Wear your heart on your sleeve: 7 locally made T-shirts that support a Minnesota cause

Let the world know how you feel about causes near and dear to you. These comfy summer tees all spring from local organizations and people pushing for change. From finding homes for abandoned cats to supporting a greener planet, there's a shirt that lets you wear your beliefs.

Leslie E. Redmond, a former Minneapolis NAACP president, is the entrepreneur and activist behind this brand that aims to inspire people to get involved in their communities. A related podcast focuses on the Black experience. Buyers select the community rate ($25) or activator ($35) rate. leslieredmond.com/shopdca

Every tee plants a tree at Hawthorn Co. Co-founders Mitch Bermel and Vincent Liu both attended Carleton College, and used their love of the outdoors and travel as inspiration to launch the environmentally conscious product line. $24, hawthornclothing.com

Olivia Antilla created Ball Better Clothing for athletes and fans to give back to their communities. For a recent campaign, Ball Better gave backpacks filled with workbooks, reading materials, flash cards, coloring books and crayons to 100 local first-graders. $20, facebook.com/ballbetterclothing

Stephanie Dillon's hip T-shirts make a statement without making a big impact on the environment. Each is a one-of-a-kind upcycled shirt that's been reimagined with original art; purchases support Citizen T's commitment to sustainable "slow fashion." From $39, citizen-t.com

After the civil unrest in response to the killing of George Floyd, local illustrator Lisa Engler created this design to help support the businesses and residents along Lake Street. All profits go to support the We Love Lake Street rebuilding campaign. $30; visitlakestreet.com/welovelakestreet

As the pandemic took a toll on the hospitality industry, the North Stands stepped in to support displaced local workers. They've expanded their mission to help Black and brown restaurant owners and chefs, too. $25; thenorthstands.org