Amor Binders needs your help

Hey everyone, many of you will be familiar with my label Amor Binders  and the work I have been doing to make accessible and affordable chest binders available to the local trans community. For those who don’t know me, my name is Andy, and I am a queer, autistic, non-binary trans person.  Launching a range of accessible and affordable chest binders is something I have been passionately working towards for several years now, and is a dire need for the local trans and gender diverse community - even more now than ever. With affordable and safe binders being increasingly more difficult to access, and trans peoples' chest surgeries being cancelled or postponed due to COVID-19, the need to have locally made and available binders is desperately urgent.

It is fair to say that our entire community is struggling, and we are all in extremely challenging and difficult times together. I understand that many of you have very little to spare, so asking for financial support right now is not something that has been considered lightly. I am calling on those who are able to help to please consider supporting. You would not only be helping a small trans-owned business survive this pandemic, but would also be helping the wider trans and gender diverse community access a much needed, life changing product.

For those who need a bit of background, chest binders are compression garments used mostly by trans men and non-binary people, usually to alleviate gender dysphoria. For a lot of people who wear or seek to access chest binders, flattening the chest is psychologically necessary, and can make a massive positive difference for their mental, physical, and emotional well-being.

Unfortunately, safe and comfortable chest binders in Australia are mostly inaccessible, due to the high cost and long wait times of ordering binders from overseas. Often times people either resort to unsafe methods to bind their chests, or end up with binders that they have had to pay a small fortune for and wait many weeks – and now even months – to recieve, only to end up with binders that don’t fit their bodies.

Amor Binders are Australia’s first locally made chest binders, but currently these are not accessible for most people, as I have faced almost insurmountable barriers to officially launching this range of binders and making them available for online ordering. I am one person, trying to meet a demand that is impossible alone, particularly without the financial means and all the equipment needed to manufacture them efficiently.

I developed my first binder design over five years ago, after being extremely disappointed with what was available, and having had spent a significant amount of money on products that were frankly torture to wear. Since then I began making them for others, and further developed my designs, that are not only more comfortable to wear, but fit better on more people’s bodies. I’ve received almost nothing but positive feedback from happy customers who I have fitted binders to.

Not a day goes by that I am not receiving messages from people within the trans community, or parents of trans teens, who have heard about the binders that I make, often desperate to find binders that fit and are comfortable to wear. It is heart-wrenching hearing their stories and having to give disappointing news, and turn people away, knowing how few options they have to access safe and affordable binders, that actually fit their bodies.

It is no longer sustainable for me to continue operating making chest binders on my domestic machines, as I have been doing these past few years. To continue as I have been, I am not able to keep the binders affordable as well as charge enough to adequately cover my costs and labour, and I don't have the equipment needed to adhere to industry standards and regulations.

I had been working towards having them locally manufactured, and a lot of progress had been made. A small manufacturer in Melbourne was lined up, already with my fabric and binder patterns, ready to produce the first samples. However, due to COVID-19 and the new restrictions in place, the factory has had to close their doors, and my order has been pushed back indefinitely.

After many months of giving hope to the local trans community that there would soon be binders available to order online, it has been quite distressing and disheartening to find yet another barrier, and even longer till I’m able to offer my binder designs to the wider trans community. I have had to reassess things very quickly and make some difficult decisions.

In order to continue working towards my goal of launching my range of binders for online sales – which is the only means now to get them out to the trans community – I am going to need to manufacture them myself. This means I now need to purchase the equipment necessary to achieve this – a cost that I had not anticipated, and do not have the means to cover.

While I have financially backed this myself from the beginning, and have some funds set aside for materials costs, and other anticipated costs of production, the cost of purchasing this equipment is out of my means. Raising the needed funds will enable me to purchase the equipment needed and continue making the binders myself, without needing to outsource this labour – helping to get more binders to more people, quicker – and will also open up opportunities to employ other minorities.

The cost of acquiring the necessary industrial equipment alone for manufacturing exceeds 10,000AUD. Without the help of the community in raising some of the funds needed, I am not able to keep my business afloat and continue moving towards my goal of launching my chest binders in the near future.

Raising the target amount of 10,000AUD would help to cover some of the start-up costs for manufacturing my binder designs in-house, including purchasing the industrial sewing machines and other equipment necessary for manufacturing garments. Any additional funds raised will go towards renting a larger space for production, purchasing supplies, and hiring other minorities within the queer, trans and disability community to take on some of the roles needed to successfully run the business.

