Retailers remember 9/11 through charity and volunteering

Reminders of the tragic events that occurred on September 11, 2001 are everywhere – a cross on the field in Pennsylvania where Flight 93 crashed into the ground, a permanent gallery of news related to the attacks at Washington DC’s Newseum and now, a life-sized memorial in the spot where the Twin Towers stood in New York City. Yet amidst all the tragedy, Americans have found many ways to celebrate and remember the lives of those lost that day.

This year, as a way to commemorate the 10-year anniversary, retailers will also pause, reflect and remember with other individuals and companies around the globe through various channels and outreach.

One such way was through last week’s Fashion’s Night Out. The annual event and global initiative was originally created in 2009 to celebrate fashion, restore consumer confidence, and boost the industry’s economy during the recession. Due to overwhelming popularity, retailers of all types have joined this effort since then, and this year some used the event to commemorate the anniversary using fashion and charitable contributions.  According to one shopper in Beverly Hills, retailers used patriotic colors and charitable donations to show their support, with Neiman Marcus using red, white and blue fashions for a catwalk presentation and Brooks Brothers offering a classic, commemorative tie with 100% of the profits going to the 9/11 Memorial.  Barneys New York also used Fashion’s Night Out as a way to remember by donating part of the night’s profits to the 9/11 Memorial.

Another way retailers and their employees are commemorating the anniversary is through charity, with companies such as Target, Best Buy, Neiman Marcus and Groupon partnering with the 9/11 Day of Service project and other non-profits like MyGoodDeed.org to sponsor citywide service projects across the country on September 11, including clean-up and restoration efforts. The campaign spreads far and wide and gives everyone a chance to donate, support and honor fallen victims and their families by helping make a sad day one of hope and charity.

And through the 9/11 Memorial’s official Signs of Support campaign, many other retailers and restaurants will come together to proudly display their own “sign of support” by displaying a special decal in their store window, including Men’s Wearhouse, Applebee’s, 7-Eleven, Inc., Duane Reade Charitable Foundation, RadioShack, Sephora, Staples and Tiffany & Co., among many others.

On this September 11, one thing is clear: retailers far and wide wish for hope and peace for victims’ families, friends and the world at large.