Running Clothing for a Cause

Women’s top. Photo provided. See more photos below.

Janji, which means “promise” in Malay, is a Brookline-based running apparel company that, according to cofounder Mike Burnstein, is “dedicated to fighting the global food and water crisis.” Each piece of clothing is inspired by a different country, and a portion of the company’s profits goes to organizations around the world that are dedicated to the cause. Janji’s “promise” is to use the power of running to create long-lasting positive social change. The running apparel is carried in more than 90 stores around the world.

Janji works with a different partner in six different countries: the U.S., Haiti, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Bangladesh.

Haiti partner: Meds & Food for Kids (MFK)
MFK focuses on ending malnutrition for children in Haiti by producing a peanut-butter-based nutritional medicine using local peanuts and in-country workers. Five weeks of treatment brings a child from malnourishment to complete health. Each piece of clothing purchased provides eight servings of nutritional medicine to a child in Haiti.

Kenya partner: KickStart
KickStart supplies rural Kenyan farmers with water pumps to irrigate their land, even during the dry season. Each piece of clothing purchased provides a growing season’s worth of water.

Rwanda Partner: MANA
MANA stands for “mother administered nutritive aid.” The group works to provide life-saving therapeutic food to children in Rwanda suffering from malnutrition. Each piece of clothing purchased provides three days of treatment for a malnourished child.

Tanzania Partner: MSABI
MSABI builds sustainable community water wells in rural Tanzania, which increases access to clean water and so reduces water-borne illness. Each piece of clothing purchased provides three Tanzanians 10 years of drinking water.

Bangladesh Partner: Helen Keller International (HKI)
HKI works to reduce micronutrient deficiency in Bangladesh and provides nutrient-rich fortified seeds for home food production. Purchased clothing provides a Bangladeshi family with seeds for two seasons.

USA Partner: Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB)
The Greater Boston Food Bank works to end hunger in the city.

Burnstein says that Janji was created as a way for runners to give back, each and every day they run. “We feel that Marathon weekend is the perfect opportunity to explain that message to thousands of runners,” he says.

Janji will have a Boston Marathon pop-up shop at 355 Newbury Street open Sunday and Marathon Monday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Janji men’s top. Photo provided.

Men’s running shorts. Photo provided.

Women’s running shorts. Photo provided.