Founder Note: Why Jad Sahyoun Started FALASTIN, a Palestinian Heritage Apparel Brand, in Montreal
Jad Sahyoun started FALASTIN in Montreal after months of looking for something specific and simple: clothing he could wear in solidarity with Palestine that did not corner him into an argument before he had said a word, and that was not mass-produced. He could not find it, so he built it. What began as a personal search became a Palestinian clothing line built around subtle, meaning-dense designs, and a permanent commitment to give away every dollar of profit.
Why Jad Sahyoun Started FALASTIN
TL;DR
Jad Sahyoun, a Palestinian born in Montreal, started FALASTIN because the existing options for showing solidarity with Palestine were either too loud (slogans that started an argument before a conversation could) or too surface-level (a keffiyeh print, a watermelon graphic), and the garments themselves were mass-produced with no real craft behind them. FALASTIN's designs carry real Palestinian symbols, researched and explained rather than printed for effect, on garments made to order rather than warehoused. 100% of profits from FALASTIN are donated to the United Palestinian Appeal, permanently, not as a campaign.
When Sahyoun went looking for something to wear, the market split into two lanes. One lane was loud: slogans and flags that made a statement so forceful it left no room for a second conversation. The other was surface-level: a keffiyeh pattern or a watermelon slice, dropped onto a shirt with no explanation of where the symbol came from or what it carried. Across both lanes, the clothing itself was ordinary. Nothing about the fabric, the cut, or the care that went into it suggested anyone had thought hard about the person wearing it.
That gap is what FALASTIN was built to close. Tatreez, the cross-stitch embroidery tradition practiced by Palestinian women for generations, is the clearest example of what the brand is chasing: a pattern that once told anyone who saw it which village a woman came from, carried by hand, taught by hand, never written down. A symbol like that deserves more than a print run. It deserves the research to get it right, and a garment built well enough to be worn for years, not one season.
Sahyoun grew up in the Montreal diaspora, which meant Palestine was mostly a story told at home rather than a place he could visit. That is a common enough experience for Palestinians born abroad, and it shapes a particular kind of hunger: not for a slogan to shout, but for something concrete to hold on to. A dress pattern with a name. A city with a history. A key that a grandparent still keeps. When that hunger has nowhere to go, it tends to settle for whatever is available, even when what is available is thin. FALASTIN exists so it does not have to settle.
What Makes FALASTIN Different From Other Palestinian Brands?
Deep, subtle designs carrying real meaning. Garments a person can wear anywhere: a coffee shop, a wedding, a gym, a protest, without provoking anyone emotionally, but that speak clearly to anyone who already knows the symbols. If you know, you know. That is the whole ethos, compressed into one line.
The pieces are made to order, produced by FALASTIN's fulfillment partner when a customer places an order rather than pulled from a warehouse of pre-made stock. There is no leftover inventory sitting in a bin waiting to be discounted. Every garment is 100% cotton, and every design is researched before it is drawn: a symbol's history, its regional variation, the reason it means what it means, worked out first, then put on fabric.
The 100% Profits Donation Model
FALASTIN covers its own costs, production, fulfillment, the basics of running a business, and every dollar of profit left over goes to the United Palestinian Appeal, a nonprofit that funds health, education, and community and economic development programs for Palestinians. Not a percentage. Not a seasonal campaign that runs for a few weeks and then quietly ends. The commitment is structural, meaning it does not expire and it does not shrink in a slow quarter. The full mechanics, what counts as profit, what UPA actually funds, are laid out plainly in how the donation model actually works.
Sahyoun built it this way on purpose. A brand that gives back a slice of a sale is making a marketing claim. A brand that gives away everything it does not need to survive is making a different kind of claim, one that holds up whether the quarter was good or bad.
Rooted in Community, Not Adjacent to It
FALASTIN is not a brand that sits at a distance from the community it draws from. It shows up: at Gaza Iftar fundraisers, at Palestinian Youth Movement gatherings, at Canadian Palestinian Federation of Quebec events, at Concordia Student Union cultural collaborations. Every event raises money for Palestinians on the ground, and every event pulls the brand back to the people it answers to. The same instinct shapes the product itself: pieces like the keffiyeh-pattern designs are built from real history rather than a flattened graphic, because the community wearing them will know the difference.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who founded FALASTIN?
FALASTIN was founded by Jad Sahyoun, a Palestinian born in Montreal. He started the brand after being unable to find Palestinian solidarity clothing that was well made and rooted in real historical meaning rather than slogans or surface-level prints.
Where is FALASTIN based?
FALASTIN is based in Montreal, Canada. It ships worldwide, with the exception of most of the Middle East and North Africa region, currently paused due to a high risk of lost-in-transit packages.
Does FALASTIN actually donate 100% of profits?
Yes. FALASTIN covers its own operating costs and donates every remaining dollar of profit to the United Palestinian Appeal, permanently, with no percentage cap and no expiry date on the commitment.
At FALASTIN, we aim to keep that heritage alive through our Palestinian Clothing collection.
100% of profits from FALASTIN are donated to the United Palestinian Appeal.