Benetton seeks to 'Orange the world' to empower women worldwide

'One woman for all. All women for one,' is the message of United Colors of Benetton's new campaign featuring a limited edition orange dress the proceeds for which would be donated to UN Women

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | December 2, 2015

In order to celebrate International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Benetton launched the new campaign on November 25. The limited edition orange dress which is the mainstay of the print campaign is being sold as part of the celebration. Its proceeds will be entirely donated to UN Women. It is an important statement that fits with the Italian brand's new sustainability strategy, focused on the empowerment of women worldwide.

The campaign shows three young women, each ready to perform a wide range of professional roles– from doctor to artist, from student to athlete, from soldier to mother.  The message is that all women should be able to pursue and master any of these during their lifetimes, according to the principle of equal opportunities for all women and men in the world.

A woman wearing an orange dress stands out at the centre of each campaign image. It's  a call both for unity in the fight for gender equality and a reference to 'Orange the World', a 16-day campaign by the United Nations which began on November 25 that will act as a call-to- action against gender-based violence.

Today, one in three women experience some form of physical or sexual violence, often perpetrated by their intimate partners. Some 700 million women were married when they were under 18, almost one third of them before turning 15. Just over 130 million girls and women have experienced some form of genital mutilation.

These are not just human rights violations. They are the most visible outcomes of a silent form of gender discrimination that interferes with the progress of our societies: in fact, violence against women makes it more difficult to eradicate poverty, combat the spread of HIV/AIDS and attain peace and security. Non-discrimination is, therefore, a key goal on the way to end gender-based violence.

The orange dress featured in the campaign, a garment that is also part of A Collection Of Us by Benetton, is on sale only on benetton.com. The UN agency for gender equality and women empowerment and a partner of United Colors of Benetton, in 2014 already developed a powerful campaign to raise awareness about gender-based violence.

This year, Benetton Group decided to reinforce its commitment to improve women's lives by starting its own Women Empowerment Program. This is a long-term sustainability program aimed at supporting the empowerment of women worldwide by funding initiatives that can help them attain the five priorities identified by the UN's recently launched Sustainable Development Goals: sustainable livelihood, non-discrimination and equal opportunities, quality education, healthcare and the end to all forms of violence.

The Women Empowerment Program is implemented by UNHATE Foundation, Benetton's foundation that fights all forms of hate and discrimination - especially among the youngest generations - through art projects aimed at generating positive social change.

The 2015 Orange Days campaign was created by Erik Ravelo, Director of Social Campaigns at Fabrica, Benetton's communications and design research centre.

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