DES MOINES, Iowa — Convenience retailer Kum & Go has teamed up with fashion label HOMOCO to produce a new limited run line of sustainable swimwear and shirts to celebrate Pride Month. Kum & Go and HOMOCO are giving a portion of the proceeds from the collaboration to the Transgender Law Center.
The swim trunks and matching camp shirts are made of sustainable materials such as polyester extracted from recycled water bottles and Tencel. Priced at $69 and “democratically sized,” HOMOCO’s products each come in a reusable zip pouch. They will be available for a limited time only at HOMOCO’s website, www.homoco.co.
Queer designer Daniel DuGoff launched HOMOCO, and the name is a nod to the Washington, D.C.-based gas station business his great-grandparents opened during the Depression, the Homes Oil Co., which went by the moniker HOMOCO.
HOMOCO’s philosophy celebrates body positivity and size inclusivity through the lens of fun, it said.
“Kum & Go is proud to work with HOMOCO on this special project for Pride Month,” said Kum & Go CEO Tanner Krause. “As two leaders whose great-grandparents both started convenience stores, this one felt especially on brand for us. We also love their vision that aligns so closely with our own: creating an environment that celebrates sustainability, inclusivity and joy.”
“Partnering with Kum & Go is a dream,” said DuGoff. “The goal of HOMOCO is to talk to queer people wherever they are, not just big coastal cities. Celebrating the joint heritage of our brands and our wink-and-a-nod names is exactly what we love to do.”
For the second year in a row, Kum & Go is the title sponsor of Des Moines’ Capital City Pride. Previous Kum & Go activations in support of LGBTQ+ associates and customers have raised thousands of dollars for the Trevor Project, the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice and the Transgender Law Center’s Trans Agenda for Liberation.
Kum & Go recently raised nearly $27,000 for the Trevor Project with its “Kum & Gay Rights” shirt, the company posted on Twitter.
- Kum & Go isNo. 18 onCSP’s 2021 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count.
Des Moines, Iowa-based Kum & Go has more than 400 stores in 11 states: Iowa, Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming.
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