For now the feminist ad network is on hold, scratched in favor of a person-to-person deal promoting an item I love, the pro-choice messenger bag. Bonus: when you buy one, Cinnamon donates $15 of your payment to your favorite pro-choice non-profit.
Cinnamon Cooper, creator of Poise.cc is a handbag designer with a grand vision. Her foray into handbag creation began as a way for her to support the plethora of non-profit organizations her heart was devoted to, even though her wallet was slim. After donating several bags to silent auctions and raffles she decided to create a website where she could sell her bags which would permit her to raise money for more of those organizations as well as keep her fabric supply stocked. In 2003 she heard about the March for Women’s Lives which would take place in April 2004 and knew she had to find a way to help. The “No More Hangers: We Won’t Go Back: Keep Abortion Safe and Legal” symbol haunted her for days until she found a way to transfer it to a bag which was then donated to her local NOW chapter. The compliments were plentiful and requests for the Pro-Choice Messenger Bag began pouring in.
By April 2004, she’d made enough bags to be able to sponsor a young woman to take a bus from Chicago to Washington D.C., as well as make donations to several other reproductive health organizations. While being surrounded by more than 1 million women was fulfilling, she knew the fight wasn’t over so she kept selling the bags and kept permitting the buyer to decide which reproductive rights organization would receive $15. It’s remained her most popular item and she’s given money to more than 13 organizations, many more than once. Not only does she love wearing her politics on her ass, she loves the conversations people strike up with her.
“I’m proud to be able to support Lauren and Feministe. Not only has this site provided me with hours of
procrastination material it’s created a community of forward-thinking, respectful men and women who make me
think on a daily basis.”
Cinnamon has sent me a few things in the past from the Chicago Craft Mafia, of which she is a member. This group rocks. And this completely unpaid endorsement goes out to Mark Smithivas for his Lemongrass Mint soap and making Ethan and I smell like the garden.