Soma Intimates Launches Nationwide Bra Donation Campaign

FORT MYERS, Fla., July 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Soma Intimates, the women's retailer known for beautiful, innovative intimate and lifestyle apparel, is launching a nationwide bra drive to benefit women in need. From July 15th – July 28th, 2010, Soma Intimates will collect new and gently used bras in over 100 Soma Intimates locations.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100712/FL33424LOGO )

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100712/FL33424LOGO )

"We've learned that thousands of women and girls across the country are in need of bras," states Laurie Van Brunt, Soma Intimates' Brand President. "A bra is one of the least donated, but most needed items for the homeless and victims of domestic violence. While donating a bra may sound like a small thing, it makes a big difference to women who have to make the choice between putting food on the table and buying a bra."

The gently used bras will be donated to local women's shelters and breast cancer support groups. If a donated bra is not wearable, The Bra Recyclers, a textile recycling organization, will recycle the bra components to ensure that no bra ends up in a landfill.  In addition, Soma Intimates will donate more than 1,000 new bras to Dress for Success.

"Having a clean bra to wear is something that most women take for granted. This is our chance to directly influence the lives of deserving women by providing them with a simple lingerie staple - a recycled bra," states Elaine Birks-Mitchell, CEO of The Bra Recyclers.

"Dress for Success is grateful for the generous support of Soma Intimates," states Blair Badenhop, corporate contributions manager of Dress for Success Worldwide. "Hundreds of women will benefit from Soma's incredible bra donation."

For more information about the bra donation event, please visit www.soma.com/givebras.

About Soma Intimates

Soma Intimates, a division of Chico's FAS, Inc. (NYSE: CHS), is dedicated to offering supremely comfortable, high quality bras, panties, sleepwear and activewear in a welcoming environment. Soma's mission is to make women look and feel wonderful by offering designer quality at affordable prices through luxurious fabrics, delightful Soma touches, and highly personalized customer service with trained Soma fit experts. Soma Intimates currently operates over 100 boutique and outlets across the country and www.soma.com.

About The Bra Recyclers

The Bra Recyclers is a division of Bosom Buddy Recycling, LLC based in Gilbert, AZ. They are a textile recycling company specializing in recycling bras and donating a portion of bras to deserving women in communities around the world. Established in October of 2008, The Bra Recyclers has expanded its supports to 19 organizations around the country by providing them with recycled bras. The Bra Recyclers does its part to impact the environment by delaying the amount of unused bras/textiles that go to landfills, thus reducing the pressure on virgin resources. For more information visit www.brarecycling.com

About Dress for Success

Dress for Success is an international not-for-profit organization that promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. Since starting operations in 1997, Dress for Success has expanded to more than 100 cities in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, the UK and the West Indies. To date, Dress for Success has helped more than 550,000 women work towards self-sufficiency. Visit www.dressforsuccess.org to learn more.

SOURCE Soma Intimates