fore they appear pregnant, and a study in the scientific journal Nature explained how a woman’s stability and posture is significantly altered in order to accommodate a growing fetus beginning early on in pregnancy. But with varying body types, bulky coats and crowded venues, I don’t think that it’s ever really possible to know who is pregnant. My hope is that UPSTAND products will help expecting mothers navigate these waters before they have to experience anything unsafe. BORO: The buttons are brilliant. Can you share any success stories of women wearing them? CSY: Thank you! We plan to spotlight an UP-STANDer each month on our website. Most recently, we interviewed Dereck Knight, a supporter from Boston. He said, “For the last two years I have spent about an hour and 20 minutes a day commuting to work. The number of times I have seen people ignore not only pregnant women, but anyone in need of a seat, is disturbing. I joined the UP-STAND movement in hopes that, through greater awareness and personal accountability, commuting can become a less stressful experience for everyone involved. When I’m traveling and a question is asked about the pin, I take great happiness in taking a minute to pause my music and explain the premise behind it.” Catch his full interview on our website. BORO: Have you sold many buttons so far? CSY: We’ve been on the market for about three months, and while we haven’t made the impact we’d like yet, the movement is building and growing. Two positive things have been the support of the movement in this area (we’re sold at The Brass Owl and Tiny You), and the fact that we’ve sold an equal num- ber of pins to pregnant women and their supporters. BORO: Are there any other products you have planned? CSY: We’ve been focused on the pins since it’s coat season in a lot of areas across the country where public transportation is utilized, but with warmer weather on the horizon and the movement catching on in public spaces nationwide, we plan to expand our offerings. We’re considering other items like bag tags, stickers and zipper pulls, but customer feedback will of course be one of the most important determinants to our growth. BORO: Are there other things you do to raise awareness? CSY: We plan to host a solidarity ride to raise awareness for the UP-STAND movement in the spring, in which expecting moms, supporters and their children can come together to ride the subways as a team while wearing their UP-STAND apparel. Look for more to come on that by following us on social media. More generally, UP-STAND recently joined forces with Bergen County Doulas to collect donations for the Women’s Support Center in Yerevan, Armenia. Both of us run businesses that focus on supporting women, and we wanted to donate our time to an organization that shared that mission. Just under 700 gently used items are on their way to Armenia in the first shipment, and that’s only onethird of what we collected. BORO: How can our readers get involved? CSY: There are lots of ways to join the movement. You can find our products on our site www. up-stand.com, and on Amazon, Etsy, Pinterest and Facebook, as well as at The Brass Owl and Tiny You. Visit our website or follow our accounts on Instagram or Facebook to find out more about upcoming awareness events. And please tag us with #up_standmovement on social media—we would love to see UP-STAND work for you! february 2016 I BOROMAG.COM I 19
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