Justice Clothing is "a one-stop shop for union-made and sweatshop free apparel". Mandi and Eric Odier-Fink have, for 8-1/2 years, sold Union-Made Clothing online. But times have been very tough of late and they need some help. This diary is about as much as I can do right now. Spreading the word is my contribution. Please read on and do what you can. If nothing else, perhaps spreading the word a little further.
As a disclaimer, I am a very satisfied previous customer. I otherwise have absolutely no other connection with Justice Clothing. Below the orange doohickey is an email that I received today:
From eric@justiceclothing.com
Dear Friends,
You have not been subscribed to any list. I am sending this out as a final effort to see if Justice can, and will, survive.
For 8 1/2 years, Mandi and I have tried to make Justice Clothing a sustainable business that could grow to the point of having a reasonable impact on the lives of the workers in the shops from which we buy. We never expected to get rich, but only hoped that the business would pay for itself, including a reasonable wage for either or both of us. We even had a few years, prior to the global economic meltdown, where it was possible we were headed there. Throughout this, despite a chronic illness which would act up from time to time and take her out of work, Mandi supported us working as a labor lawyer and public defender. My hours at Justice ran 60 to 80 a week for the first several years, relaxed to normal for a few years, then dropped with the recession. If you figured an hourly wage for my work, based on what we have taken out of Justice, it hits somewhere in the neighborhood of $3.50-$4.00 an hour (no time and a half).
As many of you are aware, a medical crisis began for me at the beginning of 2011 and lasted over a year. This crisis which severely limited my ability to work, combined with the worst supply problems we ever faced with our most popular items, jeans and underwear, pretty much devastated Justice Clothing as a business.
We have lost and/or given up a lot over these years. We have considerable IRS debt from the business, and both of our health problems have been severely and negatively impacted by the stress of this long running venture. Many times we thought to call it quits in the past, but the people around us, allies in the labor and activist communities, and friends encouraged us to keep going, "You're time will come!" many said. "This is too important!" But alas, as things are now, we cannot go on.
In a last ditch effort to not only save Justice, but finally make it a sustainable venture, I have prepared a simple business plan that would have us open a small store in New York City with two employees earning a living wage, get a full stock of all our key items, pay off our current business debt, and pay me a salary of $2500 per month. The total cost funding this fully for 6 months is approximately $125,000.
The cooperative structure we established many years ago accommodates for members joining and donating funds. Indeed, one of our founding board members, a close friend, gave $5000 when we began. Cooperative membership means representation on the board, a vote on any/all major changes to Justice, and, of course, special discounts on our gear. If ever there is real profit, distributions to members could be made (something members would vote on).
I am asking that anyone interested please respond to this email, with a dollar figure you would be willing to contribute to Justice, minimum $1000 (smaller amounts will make the cooperative accounting a nightmare). If we can raise close to the $125k in pledges, then formal papers will be sent to each of you that have pledged funds with membership documents along with a request for your check.
With a mailing list of near 7,000 unique email addresses just from our internet sales, and the hope that many of you, and others, will forward this information to other lists, getting 125 people to join is by no means impossible.
Please feel free to email me with questions.
With great gratitude and hope, and always in solidarity,
Eric
eric@justiceclothing.com
P.S. A small note on our business:
For this venture to be an outrageous success, meaning we would be generating enough revenue to cover all expenses, expand our lines at a reasonable pace, and make regular payouts to co-op members, we would need around 25 orders a day (at our current average order, $70). That's it. With a brick and mortar store in NYC, the web, a slew of new co-op members to spread the word, and, most importantly, new energy and excitement among those of us who would be doing the work, this seems more than possible.
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Justice Clothing
Union-Made Clothing: The Sweatshop-Free Alternative http://www.JusticeClothing.com/
wear your conscience (tm)
Please no tips for this diary, I am just hoping to help out two warriors who have been fighting the good fight for much of their adult lives, trying to give union workers a market for their labor.
I encourage everyone to check out their website (link above) for more of their story and perhaps to prompt a much needed clothing purchase or two. Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this diary.
Best of luck to you Eric and Mandi.