Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Christy Hobart. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Christy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
Shoo for Good, the company I founded in 2020 that creates cotton scarves and pants that repel mosquitoes and other bugs, wouldn’t have happened without a cause behind it. As the name suggests, doing good is an important component of the business. As a child, I travelled a lot with my family. We were somewhere in Morocco, when I was six years old, when my little sister and I met some local children who were just like us, in that they wanted to play, but so different, too. They weren’t wearing shoes and were kind of dusty. When my mother brought out a bag of hard candies for us, the kids went wild, scrambling to get as much of it as they could.
That’s when I learned the world isn’t fair. My sister and I didn’t even like those candies, but they were everything to our new friends. That episode has loomed large in my life and, over the years, grew into a belief that if people can help, they should.
After a career in journalism (working as an editor at Saveur, Garden Design, and Elle Decor, to name a few), I started dreaming up the idea of a company that would make beautiful accessories and clothing that would repel mosquitoes. The company could create much-needed jobs, I thought, for artisans who would receive fair wages for their work and would be working in safe conditions with additional benefits.
When I realized the company could do even more good, by giving back to an important, related cause–malaria prevention–I decided to make it happen. Shoo for Good was born.
Knowing that the company can help so many–from marginalized artisans needing jobs to families in malaria-stricken countries to customers who hate being devoured by bugs–is what keeps me going.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
You never know where life will lead you! I studied French at UCLA, fashion design in Paris, then journalism in New York. I worked in fashion for a while before becoming a lifestyle magazine editor and then freelanced while I raised my family back here in LA.
Over the years, as the magazine business was in decline, mosquitoes, never a problem in Santa Monica, were on the rise. Entertaining in the garden often required offering–apologetically–smelly spritzes of bug spray to our guests.
I knew bug-repellent clothing existed for campers and hikers and thought there might be a beautiful something for wearing in daily life. There wasn’t. So I created it.
I surprised myself, going from journalist to entrepreneur, but in a way it makes sense. My interests–fashion, food, gardens, travel, and entertaining–have all come together in Shoo for Good. Our chic scarves help customers enjoy their time outdoors, whether entertaining al fresco in the garden, dining on a terrace, traveling in buggy locals, reading in a hammock, or spending time anywhere bugs might show up.
Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?
I had the idea: create beautiful clothing that repels mosquitoes and other bugs. Then I had to figure out how to do it.
The easy route would have been to engage a factory in China that could pump out fast fashion at low cost. But I hate everything about that idea (possible child labor, unfair wages, cheap materials, shoddy manufacture).
Instead, I wanted to create jobs for talented artisans who would be working under the principles of fair trade–preferably in a region of the world affected by malaria, given Shoo for Good’s mission to help those in danger of the disease. After doing a ton of research online and by phone, I ended up connecting with an artisan representative in Paris who had some ideas.
The mosquito-repellency process can cause a lot of fabric shrinkage, colors can bleed, and any imperfections in the fabric can be made worse so the products had to be of the highest quality. After testing batches of samples from various producers, we found our match in a cooperative, monitored members of the World Fair Trade Organization, in Ethiopia.
The scarves and wraps the artisans make are gorgeous and have a luxurious handfeel. They’re handwoven using local, handspun cotton and are colored using natural dyes. No surprise, they take time to produce and are relatively expensive.
Production can be slowed by bad weather, communication can be challenging, and transportation can be delayed by unrest in the country. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The much-needed jobs we create in marginalized communities; the empowerment that artisans feel by having well-paying, respectable work; the healthcare and resources that are now available to them–all of this is more important than quick turn-around and discount prices.
Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?
We’re mostly an online company and find that direct-to-consumer makes a lot of sense for us. People seem to find us online, whether from press about a celebrity who loves our wraps, a round-up of best travel gifts, or simple SEO.
I’d love to have a store so I could interact with customers, but I don’t think that would make sense unless I wanted to branch out to sell ancillary products. (I do have ideas…) We do occasional pop-ups, which are always fun. I love interacting with customers. This summer might include sales in Nantucket and Italy’s Lake Garda.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.shooforgood.com
- Instagram: @shooforgood
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christy-hobart-77770214/details/experience/
Image Credits
Sheryl Nields for the three uploads.