Cotton prices have hit a two-year high after dry weather affected crops and concerns grow over products sourced from forced labor in China. According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Department of Agriculture expects the smallest domestic cotton yield in five years. One farmer in Texas told WSJ that drought has reduced his cotton harvest by about a third this year…
Read MoreAuthor: Brendan Menapace
Printify Drops Kyle Rittenhouse Merchandise Created by Family
In December, Printify, the on-demand custom merchandise platform, was selling “Free Kyle” merchandise created by the family of Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager charged with shooting and killing two people and injuring one during the August protests in Kenosha, Wis. Last week, Printify issued a statement that it will no longer sell the merchandise, claiming that it violates company policy…
Read MoreRaining Rose Inc.’s Jon Hicks Named PPAChicago Volunteer of the Year
Jon Hicks, midwest sales executive for Raining Rose Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was named the 2020 Volunteer of the Year by the Promotional Professionals Association of Chicago (PPAChicago). PPAChicago is a not-for-profit trade association made up of promotional product industry…
Read MoreKFC Made a Fully Functional Video Game Console That Also Heats Up Chicken
The holiday shopping frenzy might’ve been dominated by the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, but one gaming platform raised the most eyebrows (and smelled the best). We’re talking about the KFConsole, a fully functional branded video game console made by KFC that also keeps chicken warm…
Read MoreBudweiser Sent Personalized Beer Bottles to Every Goalkeeper Lionel Messi Scored On
To celebrate soccer superstar Lionel Messi’s goal-scoring milestone, Budweiser sent 644 personalized beer bottles to all of the goalkeepers Messi scored on. Each label had the corresponding goal number printed on it, and the beer came in a custom box…
Read MoreERB Industries Announces Acquisition by Delta Plus Group
ERB Industries Inc., doing business as ERB Safety and Fame Fabrics, a manufacturer of personal protective equipment and commercial apparel, announced that the company has been acquired by Delta Plus Group, headquartered in Apt, France. Delta Plus Group is a premier global manufacturer of head-to-toe safety equipment for workers in construction and general industry. For…
Read MoreNow Travis Scott Has a Co-Branded Seltzer with Anheuser-Busch
We can’t think of many artists more marketable right now than Travis Scott. In 2020 alone, he’s teamed up with LeBron James to design T-shirts for high school seniors, worked with McDonald’s for the first of its extremely expansive artist tie-in projects, and released video game accessories (and got sued over it). This is all…
Read MoreHow the Detroit Pistons Won Over More Than Just Basketball Fans With an Apparel Line
The Detroit Pistons’ marketing department wanted to appeal to more than just the city’s basketball fans. They wanted to appeal to everyone in Detroit. By using some local pride, e-commerce capability and streetwear influence, they’ve appealed to more than just their ticket holders.
Read MoreStandard Issue’s T-shirt/Soap Bundle Is a Fresh Take on Kitting
Everyone loves a bundle. Pairings aren’t just limited to wine and cheese, either. There are plenty of things that pair well with apparel. If you ask a lot of modern artists, albums work well with merchandise, but that’s part of a scheme to boost album sales. If you ask Standard Issue what goes well with…
Read More2020 Wrap-Up: 10 of Our Biggest Apparel Stories of the Year
It’s been an interesting few months for apparel. Workwear suddenly became a lot more casual, as “Zoom shirts” became a thing. A good pair of sweatpants were suddenly more valuable than gold, and we even saw the dawn of “Sicker.” In addition to pandemic-specific stories from this year, fashion continues to move forward at its…
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