Essie partners with Foundation for Art & Healing's Project UnLonely to combat loneliness
Essie, the leading nail polish brand known for creating joy through color, is proud to announce its philanthropic partnership in the U.S. with The Foundation for Art & Healing and Project UnLonely. This partnership will launch as a part of Hands All In, a holistic global initiative to support Essie conscious brand values, starting with a commitment to its community.
As a color-driven brand deeply rooted in celebrating creativity and fostering happiness, Essie is dedicated to helping its community develop meaningful connections through color, the company said.
Noting that there is an epidemic of loneliness around the world, with 61% of Gen Z admitting they feel lonely and 46% of Gen Z reporting that their loneliness grew since the pandemic, Essie said it aims to identify impactful methods to help diminish the effects of loneliness on the Gen Z community and has partnered with FAH to promote creative expression as an innovative approach to alleviate loneliness.
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"At Essie, we're obsessed with color and its power to bring people together through storytelling," said Isabelle Carramaschi, vice president of Essie. "We've never been more connected by technology, but an overwhelming amount of people are simultaneously struggling with a level of disconnection never seen before. As a brand that drives personal connections and has a large community of Gen Z cohorts, Essie feels a responsibility to help create a positive change. Hands All In aims to create colorful connections to uplift those who feel lonely."
Through Project UnLonely, which broadens public awareness for the negative physical and mental health consequences of loneliness, FAH works to explore creative arts-based approaches to address the impact of loneliness. FAH developed an evidence-informed workshop through Project UnLonely called Colors & Connection to connect students and college communities through the use of color and art-making and story-sharing.
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In partnership with Essie, Colors & Connection has been implemented on college campuses across the country, including Harvard University, School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Emersion College. The one-hour workshops are held in-person in group settings, and are rooted in color's proven power of facilitating personal reflection, imagination, self-expression and connection. They feature guided "connecting through colors" activities and thought-provoking exercises that stimulate rich conversations and authentic engagement with oneself and others in a comfortable and supportive environment. Essie and Project UnLonely will continue to roll out additional Colors & Connection programs throughout college campuses in the U.S. in 2022.
"FAH launched Project UnLonely in 2016, well before the rise of loneliness was becoming a global concern, and its urgency now cannot be overstated," said Jeremy Nobel, Harvard Medical School faculty member and founder and president of the Foundation for Art & Healing. "Through our programs we're continuing to see the power of creative expression and the arts having remarkable impact, improving connection and fostering a sense of belonging. We're excited to partner with Essie to bring these novel approaches to college students navigating the social and emotional challenges of the campus experience."
In celebration of the new partnership, the brand has been building a skate park in Los Angeles on March 23 and 24 at the Annenberg Community Beach House in Santa Monica and installing a colorful and interactive community art mural. Through the skate organization Grlswirl, the brand will be inviting the local skating community to come together and share in a creative and colorful transformation together. Through these events, Essie aims to reach a wider community and bring more visibility to loneliness and its Hands All In cause mission.