Shoo For Good founder and executive director Christy Hobart never had mosquitos on her mind: she only found them a problem in Los Angeles about five or six years ago.
“I enjoy spending time in my yard, but I’ve found the pests trapped me inside,” said Hobart, a retired lifestyle journalist who lives in Santa Monica. “And if my husband and I had friends over for dinner under the pergola, I’d offer them a dash of bug spray with a glass of rose wine.”
Determined to find a more elegant solution than bug spray, Hobart, 57, began to come up with ideas for attractive clothing or accessories that could keep the pests off.
She says, “I knew there were insect repellants for campers, but couldn’t find anything stylish that would be good for al fresco dining, garden parties or weddings, or traveling around buggy areas.”
Hobart, 57, had more free time after her youngest child left college and longed for meaningful work. With mosquitos as inspiration, she realized she could use her idea to help people affected by malaria, a mosquito-borne disease, and last year launched Shoo For Good, a line of insect repellent scarves and wraps . Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones is a fan, and the flawless scarves recently made Oprah’s April O list.
THE OBJECT
Shoo For Good’s cotton scarves and wraps are made by a group of artisans in Ethiopia.
“Your work is just great and you are a monitored member of the World Fair Trade Organization,” says Hobart. “I also knew that I wanted to give something back to the fight against malaria. That is why it made sense for me to have the products manufactured in a region where malaria is a problem.”
Artisans spin locally grown cotton into threads by hand before dyeing it in small quantities, and then men weave textiles from the threads on wooden looms.
After the scarves and wraps are woven, they are treated with insect repellent, which binds a permethrin formula to the fabric. Permethrin is approved by the EPA as a repellent for clothing and other products. Insect repellent repels mosquitoes, ticks, ants, flies and other insects, and protection lasts 70 washes – the expected life of a garment.
Shoo For Good Founder and CEO Christy Hobart.
Shoo for Good
The irregular, hand-spun threads give Shoo For Good products a wafer-thin and organic texture. The oversized Camellia Lightweight Wrap is airy and delicate with subtly raw edges. The textured scarf is striped with fringes on the ends and a coarser, heavier weight for all genders.
“I came up with the concept because it was something I wanted and didn’t exist: a soft, beautiful cover that is easy to put on and take off when needed and that compliments everything you wear,” says Hobart . “I didn’t want it to scream ‘functional’ – I wanted it to be beautiful at first – but I also wanted it to do its job.”
THE PRICE
Shoo For Good’s scarves and wraps range from $ 140 to $ 160. The best-selling Camellia Lightweight Wrap and the even lighter Gardenia Wrap are $ 140, while the heavier Laurel Throw, which can serve as a blanket, is $ 160.
What’s the good
Hobart knew from the start that she wanted to use Shoo For Good to help communities affected by malaria, a disease that kills more than 400,000 people each year, according to the World Health Organization. Mosquitoes are the deadliest animal in the world, killing more than half a million people each year.
“Shoo for Good would have been just an idea if it hadn’t been for the return portion,” she says. “When I realized that my idea could help people, I decided to do it and just made it possible.”
Shoo For Good works with Nothing But Nets, a United Nations Foundation campaign to provide mosquito nets to families in need.
Shoo For Good’s scarves and wraps range from $ 140 to $ 160.
Shoo for Good
“Bed nets are one of the most important preventive measures to protect against malaria. So I thought we should give something back, ”says Hobart. “Bed nets not only protect families from mosquito bites, but also provide a calming feeling so that families can sleep better and work more productively the next day.”
A portion of every Shoo For Good sale goes to Nothing But Nets, which has distributed more than 13 million bed nets through partners in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and the Middle East.
Shoo For Good’s artisans in Ethiopia work under a fair trade collective, which means they earn around 250% more than the industry average for their jobs and receive training, regular salaries, pensions, paid vacation, maternity leave and health insurance. The artisans also only use environmentally friendly dyes and use a water filtration system to minimize the impact on the environment.
WHAT’S NEXT
Hobart launched Shoo For Good with one-size-fits-all scarves and wraps to avoid fit and size issues. Currently, the line is still limited to scarves and wraps, but is considering focusing on other garments. Shoo For Good would also like to add new producers from different parts of the world.
