Merch Aid is fighting for reproductive rights with new protest T-shirts made by female designers

In light of the continued fight for abortion rights after the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, Merch Aid has partnered up with some of the States’ top female designers including: Jessica Walsh, Debbie Millman, Gail Anderson, Deva Pardue, Jennet Liaw and Bria Benjamin, in order to design a capsule of protest wear that advocates for reproductive justice. The ongoing project teams up with artistic talent and charities, dropping limited runs of merchandise to raise money for timely causes, and with this collection they will be donating 100 percent of the profit to the National Network of Abortion Funds.

The capsule is the first of a series of issue-focused merch that Merch Aid plans to launch surrounding issues such as Trans rights and immigration policies in the lead up to the 2024 election. Initially started as a relief response to Covid-19’s small business shutdowns, the brand’s past collections have platformed NYC Small Business, Black Lives Matter and AAPI, collaborating with artists such as Mark Seliger, Paula Scher and Gail Anderson.

With T-shirts displaying messages such as “Gender equality. Bodily autonomy” (Deva Pardue), and “Behind many great woman is an abortion they don’t regret” (Jessica Walsh), Merch Aid aims to platform a conversation that has been at the forefront of American policy and “support the design community in rallying to help people visibly express their support”. Participating designer Jessica Walsh, founder of leading global creative agency &Walsh, says she took part “to bring more attention to reproductive freedom at such a critical time and election year. Together, by harnessing the power of design, we can raise awareness and inspire action to protect and advance reproductive rights.” Merch Aid believes that its bold capsule not only platforms the work of incredible artists but is also a tool to promote “consistent and visible expressions of opinion” which is in the organisation’s eyes, “one of the best ways to drive change”.

Having raised over half a million dollars to date with their past capsules, Merch Aid’s latest drop of wearable protest messages will be live until it sells out, raising as much as possible for NNAF’s network of 100 independent abortion funds, that work to remove financial and logistical barriers to abortion access. With the cost and complexity of abortion increasing, and new laws implemented every week to put up barriers to basic healthcare, the charity’s funds focus on what’s most important: “making sure people get the abortions they want and need”.