Model and social activist Lauren Bush is accustomed to setting trends. She was merely an undergrad at Princeton when she caught the attention of the United Nations, who asked her to become a student spokesperson for their World Food Program (WFP). Moved by the hunger she saw around the world, she created a line of “FEED bags” to raise money and awareness for the WFP’s School Feeding Program: When you buy one of the burlap totes, $20 goes to school lunch for a hungry child. The original FEED 1 bags, as well as an exclusive Rugby FEED bag and patches, are available online and in Rugby stores.
Rugby: Tell us about your foundation.
Lauren Bush: My cause is the FEED Foundation, which provides food for kids all over the world. Not everyone can write a massive check to an organization; with FEED, you generate donations by simply buying one of our FEED bags. Proceeds go to in-school lunches for hungry children in developing countries.
R: Most celebrities carry fancy “It” bags, yet you are carrying a burlap sack. What’s the deal?
LB: I think it would be odd if a patent leather bag was giving back to people. I was really inspired by the sacks of grain and rice I saw being distributed by the WFP. Burlap is a very modest fabric, and I think it is cool and rugged looking. The bag is a fund-raising tool, but the burlap is also a conversation starter and an awareness-building tool. I thought it would be great to not only to make a bag that gives back to the WFP School Feeding Program—which is a really amazing, hopeful program—but that also connects people to the cause through the design of the bag.
R: That’s pretty clever. What was your burlap “eureka” moment?
LB: The World Food Program stamps each bag of grain or rice with the country of origin: “Given by the US,” “Given by Japan” . . . I felt that as a design inspiration, that was something that could be played with. Also, burlap is a sustainable fabric; It grows like a weed and it doesn’t need pesticides. They’re environmentally friendly, too.
R: Were the bags intentionally designed with the environment in mind?
LB: They’re meant to be as environmental as possible. They’re made of organic materials, and the FEED bags are meant to be used as reusable shopping bags instead of plastic, which doesn’t biodegrade.
R: There are a few versions of the bags, right? Which one is Rugby carrying this summer?
LB: Rugby is carrying the FEED 1 bag, which is the classic. Proceeds go to the WFP School Feeding Program, and the program delegates the money where it is needed most. With the FEED 100 bag, the new one that’s being sold at Whole Foods, proceeds go specifically to Rwanda.
R: You travel all the time. What do you do to kill time on all those long flights?
LB: I’m big into downloading Gossip Girl episodes. I download at least four or five before a flight. I hate to admit it, but I’m obsessed—team Serena!
R: What’s in your Feed Bag right now?
LB: Which one? I have several strewn around! Propeline lip gloss, Ray Ban aviators, Rosebud Salve as a back up lip balm, money, my keys, my random to-do list, my red moleskin planner should be here, but I can’t find it. Great. And my Blackberry, of course.
R: Do you have a Facebook page?
LB: I know I would get sucked in, and I don’t have time to add anything else to my schedule. FEED has a group, though, which is great because it’s a neat networking tool to unite young people. FEED Project is the name.
FEED bags are available in all Rugby stores for $59. Twenty dollars from each bag will be donated to the United Nation’s World Food Program.