EthixMerch blogs

Be Humane. Be Kind. Be Mindful of your Purchasing Power.

Sera — Thu, 09 May 2013 20:59:00 +0000

American Humane Association says Be Kind!

All of us in the Ethix offices have loved ones we share our homes and hearts with. Some of them are furry, cuddly, or even at times aloof (but who isn't?!). They are each an extension of our families. We join with the American Humane Association: we promote kindness to all living things! We aim to "Be Humane" in the work that we do every day - supporting workers by offering sweatfree apparel and keepsake promo products.

Our extended Ethix family members:

Ethical Merchandise for Animal Lovers...

...and for lovers of human rights!

July 4th BBQ Gear and More- A Patriotic Product Spotlight

Sera — Thu, 09 May 2013 19:15:20 +0000

Memorial Day Weekend is fast approaching! Be ready for the summer holidays with patriotic gear for Memorial Day and July 4th: from flag lapel pins to American made baseball caps...

Get ready for Independence Day on July 4th, where all Americans feel proud to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Having a company picnic or group event? Let them wear their pride on their sleeves - literally! - with custom American made T-shirts.

Spread that American pride with USA made custom baseball hats or flag lapel pins. Send patriotic revelers home with logo customized USA made coolers they'll use all summer! We have great American made promotional items for your summertime events.

Earth Day 2013: Ethical Merchandise Clean Up!

Sera — Fri, 03 May 2013 16:40:28 +0000

Promote Your Earth Day Cleanup with High Quality Promotional Products


Worcester city officials gearing up for Earth Day with Regional Environmental Council boardmembers.	Earth Day in Worcester, MA -- rewarding volunteers with food and ethically sourced tees!	The Canal District's small businesses came out to beautify their neighborhood. Crompton Collective at work.

Eco-friendly Event Purchasing

We are proud to work with some wonderful unions and organizations on a daily basis. When Earth Day rolls around, many of these groups order t-shirts for action days, clean-ups, and other great eco-projects. Two of our clients -- Regional Environmental Council (REC) of Central Massachusetts and IBEW Local 1245 in California - were kind enough to send photos of their events.

As an environmental justice organization that works to promote equal access to healthy, sustainable environments, it's important to us that we source our t-shirts from a company that does the same. It's a great mission fit, we're able to practice what we preach, and it keeps us coming back every year.

-Terra of Regional Environmental Council (REC)

"Blue" AND "Green" Merch for Earth Day

REC is an environmental group, and IBEW 1245 is a labor union, but the purchasing decisions of both groups embody the spirit of the blue/green movement (labor action meets environmental action.)

Eco-Friendly Pens, Highlighters & Pencils Support Your Environmental Message

Sera — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:30:33 +0000

Our full array of USA and Union Made eco-friendly writing instruments.

3 R's in Socially Responsible...Writing

No, I don't mean the writing itself, but just as important- what you use to write with. When it comes to protecting the environment, even the impact of a small bit of plastic used to make a pen can make a difference! Consider having your next order of promotional pens made from repurposed currency, reused cardboard, recycled plastic, or bio-based corn plastic!

Reducing your Promotion's Impact on the Earth

By purchasing recycled and recyclable promotional products you reduce your carbon footprint - even for relatively small items such as every day writing instruments. We offer FSC certified wooden pencils as well as all organic content corn plastic highlighters to help even the most eco-conscious clients reduce their environmental impact.

Reusing Materials Creatively for New Promotional Items

Robin Hood Rallies this Weekend: ACT UP & Nurses United to Unleash Power in DC

Sera — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 18:38:23 +0000

We're Proud to Support our Clients' Activism

Ethix has been honored to collaborate with ACT UP: AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power in their work to end criminalization of HIV/AIDS. The Classic "Silence=Death" organization T-shirts produced by Ethix Merch were conceived by ACT-UP when they formed to force the federal and local government to respond to the AIDS epidemic. (Those promotional slogan t-shirts are available at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe (NYC) and will be available online shortly!).The buttons and T-shirts we've produced for ACT UP's direct actions pay homage to the roots of the AIDS epidemic and subsequent activism.

