Ethix Ventures Inc Information

Ethix:We know your worst competition all these years are factories stitching fake union labels into similar goods- and as a result selling them for lower prices. What mechanisms have allowed you to confront this unjust practice? Mitch Cahn: It is a trademark violation when companies use a union name in union labels that are sewn into non-union garments. We have gone to the union whose trademark has been violated and asked them to enforce it, with much success. Often, companies don't use union names, they just claim "union made" or "union proud". We have had to approach these companies with violation of the Lanham Act, which essentially treats the false labeling as false advertising, and this approach has been successful. Ethix:What do you think about the probable emergence of a fair trade certified hat entering the market, especially given the controversy surrounding Fair Trade USA's apparel program so far? Mitch Cahn: Baseball caps and T-shirts are very different animals. There is much less labor in a t-shirt than in a baseball cap- so Fair Trade's standards will have a greater impact when applied to hats instead of shirts. However, because of this, factories in countries with much lower wages than China will become more attractive to produce hats in, and if Fair Trade still uses minimum wage instead of living wage as a wage standard, the unintended consequence will be a flight to countries where the minimum wage is below living wage. Ethix: We are looking forward to the launch of Unionwear's new website. Are there any new Unionwear styles coming out that we can look forward to? Mitch Cahn: Unionwear is a contractor- we make the styles our clients design. We can make any kind of hat or bag or really any sewn accessory. Our specialty is in figuring out how to make them domestically within the client's price point. We look forward to your thoughts. You can also download the entire interview here.