Every June, Pride Month brings with it a host of rainbows, glitter, Pride flags — and plenty of seasonal lip service from major corporations who spend the other 11 months of the year ignoring the LGBTQ+ community.
Figuring out which companies are sincere and which are doing the bare minimum can be time-consuming (although it is a beloved annual social media tradition), but that doesn’t mean you should avoid buying Pride collections completely. In addition to the corporations that actively support the LGBTQ+ community, there are also LGBTQ+-owned businesses that deserve your support in June and every other month.
SPY sifted through some recent Pride collections to bring you the best of the best: clothes that look great and also support a worthy cause, from The Trevor Project to Trans Lifeline.
Below, we’ve compiled a list of some mainstream brands’ Pride Month collaborations that donate to the community, as well as LGBTQ+-owned companies worthy of your business.
Philanthropic LGBTQ+ Organizations Worth Supporting
Don’t leave it up to big business to support the organizations giving back to the LGBTQ+ community. Here are just a few that deserve your direct support all year long.
- The Trevor Project: Since 1998, The Trevor Project has worked diligently to prevent suicide among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning youth. Trained counselors offer confidential help and consultation through a toll-free telephone number. It is one of the largest in the world and provides a service that is often needed for LGBTQ+ of all sorts.
- Sage: While the youth are the future, Sage works to aid LGBTQ+ elders. According to their website, LGBTQ+ elders are twice as like to be single and live alone, and four times less likely to have children. Sage works in all sorts of ways: providing housing units, connecting people, and providing a national resource center on LGBTQ+ aging.
- Trans Lifeline: Similar to the mission of The Trevor Project, Trans Lifeline offers direct emotional and financial support to trans people in crisis. They offer solutions like peer support, harm reduction, complete confidentiality, financial redistribution, and the works.
- Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice: Grown from a lesbian feminist vision, the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice works to ensure that the resources from partnerships, individuals, and governments reach activists who need them.
- National Center for Transgender Equality: The National Center for Transgender Equality’s mission is simple: to provide opportunities and spaces for trans people to not only survive but thrive. They work on several projects that benefit housing, work, and family affairs.
1. Bombas
Bombas is an elevated essentials brand filled with plenty of socks, T-shirts and underwear options. For Pride month, it has launched a special collection that includes cheeky rainbow socks, underwear and more. Even better, every pair purchased results in the donation of another pair to an organization serving youth affected by homelessness in the LGBTQIA+ community.
One of their Pride collection pieces is from Brooklyn-based artist Ohni Lisle. Lisle’s shirts feature a hieroglyphic-inspired design that represents “the essence of a human.”
2. Fang NYC
An LGBTQ+-owned brand that teeters between the lines of masculinity and femininity, Fang seeks to redefine what those terms actually look like when it comes to clothing. Its signature asymmetrical tank exhibits this vision clearly: proactive, feminine and chic. It’s sexy where it needs to be and is versatile enough for day and night.
3. Fossil
This month, legendary watch brand Fossil is donating 100% of proceeds from its Pride Collection to the Trevor Project. It offers a classic rainbow watch band, but this year there is also a colorway representing the trans community. For Apple Watch users, Fossil makes it easy to swap between the standard band and one that symbolizes something more.
4. Levi’s
This year, Levi’s is honoring LGBTQ+ activists from past, present and future, donating $100,000 to the OutRight Action International organization, which works to benefit the LGBTQ+ community globally. The Levi’s raglan crewneck sweatshirt from the Pride collection is a cute and cozy addition to your wardrobe, one that features a subtle but unmistakable rainbow version of the signature Levi’s logo.
5. Phluid Project x Happy Socks
The Phluid Project has always been a site that marries commerce and the community. Exhibiting brands that are owned by or support the LGBTQ+ community, it only makes sense that they’d team up with Happy Socks. For this Pride month, 10% of net profits will go directly to The Phluid Foundation, a nonprofit that directs critical funds to the most at-risk LGBTQ+ community members. For the 2022 Pride March, opt-in for these fun, psychedelic-rainbow socks.
6. Danessa Myricks Beauty x The Dragon Sisters Infinite Chrome Flakes
Makeup brand Danessa Myricks Beauty collaborated with gender-bending performance duo The Dragon Sisters for “Pride,” a new multichrome, rainbow-inspired shade of the Infinite Chrome Flakes — and even worked together on a music video to celebrate the new product. For those obsessed with night-life or are just looking to add a bit of dazzle to their day, this eyeshadow or topper is not to be overlooked.
7. Automatic Gold
Founded by a group of creatives that identify all over the spectrum, Automatic Gold believes in fine-crafted jewelry forged by honest principles. To that end, it doesn’t overprice its products or photoshop its models, and every product uses recycled materials. What’s not to support? For those looking to show off their Pride through jewelry, go for this chic and subtle 14k gold ring with a tri-color face.
8. Pair of Thieves
Essentials are Pair of Thieves’ speciality, and this year for Pride, they’re upgrading our jock drawer and donated a hefty $100,000 The Trevor Project. Check out this fun peace sign–covered jockstrap, which also features a rainbow logo waistband.
9. TomboyX Racerback Soft Bra
As a LGBTQ+ women-owned company, TomboyX is no stranger to finding unique ways to support one’s body. For Pride this year, it has an array of quirky and fun queer-centric patterned bras, shorts and more. TomboyX also created a great Pride T-shirt, with its logo rendered in a series of flowers on the front and a massive garden on the back.
10. MCE Creations
Gay Twitter fave MCE Creations has been outfitting guys in sexy gymwear for a while now — so no surprise that the LGBTQ+-owned company has launched a stellar Pride 2022 collection. Featuring plenty of rainbow jocks, thongs and more, the true standout might be these retro gym shorts, perfect for a workout or an afternoon hang.
11. Sir Rat Leather
Sir Rat has been quietly changing the leather community game for a while now with its colorful take on harnesses and jockstraps. What better way to celebrate Pride than by supporting the queer-owned, Austin-based company as it continues its path to world domination? Check out its Pride T-shirt, as well as plenty of Pride jocks and briefs.
12. Versace
You can’t get much more Pride into a collaboration than you get from the Versace-Cher capsule collection. “Chersace” includes T-shirts, socks and a baseball cap, and all proceeds go to the LGBTQ+ children and youth charity Gender Spectrum. Don’t wait to turn back time to get one of those bound-to-be-collectible items.
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