Green Daily

Teen clothing stores say they're more than name-brand hoodies and trendy jeans. They're adding new projects to remind everyone that teenagers can have a social conscious, too.

Aeropostale just completed its Teens for Jeans campaign, during which it urged customers to donate their gently used pairs of jeans to their nearest Aeropostale stores so that they could be donated to homeless youth. And though the campaign has ended, the website directs readers to Do Something.org, which provides education about world issues and outlets for volunteering and promoting change.

And American Eagle Outfitters doesn't want to be left out, either. Its AE Better World campaign teams with three volunteer organizations, including The Student Conservation Association, or SCA (not to be confused, however, with the Society for Creative Anachronism). SCA members are high school and college students who help to restore the environment and protect national parks.

Hopefully, campaigns like these will continue to fight stereotypes that teenagers are nothing more than lazy, self-centered kids, and help people to realize that most are caring, dedicated individuals who really do care, and need more outlets to help them realize and demonstrate this compassion.