License Magazine - August 2007 - (Page 41) outlookFILE ’08 FASHION Recycled Fashion With plenty of buzz circulating about “sustainable fashion,” The Coca-Cola Company and REVOLVE Apparel Project teamed up to make a new kind of fashion statement. As a result, a colorful collection of apparel and accessories made of recycled PET bottles (RPET) will debut for holiday at mid-tier retailers. The launch was inspired by the fact that every hour Americans throw away more than 2.5 million plastic bottles—signifying a great need to turn this discarded material into something useful. The collection, RE:VOLVE for Coca-Cola, will introduce a range of Ts for men and women. Made from blends of RPET, organic cotton, and/or bamboo, the trend-conscious shirts feature subtle Coca-Cola branding to distinguish the RE:VOLVE program from traditional Coca-Cola apparel. Catchy slogans such as “Rock Your Rubbish” and “Don’t Hate Me Because I’m Plastic” bring personality to the Ts. Suggested retails will range from $30 to $40. “We envision a world in which our packaging is no longer seen as a waste, but as a resource for future use,” says Kelli Sogar, licensing merchandise manager, The Coca-Cola Company. “If everyone realized that returning five bottles made a cap or T-shirt, we all might think twice before throwing them away. These products merge fashion with consciousness, reminding us all that small steps—like recycling just a few bottles—can help solve big problems.” Mad for Marvel A veteran licensee with Marvel, Mad Engine is offering more than 200 new skus, includeding Spider-Man Classic (featuring Venom, Sandman, and Carnage), Silver Surfer and the rest of the Fantastic Four,The Marvel Universe, Marvel Comics, Spider-Man & Friends, and the 2008 Marvel movie lineup of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk. For mass retailers such as Wal-Mart, Kmart, and Target, Mad Engine makes bold designs and can add the glow-in-thedark feature as well as foil, flock, and other techniques that include gels and crystalina. On heavyweight quality Ts or 30 singles tees, Mad Engine has been able to capture the market based on quality and its capabilities for special request and quick turnaround. Focusing on the evolution of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk for an on-floor date of April 2008, Mad Engine will continue to add styles to these properties. Mad Engine currently ships vintage-inspired children’s Marvel merchandise to Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Fred Segal Kids, The Atrium, and over 300 other high-end boutiques.The company is currently presenting its children’s line with color palettes in soft pastels and brights such as orange and aqua blue. On the men’s side, Mad Engine will be focusing on the lighter colors, brights, and neons—trending away from the traditional black and earth tone coloration.With Mad Engine’s expansive internal art and product development teams, any burgeoning trend can be captured. In addition to retailers, Marvel has a large Internet business with Mad Engine at 80stees.com, choiceshirts.com, and styleinonline.com and they are exploring other venues as well for growth in the online distribution channel. August 2007 www.licensemag.com 41 http://80stees.com http://choiceshirts.com http://styleinonline.com http://www.licensemag.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.