Now ACT UP NY and National Nurses United Take On "Robin Hood Rallies"

On April 20th, this Saturday, ACT UP NY and National Nurses United will join forces in DC to demand a Robin Hood Tax - proposing to tax Wall Street trading transactions to fund social causes including global health and education.

The rally was scheduled to coincide with the meeting of G20 leaders, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). [Find a Robin Hood Rally near you at the bottom of this blog!] As usual, ACT UP is media-savvy: their first action on April 15, 1987 was held at the New York City General Post Office where a captive audience was mailing out their taxes - an event always covered by the media. Surely the G20/World Bank/IMF meetings will be getting their share of media coverage as well, so we anticipate the DC Robin Hood Rally will be benefit from that.

Objective: Tax Wall Street to Fund Health, Climate, Jobs, and Education

The Robin Hood Tax Campaign describes the objectives of this weekend's rally:

"Wall Street banks and corporations are raking in record profits while our communities continue to suffer job losses and cuts to public programs. Instead of lining the pockets of corporate fat cats, this money should go to our children’s Head Start programs, Grandma’s retirement, and fixing our broken healthcare system. It’s time for the administration to stand with the people and TAX WALL STREET. Join us April 20 as we march to the White House

Eco-Friendly Trade Show Promotions

Sera — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 14:55:18 +0000

Environmentally-Friendly Trade Show Promotional Products


RPET Tees by Royal Apparel	Recycled Tire Products	Collapsible Imprintable Bottles	Infinitely Useful Plastic Items

Ethix Merchant Adventurer Melissa models her trade show giveaway collection at a convention and Promotional Products Trade Show.

Design a Trade Show Giveaway that Lasts

Our Merchant Adventurers are always on the lookout for new and innovative eco-friendly promotional products for our customers. We want their promotions at conventions, conferences, and trade shows to keep broadcasting their brand for a long time. And as always, we focus on Union Made promotional products and custom USA Made promotional items.

Quality Promotional Items for Consistent Branding

Some wholesale promotional products that reinforce your branding and support environmentally-conscious purchasing include:

- reusable water bottles imprinted with your logo

- promotional t-shirts made from eco-friendly fabrics

- BPA-free plastic drinkware or chip clips made from recycled plastic

- customized jar openers made from recycled rubber

Advertise your Brand with Eco-Friendly Wholesale Promotional Products

Sometimes it's hard for people to define "eco-friendly". This is especially true with promotional T-shirts - it can be hard to know what is truly environmentally friendly apparel. To help our customers, we created a free downloadable guide to eco labeled fabrics. It sheds light on which fabrics are truly most environmentally friendly, from seed to fabric. If you're looking for a promotional T-shirt that's the most eco-friendly, we recommend our Made in the USA organic cotton tees.

Creating Memorable Promotions: Earth Day Promotional T's for Climate Reality Project

Sera — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 21:04:43 +0000

Creating Promotional Messages that "Stick"

How do you create a promotional product with a message that really resonates and has staying power? What makes a message memorable, like "Where's the Beef?" or "Got Milk?"

We think our customer The Climate Reality Project got it right with these eco-friendly promotional T-shirts sporting their cheeky message "I'm Too Hot." But what makes it such a good message?

Three Steps to Creating a Memorable Slogan

Now researchers at Cornell University are figuring out what makes a slogan, quote or tagline memorable. Your promotional slogan should have distinctive content with a simple structure:

1. Use few personal pronouns

2. Be in present or future tense

3. Use indefinite articles (i.e. "a" or "an" instead of "the")

Memorable Messages Apply to Other Contexts

For longevity, your slogan or message should be applicable in other contexts. Therefore, we think "I'm Too Hot" is going to have a super long life!

What high school teen doesn't want to sport this promotional T-shirt at the beach this summer? While being "a hottie" is not the goal in the context of global warming, this promotional T-shirt message has appeal to a really wide audience for sure!

