(By KELSIE DAVIS)

Austin, Texas is known for abstract ideas, but better known for how Austinites present them with conviction.

For example, take runway models. There is a local event for people with different shapes, sizes, genders, races, ages and just the way they live their lives. Participants all come together for a fashion show seeking a great future: Fashion For Good.

Fashion For Good organizers say they have a strong motive to do good for others around them. One intent is to change the thought of what it means to be a runway model.

They team up with many nonprofit organizations in Texas and have volunteers model in certain brands. An example of this was on Nov. 22, during a runway event at The Domain in Austin.

Organizers get with these nonprofit organizations and allow volunteers, including cancer patients, rescued dogs in need of a home, women who survived sex-trafficking, people with various disabilities, and war veterans, model one of the supporting brands.

The event was fully-decorated with funky music playing. This caused a lot of shoppers’ heads to turn, eventually leading to a large crowd. Bystanders stopped to watch, intrigued with the atypical 5-foot-9 models strutting down the catwalk.

Before the runway began, Matthew Sweeney, the CEO of Fashion For Good, spoke to those gathered. Tearing up,  Sweeney spoke about the models who are survivors of sex trafficking.

“Take a second to think about what these women have been through,” he said. “These women are very strong, and I respect them so much, so please respect them as they come out.”

He talked about the models and how they are all very diverse in their own unique ways — physically and cognitively — and that is what Fashion For Good is all about. Runway models should mirror that fashion is for everyone, he said.

Participants blushed and smiled as attendees cheered them on. Some stood up for some of the models as they walked down the runway, influencing others around them to stand and cheer as well.

Fashion For Good partners with and features nonprofit organizations in every event, with a portion of ticket sales going to the nonprofit partner. According to their website, “The average American throws away 82 pounds of textile waste each year and the fashion industry is the second largest polluter in the world.”

Fashion For Good gets together with brands that put much more thought into the materials that they choose.

Organizers with Fashion For Good said they plan to keep running events for a long while. Details about upcoming events can be found on their website.