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ABLE is an American women's clothing and accessories retailer. The company was founded as a nonprofit organization in 2010 by Barrett Ward and Rachel Ward to facilitate women in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,[1] in leaving the commercial sex industry.[2][3][4] Then it converted into a for-profit company and is classified as a benefit corporation.[5]
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Headquarters | 5022 Centennial Blvd, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
Area served | Primarily the U.S. and Canada |
Key people | Barrett Ward Rachel Ward |
| Products | Clothing, handbags, accessories |
| Website | livefashionable |
The company is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.[6]
History edit
The concept for ABLE began in 2008 while Barrett Ward and his wife, Rachel, were living in Ethiopia.[8] At the time, Ward worked with Mocha Club, a nonprofit organization he co-founded in 2005.[9] While at Mocha, he communicated with Women at Risk (WAR) and learned that women who might otherwise resort to prostitution due to lack of opportunity could be trained to weave scarves and sell them for a profit.[10] Ward co-founded Ellilta, an Ethiopian scarf production company, to provide jobs for the women at WAR. Ellilta was ABLE's first product manufacturing supplier, which launched in October 2010.[11]
Minka Kelly brought ABLE scarves with her on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in October 2013.[12] On October 22, 2014, Barrett Ward was honored by GQ at its seventh annual Gentlemen's Ball for his philanthropic efforts with ABLE.[13][14]
In 2019, the company was presented in the Nashville Fashion Week.[15]
References edit
- ^ Alfs, Lizzy. "FASHIONABLE to open retail store in The Nations". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2021-05-13.
- ^ Natalia Angulo (4 April 2014). "5 American Entrepreneurs Doing Good Business". Fox Business. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- ^ Philipkoski, Kristen. "Meet The Fashion Brand Not Afraid To Publish Wages (Its Denim Sale Starts Today)". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-05-13.
- ^ "Changing lives through shopping". www.tnledger.com. Retrieved 2021-05-13.
- ^ "Business Entity Detail" TN Secretary of State. Retrieved 2016-07-28.
- ^ Ellen Mallernee Barnes (13 February 2015). "East Nashville News: Easties win Grammys, more Easties win East Nashvillian of the Year, FashionABLE coming, more". The East Nashvillian. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- ^ "Meet Barrett Ward". Love Our Girls. 2018-12-01. Retrieved 2021-05-13.
- ^ Jamie McGee (6 February 2015). "Nashville social enterprises have purpose beyond profits". Tennessean. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- ^ Andrea Tortora (8 Sep 2014). "Entrepreneur's business gives Ethiopian women opportunities to rise from poverty". The Business journals. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
- ^ Shannon Molter (February 26, 2014). "Sustainable fashion empowers Ethiopian women: Sales of scarves, leather products create jobs, transform lives". Arches News. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
- ^ Kelly Wickham (11 December 2013). "The Story Behind the Story: Ian Bentley and FashionABLE". Little Pickle Press. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
- ^ "ON PHILANTHROPY: 5 Questions with Minka Kelly". Haute Living. 10 April 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- ^ Jamie McGee (28 October 2014). "Nashville's Barrett Ward wins GQ Award". The Tennessean. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
- ^ Jade Nunes (22 October 2014). "A fashionABLE fellow: Social entrepreneur gets GQ honor for empowering African women (Video)". Bizjournals. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
- ^ "Barrett Ward — News". Nashville Fashion Week. Retrieved 2021-05-13.