Words by Smiley Team
A clothes boutique is doing things differently in Portland, Oregon, by advocating for social justice issues and championing body positivity.
The Mary Rose boutique is on a mission to be size inclusive and sustainable – and it’s accompanying nonprofit organisation, The Mary Rose Foundation, helps fund treatment for people struggling with eating disorders.
“I founded the Mary Rose Foundation after overcoming a 15-year battle with anorexia and bulimia," CEO Julie Allen tells Smiley News.
"My eating disorder nearly cost me my life on many occasions, and the cost of treatment is astronomical. It is approximately $2,000 a day for a person without insurance to access residential treatment in the United States."
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Eating disorder treatment saves lives, says Julie, but it's inaccessible to many people. "My parents took out a second mortgage on their house in order to pay for my treatment when I was growing up, and I always had this idea of paying them back," she says.
"Over 10 years later, I founded this nonprofit, and we have helped several people get access to treatment they would have not otherwise been able to afford. A portion of all sales at the boutique is donated to the nonprofit, and it is what keeps me going on difficult business days. The foundation is truly at the heart of our business.”
Eating disorders are incredibly complex diseases. Research shows there are a combination of biological, psychological, and societal factors.
“We live in a diet culture-obsessed society that defines our worth by our body size," says Julie. "We are taught that a small body is morally superior to a larger body. This diet culture mentality undoubtedly plays a role in the development of eating disorders.
"It is by no means the entire picture, but it definitely plays a role."
The Mary Rose Foundation has developed educational outreach programs that take the form of art-based body positive groups for teens and tweens, explains Julie. "Our goal is to empower our youth to love and accept themselves as they are, in hopes of preventing eating disorders, as well.”
“The amount of pain that a person with an eating disorder is in, is often indescribable," she says. "There is so much more than meets the eye. At the end of the day, eating disorders are about control and making life manageable."
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Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, the Mary Rose Foundation has been unable to hold a fundraising event. The typical fundraisers it runs take the form of an in-person fashion show, but it has not been able to do this since September 2019.
The boutique has been the primary support for the foundation through the pandemic. In 2020, the foundation was able to award three treatment scholarships for people. In 2021, it shifted its focus to develop educational outreach programs for youth. Now, it's focused on both scholarship fulfilment and education programmes.
“I believe young people need to be taught they are worthy no matter what body they live in," says Julie. "I believe morals and body size are not related, and we need to change the narrative around body acceptance. Breaking the diet culture cycle starts with us.”
You can make a donation to The Mary Rose Foundation on its website, which will be used to help expand its programmes, and open up its scholarship applications. Find out more at maryrosefoundation.org.
