Retail & Celebrity Charity News October 6

Retailers Begin Price Cuts For Holiday Season

KB Toys announced price cuts to under $10 on more than 200 items, including Crayola kits and Fisher-Price preschool toys, as retailers prepare for a slow holiday shopping season.  Walmart has also reduced prices on 10 toys to $10, from well-known brands such as Barbie and Hot Wheels.  The slow holiday gift season is predicted as consumers not only have less money to spend on luxury items, but also make fewer shopping trips to minimize transportation costs.

 

Madison Avenue’s Ninth Annual Pink Ribbon Project

NYC residents will help stimulate the economy while raising money for breast cancer research via the ninth annual Madison Avenue Pink Ribbon Project from October 4 – 18. More than 50 Madison Avenue retailers, including BCBG Maxazria, Lesportsac and Michael’s Consignment Shop, will participate in the Pink Ribbon Project to benefit The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and The Mount Sinai Breast Health Resource Center.  New this year is a website, Moms Shop, by Cookie Magazine, offering Pink Ribbon items for sale, such as the Donna Karan Limited Edition Breast Cancer Awareness EDT Spray ($58).

 

Lauren Bush Launches Sustainable RTW Collection

Model Lauren Bush, niece of President George W. Bush, is launching her first ready-to-wear collection under her label Lauren Pierce, featuring sustainable and organic fabrics.  Several of the collection’s pieces, which hit stores in Spring 2009, use cotton hand-dyed by women in the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of the Women for Women International program. Lauren Pierce will donate 10% of the profits to Women for Women International, which gives female survivors of conflict resources the means to achieve stability and become self-sufficient.

 

Maroon 5’s Lead Develops Instrument Line

Lifestyle music brand First Act unveiled its 222 by First Act 22-piece line of musical instruments created with Maroon 5’s lead singer/guitarist Adam Levine, available October 5 at Target. In addition to the line signature item, a white-on-white electric guitar with the Maroon 5 logo, 222 by First Act includes electric and acoustic guitar packages, amplifiers, and guitar accessories such as well as the 222 Learn Guitar Book geared at beginner, with featuring Maroon 5 songs.

 

Justin Timberlake To Host Charity Golf Tournament

The PGA Tour hits Las Vegas, NV, from October 13 - 19, during the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at the TPC Summerlin golf course.  The event also features a concert at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino Theater for Performing Arts on October 17, with performances by the Jonas Brothers, Rihanna, Leona Lewis, Maroon 5, Boyz II Men, Will.i.am, Esmee Denters and 50 Cent.  Proceeds will benefit Shriners Hospitals for Children, a group of 22 hospitals that offer specialty pediatric care, research and teaching programs, with a focus on treating orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries and cleft lip and palate for free.