EVENTS

Upcoming Events

13 November 2008: be a Guinness world record breaker

Join Pants to Poverty set a new World Record for the most people ever gathered in their underpants! On Thursday, 13th November (Guinness World Records day), the World’s media will be waiting for us at 10am in the new Kings Cross St Pancras Station as we make history in our pants!

How the Stunt will work:

- Pant Lovers meet at 9.45am on Thursday 13th November (Guinness World Record day) at The Betjamen Arms, a pub inside the new St Pancras International train station, on the Upper Concourse.

- Free pairs of fairtrade, organic pants and a free shot of whiskey distributed to all!

- Pant Flash mob mobilise into the station by 10.30, in time for the media frenzy!

- Back to pub, bar re-opens.

We’ll be mobilising hundreds of people from across the country. So seize this once in a lifetime opportunity to liberate the power in your pants!

Everyone involved will receive a certificate confirming them as a World Record Breaker and they will also receive a free pair of Pants to Poverty’s fairtrade and organic pants. And if that wasn’t enough enticement, free whiskey will be provided to warm you up before the stunt!

We’d love you and your business, university or society to be involved so please email us at lucy@pantstopoverty.com with your questions, aspirations and contacts and we’ll get straight back to you with the details.

DON’T MISS THIS ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY… A GREAT WAY TO PROMOTE YOUR CAUSE AND TAKE AN ACTIVE STAND AGAINST POVERTY!!

Past Events

17 May 2008: Birmingham World Record Pantathlon

In May 1998, 70,000 people formed a human chain in Birmingham to demand that the G8 drop the debt, kickstarting the Make Poverty History movement.
Ten years on, Pants to Poverty celebrates the leaps & bounds of the Fair Trade movement and stages a pants mob to showcase consumer power… in all its glory!

The idea is to stage a mass synchronised fun strip to our pants (provided by Pants to Poverty) in a public space, creating a mad blip in the daily lives of Birmingham shoppers. The multitude of bodies wearing Pants to Poverty in a mundane shopping environment will create a striking image promoting the need for mass fashion with a conscience.
The event will be filmed to document the creativity of participants and the stunned/bemused reaction of passer-bys, while the press will be tipped off for additional photo opportunities/coverage. In a double-whammy, we will attempt to break the World record of the largest gathering of people in pants.
For an idea of what synchronised actions looks like, check the classic slow motion in DIY store or Trafalgar Square Big Freeze.

Logistics:

1- Meeting at 10am in a central venue tbc to get your Pants to Poverty pair, get changed, exchange last minute tips and instructions. We will also register at that point the number of attendees to document the world record. Note that pants are free and for you to keep, but we encourage participants to make a donation to allow us to keep giving farmers and producers a fair price.

2- Leaving venue at 11am heading for secret flash mob location. Spread evenly into small groups.

3- At 11.30am sharp, start undressing in a slow/superfast/fun/surreal way, possibly doing other mundane things (being on the phone etc…) for greater incongruous effect. This should take no more than 5 minutes. You may want to bring a large bag to put your clothes in!

4- Once in your pants, freeze until you hear the signal (long whistle), at which point you are free to move, dance or shout! Note the press may want at that point to get some shots in, so be ready for that photo opportunity!

5- Party ensues at meeting point from midday-ish, in your pants if you wish!

If you are on Facebook, add the event to your calendar,
drop a comment on the wall. If you are travelling to Birmingham, check out accommodation recommendation and car pooling in the Pants forum

24 February 2008

Pants to Poverty is launching a day long Bad Pants Amnesty on Sunday February the 24th at the South Bank, London as part of their mission to rid the world of bad pants.

The Bad Pants Amnesty helps mark the start of Fair Trade Fortnight at the foundation Fairground themed launch event and will see a team of crack scientists and good pant lovers cryogenically freeze all bad pants handed in as part of the amnesty. The liberated pant wearers will then have the opportunity to smash their bad pants into tiny pieces joining the call for a world free from bad pants! The operation promises to be painless, swift and liberating. So dig out those bad pants shamefully festering in dark lifeless drawers and bring them to Pants to Poverty where they will be harmlessly put out their misery.

Explaining the intention behind the Bad Pants Amnesty, Ben Ramsden, founder of Pants to Poverty says, “even though 90% of Britons now know about fairtrade, in the UK and across the world, bad pants are damaging people, the planet and our futures. Any pants like most pants - made using pesticides, exploitation and carcinogenic dyes should not grace the most precious parts of our bodies! We believe that enough is enough and know that the people right across Britain and the world stand with us! ”

From 11am till 4pm on Sunday 24th, we invite all upstanding citizens to join us as on the south bank of the river Thames as we start our campaign to rid the world of bad pants! Approximately 5,000 people are expected at the event with a raft of celebrities including George Alagia, Gail Porter and Sir Steve Redgrave as well as cotton farmers from around the world!