T-shirts spread simple messages of goodness

While most people may view Tshirts as mere articles of clothing, three young women from Monmouth County, along with their male mentor and business partner, see the shirts as canvases on which they can send positive messages that inspire people to make a difference in the world.

Sarah Miller, Farrah Maliavsky and Charlotte DeStefano (l-r) are spreading positive messages through their line of organic T-shirts called IDtees. They have taken a grass-roots and personal approach to marketing their products in shops throughout New Jersey. Through the use of creative images and simple text, Farrah Maliavsky, 26, of Manalapan, Charlotte DeStefano, 24, of Colts Neck, and Sarah Miller, 27, of Farmingdale, hope to bring awareness and ultimately positive changes one shirt at a time with IDtees (pronounced I.D. tees).

The women are taking what was initially the vision of the company’s CEO and creative guru, Bill Jemas, the former president of Marvel Comics, hitting the pavement and spreading the good word, literally.

With wars, violence, economic instability and negativity enveloping the globe, the goal of the IDtees team, which is based in Princeton Junction, Mercer County, is to remind people to focus on positive change.

Jemas, who now owns 360 Intellectual Equity, which focuses on licensing and intellectual property development, recruited graphic designer Maliavsky in 2008 to help him bring his vision of positive change to fruition.

Maliavsky, a Manalapan High School and Rutgers University graduate who is passionate about world peace and saving the environment, left her marketing job at a New York City law firm to help create the designs to spread the message.

“Fashion is an everyday means of expressing oneself, so why not use that canvas as a tool for the greater good?” said Maliavsky.

“Not to mention we were sick of seeing T-shirts stamped with skulls, guns and other negative messages flooding the market, and we had a feeling other people were, too,” added Jemas.

Miller came on board next to develop the business end of the company. A graduate of Freehold High School and George Washington University, she had left her accounting job with a movie company in Hollywood to come back to her family in New Jersey.

Jemas and Maliavsky saw her business experience as an asset to their fledgling company.

They began marketing the T-shirts on the Internet, building a peace blog and sending out weekly newsletters, but met with frustration when they found the online T-shirt world to be not only saturated with college humor and offensive, mocking parodies, but overly competitive and difficult to negotiate. Their positive product needed a marketing boost.

When DeStefano, a graduate of Colts Neck High School and New York Univer- sity, came on board straight from working as a field organizer on Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, she encouraged the team to hit the streets, tell their story and engage the community to help spread the word.

According to the women, the new approach, implemented this summer, has been successful so far. They have visited local stores and found that people were receptive when they saw the T-shirts firsthand, met them personally and heard the motive behind their product.

As a result of the women’s nonstop efforts, IDtees can currently be purchased in a variety of stores throughout New Jersey, including boutiques that cater to women, men and children, skate and surf shops, and even a yoga shop.

Locally, IDtees can be purchased at Lola’s, Route 9, Manalapan, and Yoga Basin, 603 Mattison Ave., Asbury Park.

Other shops that carry IDtees are in Princeton, Spring Lake, Point Pleasant, Ocean Grove, Manasquan, Millburn and Haddonfield, with more on the way.

The IDtees designs feature simple designs and a verb.

“It’s a call to action,” said DeStefano.

“A verb telling you to get involved and do something, not just talk about it,” Maliavsky added.

One popular design features a graphic of a bicycle accompanied by the word “simplify.” Other shirts feature a peace sign made out of the words for peace in many languages and the message: “diversity.”

There is another peace symbol in the barrel of what could be interpreted as a smoking gun that says “cease” and a multitude of other messages on shirts that include “emancipate,” “harmonize” and “dehydrate.”

One political message shows the word “party” with the donkey and elephant symbols for the Democratic and Republican parties embracing and dancing together.

New designs are always being added to reflect world problems.

The women said they are finding that the IDtees appeal to all ages. One design features a positive take on the skull and crossbones many youngsters wear, but with a smiley face atop crossbones and the message “smile anyway.”

Maliavsky and DeStefano relayed the story of a 90-year-old woman in a wheelchair falling in love with their designs and purchasing some shirts for herself, while teenagers admired their designs as well.

“It’s good to see there are socially aware people in every generation,” said DeStefano.

The women have just released a baby line with mini versions of their “undanger” line that features images of elephants, turtles and dolphins. There are also hearts made of flowers that say “grow,” among many others.

The IDtees team will be at the Red Bank Street Fair on Sept. 12, and at the Yoga Festival By the Sea in Asbury Park on Sept. 18- 19. A percentage of the proceeds from the Sept. 18-19 event will support a yoga curriculumfor pupils in the Asbury Park schools.

To see the IDtees designs and find out about retail and fundraising opportunities, visit www.idtees.org, send an email to sales@idtees.org or call 609-275-5900, ext. 223.