Overview:

- Detroit vs. Everybody has teamed up with We the People of Detroit to push for affordable water access.
- Their campaign features a limited-edition t-shirt to highlight water affordability issues and drive policy reform.
- This initiative builds on research and activism by We the People of Detroit, which has highlighted the health and social impacts of water shutoffs.
- The campaign urges residents to sign a Water Affordability Pledge, advocating for sliding-scale billing, anti-privatization measures, and an end to water shutoffs.

Sonja Bonnett knows what it’s like to live without water. The 44-year-old Detroit mother of seven has faced repeated shutoffs over the years, unable to keep up with bills that sometimes reached $600 a month. 

“There was no chance of catching up,” she told Planet Detroit.“Can you imagine not being able to get up and brush your teeth, take a shower, make a cup of coffee, or get a glass of water? It’s will-breaking.”

Her story underscores a long-term crisis in Michigan, where residents pay some of the highest water rates in the nation. A 2022 University of Michigan study found that Michiganders across demographics and geographies struggle to afford drinking water.

Now, local advocates and allies are turning to a new strategy to demand change.

Detroit vs. Everybody, the iconic apparel brand, has partnered with We the People of Detroit to launch a bold new campaign: “Water for Everybody.” 

The collaboration, announced in December on International Human Rights Day, includes a limited-edition t-shirt designed to raise awareness about water affordability and inspire policy change. The shirts will be available by World Water Day on March 22.

A campaign to make water affordable for all

The Water for Everybody campaign is part of a broader effort to call attention to water inequities across Michigan, according to Monica Lewis-Patrick, president of the water justice advocacy group We the People of Detroit. It encourages residents to sign a Water Affordability Pledge advocating for sliding-scale billing, protections against privatization and an end to water shutoffs.

“Water is a human right,” Lewis-Patrick said. “We sit on 20% of the world’s freshwater, yet so many people in our state can’t afford access to it. That’s unacceptable.”

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The campaign builds on years of research and activism by We the People of Detroit, which has documented the public health and social impacts of water shutoffs. The organization’s 2016 book, Mapping the Water Crisis, revealed how Detroit’s water policies disproportionately harm Black neighborhoods, tying the crisis to systemic inequities.

Detroit vs. Everybody CEO Sean Williams said the partnership reflects the brand’s commitment to social justice. 

“We have the pulse of the city,” Williams said. “We’re using our platform to further this fight for justice. We pride ourselves on being a double bottom line company, meaning while we are for profit, we are also for the people.”

Detroiters, northern Michiganders rally behind the cause

Community leaders like artist Halima Afi Cassells and social justice organizer Tawana Petty have joined the campaign, urging others to sign the pledge.

“More than 15 million American households have had their water shut off due to inability to pay, mostly households with children and elderly people in rural and urban areas. Water is a need for life. Join the movement for water justice. We can help stop the water crisis by advocating for national affordability legislation,” Cassells wrote on an Instagram post sharing the campaign.

Detroit vs. Everybody has also supported other social justice initiatives, including raising funds for the Boys and Girls Club in Flint during the height of the Flint Water Crisis. 

The brand also has an Africa vs. Everybody campaign and economic tourism initiative that will allow travelers to invest in Liberian startup companies. Williams is half-Liberian, and said he’s experienced water shortages while visiting the country. “One time I didn’t have water in my compound for five days,” Williams said. 

Anthony Spaniola, co-chair of the Great Lakes PFAS Action Network, also joined the campaign, drawing on his experience with Oscoda’s PFAS-contaminated water crisis. After receiving a 2016 state notice warning against drinking local water, Spaniola and others formed the network to advocate for clean water lines in their community, ultimately succeeding after years of effort and support from federal leaders.

“We still face challenges,” Spaniola said. “Many Oscoda residents can’t afford to connect to the water lines or pay the bills, leaving them stuck with contaminated water. Real change requires collective action, both locally and nationally.”

For Bonnett, the fight for water justice isn’t just about lowering bills—it’s about dignity. 

“When you don’t have water, everything is harder,” she said. “We deserve better, and this campaign gives me hope that change is possible.”

The Water for. Everybody t-shirts will be available for purchase ahead of World Water Day, with proceeds supporting advocacy efforts. Organizers hope the campaign will inspire action to ensure every household has access to clean, affordable water.

For more information about the Water Affordability pledge, see waterforeverybody.org.

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I have been a writer for as long as I can remember. It started with short stories and poetry when I was eight years old, continued with my time at the University of Toledo where I learned the ropes as a news reporter, and blossomed in Tokyo where I was a writer and Chief Editor at of one of the biggest English media companies in Japan.

Combining journalistic standards of accuracy and in-depth reporting with engaging storytelling is where I thrive. I have written about traveling in Japan, training as a Buddhist monk, university scandals, protests, breaking news, and beyond. If there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s paint a vivid picture with both words and visuals that will draw the reader straight into the story.

After a four-year journey working in Japan as an English teacher and digital content writer/editor, I am now based in my hometown of Detroit, Michigan.