A group of Ottawa teens concerned about the state of racial relations around the world have come up with a unique way to promote diversity. All from different backgrounds the youth are using their love of fashion to send a message.

The seven teens from St. Joseph Catholic High School have started a clothing company called Oscar Tango or OT for short.  The group said the abbreviation stands for Ottawa as well as Out of Town, which represents both where they live now and where their families have come from.

“We all are different ethnicities, but when we hang out it’s like we’re all basically one and we don’t even notice we’re different skin colours and backgrounds,” said one the designers, Kallel Coltess.

The clothing items have the company logo in English on the front with that same logo written in their different languages on the back to promote acceptance.

“With all the racial tension in the U.S, just all around the world we thought this was a perfect time to have this message of diversity and equality,” Coltess said.

The group said most of the members are second or third generation Canadians and that is something they are proud of. They hope their designs help others feel equally as welcome.

“We’re teenagers, we don’t have the biggest voice and we want to show that we make a bigger voice for ourselves and make something bigger than us, and make something better, leave it better than we found it,” said another member, Jay Mills.    

The group can be reached on Twitter and Instagram