Mer+ge

SHINE A LIGHT FINALIST
"Mer+ge: Clothing that Stands For Something"

While most 23-year olds spend their days updating their Facebook status, searching for a job or couch surfing at their parent’s house, Victoria Jones has a completely different focus. She designs one of a kind graphic t-shirts, each of which has a social, political or biological message and donates a portion of sales to nonprofit organizations.  Mer+ge Apparel was born in 2008 during a plant molecular cell biology class at Boston College. Victoria, a biology/premed major and NCAA Captain on the Women’s Basketball team, was struck by a thought that plant molecular structures were, in her words, “kind of artsy”. She began sketching in her notebook and before she knew it had more sketches than class notes. And so began Mer+ge. One year later, Victoria’s line includes twenty-five graphic t-shirts, an Obama inspired sweatshirt and a sold out book bag. Victoria’s goal at Mer+ge is to spark conversations about her products. Each shirt comes with a collectible card, which explains the concept of the t-shirt and the organization it donates to . For example, a portion of sales from her popular Aids Revolution t-shirt go to Avert, an international HIV/AIDS organization working to educate people worldwide on HIV/AIDS . Next month, Victoria will launch her fall collection, which will include hooded sweatshirts, windbreakers, beanies, and scarves. By merging art with science Victoria hopes to demonstrate that gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, etc. do not define us but are instead just one part of who we are. More than a business, Mer+ge is dedicated to freedom of self-expression and unity.