and sanitisers. I supported a lot of people financially, like my tailors and delivery men as their jobs were negatively impacted due to the coronavirus crisis. I also charged extra for my deliveries to help people out. I donated school supplies to kids in rural areas who have had to stop going to school. I will sponsor an event and have a stall there to raise money for more donations and I hope to keep on doing my best for my venture for as long as I am able to.