• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, August 4, 2017

With back-to-school shopping in full swing, JC Penney is hoping to appeal to parents’ softer side, providing new socks and underwear for low-income kids.

Called “Pair Up With JC Penney,” the cause-related effort, in partnership with the Y, urges parents to “buy one, give one” when they’re outfitting their kids for the Big Day.

A video focusing on the shame some kids feel over lacking those essentials is running on its social channels. The Plano, Tex.-based retailer says that for every pair of kids socks and underwear it sells, it will match with a donation, up to 750,000 pairs. It says it based the campaign on research that finds that 40% of low-income parents say that they worry about their kids having socks and underwear. And of those who said they had sent their children to school without, 51% said they did so because they can’t afford enough pairs to make it through a school week. Almost half of those parents say socks and underwear are very difficult to find at second-hand stores.

JC Penney’s previous work with the Y includes a $1 million donation from the JCPenney Foundation earlier this year, supporting its preschool, afterschool and early childhood programs.

To further woo the back-to-school crowd, Penney has also expanded its City Streets private label brand to include sportswear and fashion accessories for the entire family. It had relaunched the brand back in the spring, and says that the 40% faster production cycle will help it keep up with the fast-fashion competition. And that line, too, has a cause initiative, with anti-bullying t-shirts, encouraging kids with slogans like “Choose Nice” and “Super Heroes Stick Up For Everyone.” Those come with hangtags directing kids to Teen Line, a crisis hotline that helps kids through bullying situations.

Now that the calendar has turned to August, consumers can expect to see plenty more BTS offers. Kantar Media reports that BTS advertising is the second biggest ad-spending event of the year after the Christmas period, with both retailers and non-retailers spending $251 million on TV, radio, print, cinema, internet display (both desktop and mobile) and online video I 2015. That represents a 12% increase from the prior year.