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ASU student aims to bring awareness, change to social issues through T-shirts

JJ Williamson
JJ Williamson shows off one of his company’s shirts on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015, the design of which conveys a truth in one woman’s story of feminism.

With the ever-changing fashion industry, T-shirts continue to dominate the fashion world, whether they are worn for comfort or to express one's personality. 

But one ASU student is using T-shirts as more than a fashion statement — he hopes to change the world.

Aletheia, a clothing company led by business entrepreneurship junior JJ Williamson, aims to raise awareness and initiate change among various social issues with T-shirts and other accessories.

Williamson said he uses interviews to gather information about people affected by social issues, creates shirts inspired by those stories and sells them on Aletheia's website.

"We interview someone who has gone through a specific issue in their life, such as feminism and equality, depression, eating disorders ... and from that interview, we make a shirt inspired by that person's story," he said. "All the shirts are very unique from each other, but they all have the signature of the person who the interview is about."

Williamson said he was inspired to start the business during his sophomore year after witnessing those close to him overcome personal struggles.

"I (was) thinking about how some issues are just kept in the dark so often, and a lot of people just don't know about specific issues," he said. "A lot of my friends and family have gone through specific issues that have really affected their lives and a lot of people don't understand that. It came to mind one day and kept evolving."

Five percent of proceeds from the shirts go to organizations that support those specific social issues. The shirts target themes such as feminism, depression and eating disorders.

So far, Williamson has shared the stories of Kate Wells, his former boss at Children's Museum of Phoenix, his sister Joy Williamson and a pair of his longtime friends, Natalie Black and Daniel Parsons.

Williamson said the subjects who share their stories may experience emotional healing by speaking about their personal issues.

"People are really just willing to tell their story because it's a cool process and it's a cool thing to have your name on a T-shirt and be able to help someone who maybe is going through the same thing you've gone through," he said. "It's also a healing process, in a way, to get it off your chest and talk about it."

In addition to the T-shirts, Williamson and his company also offer products such as button bracelets and pocket tees.

Wells, who was Williamson's boss as the president and CEO of Children's Museum of Phoenix, was the inspiration behind Aletheia’s first shirt. She said she chose to share her feminist experience after discussing the development of feminist issues with her two daughters.

Wells said her message is that “I can be a feminist and still wear high heels.”

As a young girl growing up in the 1980s, Wells said being called a feminist was a negative label.

"There was this perception that people had of feminists that wasn't positive and I never really got that, but I didn't have the historical context of the battles of equal pay that went on in the late '70s and how really contentious it was," she said. 

Wells said the millennial generation's view of feminism has been more positive and well-rounded due to the rise of the Internet.

"The conversation went to how the Internet has really allowed women of all ages and of all interests to find what their personal issue is around women's issues," she said. "When I was growing up, you were all in or all out. Now, you can find that thing that they are individually passionate about and become active on that subject."

Wells, who considers herself a feminist, said the label is simply a catch-all phrase that denotes her as someone who cares passionately about women's issues.

"I feel very passionate that women need to speak up for ourselves ... and grouped together, we have very powerful voices," she said. "If we can't get the entire feminist agenda pushed through like they tried to do something in the late '70s, we can make huge headway on individual feminist issues and women's issues because we have all these splinter groups that are passionate about their little niches."

ASU alumnus Sean Barrett, the subject of Aletheia's upcoming shirt, underwent a double-lung transplant earlier this year after a lifetime of suffering from the deteriorating lung disease pulmonary fibrosis.

Barrett said the disease, caused by a protein deficiency at birth, remained stable his whole life until he contracted Valley Fever earlier this year, causing it to worsen until his lungs ultimately failed.

"After 11 days on life support, I found a donor match and had an immediate double-lung transplant at St. Joseph's Hospital," he said. "(I) spent 52 days in recovery learning how to walk, learning how to breathe, getting my lungs to accept my body and vice versa through medication and physical therapy."

When Williamson approached him to create a shirt supporting pulmonary fibrosis, Barrett said he wanted to use his situation to inspire others who may be suffering from a debilitating medical disease.

"By creating a T-shirt like this, I want people to know that you really can overcome anything, like life or death," he said. "Having gone through that, I know that no matter what, in the rest of my life, it's a second chance that I can do whatever I want."

Related Links:

Casually saving the world, one T-shirt at a time


Reach the reporter at Jlsuerth@asu.edu or follow @SuerthJessica on Twitter.

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