By supporting this crowdfund you will be helping this small, independent trans-owned business survive the pandemic, and enable Amor Binders to continue operating, supplying much needed, and life changing chest binders for the local trans and gender diverse community.

Any help, big or small, will be much appreciated ♥ Every little bit counts.

Sincerely, Andy  - founder and owner of Amor Binders.

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To give an extra thank-you to everyone who donates I am now offering rewards!

Patches!


Nikki Darling Gift Vouchers!

$15AUD+

Social Media shout-out

Donate $15AUD or more and Andy will specially thank you for your donation and mention you in a story shout-out on Amor Binders social media.



$50AUD+

Pride patch + social media shout-out + personal thank you

Donate $50AUD or more and you can choose to receive one pride patch of your choice or an AMOR patch to proudly show your support, plus an optional social media story shout-out, and a personalised thank you note from Andy.

or

Nikki Darling Gift Voucher + personal thank you

Donate $50AUD or more and you can choose to receive a $25AUD Nikki Darling Gift Voucher*, plus an optional social media story shout-out, and a personalised thank you note from Andy. (only two available).



$100AUD+

Three pride patches + social media shout-out + personal thank you 

Donate $100AUD or more and you can choose to receive three pride patches of your choice, an optional social media story shout-out, plus a personalised thank you note from Andy.



$200AUD+

Four pride patches + AMOR patch + social media shout-out + personal thank you 

Donate $200AUD or more and you can choose to receive four pride patches of your choice, an AMOR patch to proudly show your support, an optional social media story shout-out, and a personalised thank you note from Andy.

Or

Nikki Darling Gift Voucher + AMOR patch + social media shout-out + personal thank you 

Donate $200AUD or more and you can choose to receive a Nikki Darling Gift Voucher* valued at $100AUD, an AMOR patch to proudly show your support, an optional social media story shout-out, and a personalised thank you note from Andy. (only two available).



$500AUD+

Twelve pride patches + AMOR patch + social media shout-out + personal thank you

Donate $500AUD or more and you can choose to receive twelve pride patches of your choice, an AMOR patch to proudly show your support, plus an optional social media story shout-out, and a personalised thank you note from Andy.

Or

Pride binder + AMOR patch + social media shout-out + personal thank you

Donate $500AUD or more and you can choose to receive a pre-ordered binder* in a limited-edition exclusive pride print designed by Andy, a pride patch of your choice, an AMOR patch to proudly show your support, plus an optional social media shout-out, and a personalised thank you note.



$1000AUD+

Pre-order two binders in exclusive pride prints + Pride Patches + social media shout-out + personal thank you

Donate $1000AUD or more and you can choose to receive two pre-ordered binders* in your choice of available colours or limited edition pride prints designed by Andy, plus twelve pride patches of your choice, an AMOR patch to proudly show your support, an optional social media story shout-out, and a personalised thank you note.



$5000AUD+

Sponsor an exclusive pride print design + support a trans charity of your choice + personal thank you

Sponsor a limited-edition exclusive pride print*, designed by Andy, and have your name or business listed as a sponsor on Amor Binders website and social media. Choose an Australian based organisation or charity that supports trans and queer people, and 20% of all sales in this exclusive print design will be donated to this cause. Plus, pre-order a binder or another garment by negotiation in this exclusive print design*.




To claim a reward, please contact Andy via email  within one week of making a donation, attach a screen shot of your GoFundMe donation receipt, mention which reward you would like, and give postal address if applicable.



PLEASE NOTE: PATCHES WILL BE SENT OUT IN OCTOBER.


*Pre-orders of binders and other garments will be available for shipping after the first run of binders has been manufactured. Only approximate dates can be given at this stage, as the COVID-19 situation has caused timelines to be unpredictable. Official launch date is likely going to be in December 2020, however this is reliant on restrictions lowering and supplies being available. Chest binder sizes range from XS – 5XL. Andy will be in contact to guide size selection before shipment.

*Print design will be selected from available designs created by Andy. Designs will be finalised in October 2020.

*Nikki Darling Gift Vouchers are limited, once gone this reward won't be available. Please check if reward is still available if you would like to receive this reward specifically.