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During the month of February, one dynamic young Andalucian fashion company has been running a laudable charity initiative.
For every article of clothing sold in one of Silbon's eight stores, which are mostly located in this region, and on its online store, the menswear label which makes classic Anglophile smart and casual clothing (its logo is two crossed tennis rackets) has donated 1 euro to Down Cordoba, the provincial charity for those with this condition.
A generous offer, to be sure, but the other aspect of this month's initiative was a first for Spain: the model used in Silbon's ads is a man with Down's called Raul Rodriguez. This is the first time someone with the condition has appeared in a fashion company's advertising campaign.
In a video shot in the Jardines de Patos in Cordoba for the Compromiso Silbon initiative, Raul, who is 32 and has a keen sense of style, explains that he enjoys swimming (he's won a number of competitions), he travels independently, is working in the Delegacion de Salud and is going to do a course in new technology, and he wants to get a job.
The idea came about because one of the Silbon team had a child with Down's, which made the company more aware of the syndrome.
Co-founder Raul Lopez says "Everyone in the project wants to make a social commitment a reality."
"With this initiative of donating one euro for every item of clothing sold in our shops, we estimate that we will be able to donate 3000 euros to Down Cordoba," explains Lopez.
"El Syndrome de Down no es una enfermedad," says Raul. "No soy enfermo. Soy una persona adulta." (Down's Sydrome isn't an illness. I'm not ill. I'm an adult person.)
The Down Cordoba association aims to show that people with Downs can work on an equal level with people who aren't intellectually discapacitated.
Find out more on the Silbon blog, and in the video.
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