Janji is an independent athletic clothing company based in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. The company donates some of its proceeds to charities dedicated to improving access to clean water and advertises itself as being responsible and socially-conscious.

History

Janji was founded by David Spandorfer and Michael Burnstein when they were students at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

. The original name of the business was "Edele." They changed the name, co-founder David Spandorfer said, because people could not figure out how to pronounce "Edele" and often confused the name with

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...

. "Janji," its current and permanent name, means "promise" in Malay. In 2010, Spandorfer and Burnstein won $15,000 in the Youthbridge Social Enterprise and Innovation Competition (SEIC) at Washington University; in 2011, they won an additional $20,000 from the UCCS Sports/Outdoors Business Plan Competition. In May 2012, Janji launched their first product line at Big River Running, a specialty running store in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. This first product line released shirts and shorts designed based on the flags of Haiti and Kenya.

Charities

Janji works with partner organizations based in the countries they sponsor, with a focus on charities and nonprofits dedicated to providing water to developing nations. In an interview with a local newspaper in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline () is an affluent town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. An exclave of Norfolk County, Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton ...

, Michael Burnstein, co-founder, emphasized that Janji looks for organizations that provide "innovative" and "proven" solutions to the global water crisis. * In

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

and

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, Janji works with

water.org Water.org is an international nonprofit organization that helps people living in poverty get access to safe water and improved sanitation through affordable financing. This organization was founded by Matt Damon and Gary White. Water.org curren ...

. * In

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

, Janji works with

Living Water International Living Water International is a faith-based non-profit organization that helps communities in developing countries to create sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programs in response to the global water crisis.Moore, Mike, 2003, ''A Wo ...

. * In

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

, Janji is partnered with

MSABI MSABI is a non-governmental organization founded by Dale Young in 2009 in Ifakara, Tanzania. Its projects focus on water sanitation, hygiene, and education. Name and history Engineer Dale Young moved to Tanzania in 2007 with his partner who w ...

References

{{Reflist Sporting goods manufacturers of the United States American companies established in 2012 Manufacturing companies based in Boston