Choosing the Right Promotional Product for the Message

Eco Friendly Wedding Favor Giveaways

Sera — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 19:02:23 +0000

Go Green On YOUR Big Day

You know your wedding guests are going to expect wedding favors as a reminder of your special day. It's fun to give wedding souvenirs to the special people celebrating with you. There are lots of eco-friendly alternatives for customized party favors - I must confess I've gotten to research this first-hand as I am taking my own wedding vows in just a few days! So let me share my eco-friendly customized wedding favor ideas with you.

Eco-Friendly Party Favors, Galore!

Give your wedding guests custom eco-friendly party favors they'll use over and over again! Here's how to make your wedding more green:

Clearly mark your reception spot with biodegradable, USA made balloons in colorful bunches. Your guests are sure to find their way to the party with these bright latex bouquets!
Having an outdoor wedding? Embroidered baseball caps in white or whatever your "wedding colors" are make a super wedding party favor they'll wear all season.
Serving bottled craft brews at your reception? Imprint locally made metal keychain bottle openers with the wedding date. Now you've got a wedding giveaway guests can use during the reception and then at home. They also make great bridesmaid gifts and gifts for groomsmen.
Imprint reusable metal water bottles with your wedding date and a fun slogan that reminds your guest of the special wedding day you shared. Or set your wedding tables with custom printed ceramic mugs at each guest's place, featuring your favorite romantic quote or simply your wedding date.

Colette Cosner Shines a New Light on Domestic Fair Trade

Sera — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 17:01:54 +0000

We would like to join The Domestic Fair Trade Associaiton in welcoming their new Executive Director, Colette Cosner. Colette comes to DFTA after spending years as the Regional Organizer of Witness for Peace Northwest, serving on the board of the Washington Fair Trade Coalition and most recently working for sustainable agricultural policy reform through Cultivate Impact, a non-profit project of the Trust for Conservation Innovation.

Ethix Merch: Stepping into the ED role at DFTA in 2013, what are a couple of your goals for the organization in your first year?

Colette Cosner: One of the organizational goals I am most excited about this year is growing our membership and capacity. The Domestic Fair Trade Principles are only relevant in so far as they can be widely known and worked towards by stakeholder groups throughout the agricultural system. By growing our membership we will increase our collective knowledge and the mechanisms by which we can learn from one another. The ultimate goal of the DFTA is to be a community, not just for cross-sector accountability, but also for cultivating systemic change in our food and farming system. With that in mind, I am also looking forward to the advocacy opportunities this year especially regarding immigrant rights, GMO labeling, and the farm bill. As a multi-stakeholder association the DFTA has a unique and powerful role to play in national policy issues. One of my goals is to provide meaningful engagement tools for our members to have their voices heard by one another as well as policymakers.

Ethix Merch: What campaigns does DFTA have in the works currently? Is there a particular campaign you are especially proud of or excited about?

Learn how to run your own Sweatshop!

Sera — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 16:53:50 +0000

From Pocket Gamer's screen shots of the Sweatshop HD game.

A Serious Game about Sweatshop Conditions

UK based Pocket Gamer recently released an article on the removal of a sweatshop management game by Littleloud from the Apple App Store: "Sweatshop HD is the Latest Victim in Apple's War on Serious Games".

It would appear that the concept of a sweatshop game makes Apple uneasy. But that's the point isn't it? To realize that human rights and ecological abuses are present in products on the market - and these items are widely purchased anyhow? That's what's really unnerving.

The Objection: The Format or Subject Matter?

So what's the problem? Seeing how and why sweatshops are in existence, or having it shown in a game format?

My own high school Entrepreneurship class utilized a game-like platform to measure our prowess at running a business. In the game you manage a grocery store- but hours of operation, number of employees, and discounts are amongst the variables you are permitted to experiment with. Workplace safety, healthcare, or wages are not even discussed as variables. But as most anyone realizes about economics and manufacturing - all of these are gears that keep the whole machine in motion. PLAY NOW.