Urban Outfitters has been selling USPS-branded apparel at typically high prices. But shoppers were dismayed to find out that none of the money actually goes to the USPS. In response, Urban Outfitters reportedly pulled the items—a $250 hoodie and $125 T-shirt—from its online store. The products were designed by streetwear brand…
Read MoreAuthor: Brendan Menapace
The Best of the DNC Merchandise as Convention Goes Virtual
With the Democratic National Convention going virtual, organizers had an opportunity to expand the merchandise offering a bit. There are still plenty of Milwaukee-centric items, touching on local culture like dairy farming and using the outline of Wisconsin, but there are things that play into the nationwide viewership…
Read More2020 Inc. 5000: What Promotional Products Companies Made the List
Each year, we dig through the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. to see which promo companies made the list. Here are the ones we found. While there are many traditional promo businesses on this list, not all of the companies we included fit the standard supplier/distributor profile…
Read MoreDye-Free Future? Australian Scientists Hack Cotton DNA to Grow All Different Colors
Researchers in Australia’s national science agency think they’ve found a way to tweak the molecular code of cotton so that it grows in all different colors. So far, they’ve created cotton in red, gold, purple and black in petri dishes, and hope to create reproducing plants in the near future. The implications for apparel manufacturing are pretty huge…
Read MoreSurvey Indicates These Major Industries Are Increasing Their Marketing Budgets
In a Merkle survey of industries such as health care, retail, finance, tech and nonprofit, 52 percent of respondents overall said they’ve increased their marketing spend over the last few months. For promotional distributors, this may be an indicator of the verticals that are able to spend some money again…
Read MoreApple Accused of Sourcing Employee Uniforms From Factories Connected to Forced Labor
Apple is facing criticism after shipping records revealed that it sourced apparel from a Chinese company facing U.S. sanctions for using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. The apparel was most likely uniforms for Apple Store employees. The timing is especially poor, as Apple CEO Tim Cook recently told Congress that he would not tolerate…
Read MoreHPG Combines ‘Foodie’ Appeal and Hard Goods With Batch & Bodega Brand Launch
HPG this week announced the launch of Batch & Bodega, a new brand that brings the supplier into the food gift category, bundling exclusive edible products from across the country with popular hard goods from HPG’s catalog to create unique kits. Customization is a huge part of these “batches,” and customers can choose design elements like high-end retail packaging and handwritten notecards for added personal detail…
Read MoreFDA Dangerous Hand Sanitizer List Tops 135, Adds Another U.S. Manufacturer
The FDA’s constantly-updating list of potentially harmful hand sanitizers has now risen to more than 135 products. Another U.S.-based manufacturer has now joined the list, too, with Dallas’s Santa Cruz Biotechnology initiating a voluntary recall. Georgia-based SG24 LLC also had to recall its SkinGuard24 All-Day Hand Sanitizer after it was labeled to contain methanol…
Read MoreAmerican Jewish History Museum Made $30K in One Day From Sales of ‘Yo Semite’ T-shirt
The National Museum of American Jewish History hit the jackpot when President Trump accidentally pronounced “Yosemite” as “Yo Semite.” The museum had been selling a shirt with that text on it since 2011, and sold thousands immediately after the president’s mistake went viral, generating $30,000 in a little over a day…
Read MoreLos Angeles Apparel Responds to LA Subpoena Over Workplace Practices
Los Angeles Apparel has responded to a subpoena from the city of Los Angeles looking to enforce compliance rules now that Los Angeles Apparel has reopened. The apparel company, founded by American Apparel founder and former CEO Dov Charney, was in the media spotlight after more than 300 workers in the company’s manufacturing facilities tested…
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