Yes, We Have Merch Now

by David Michelson

“Better to be at odds with the whole world than be at odds with the only one you are forced to live together with when you have left company behind.” - Hannah Arendt

“Could the activity of thinking as such, the habit of examining whatever happens to come to pass or to attract attention, regardless of results or specific content, could this activity be among the conditions that make men abstain from [violence] or even actually condition them against it?” - Hannah Arendt 

At our most recent campaign meeting, one of the items on the agenda was brainstorming ways to raise funds—a recurring topic with increased importance as we try to secure the funding we need to renew our paid petitioning efforts in the spring. One idea that was suggested was to try selling merchandise, and now here we are. 

When the idea was initially proposed I admit to having reservations. This is not the first time the idea had been suggested, although it was usually framed in prior conversations as a means for promoting the campaign locally rather than specifically fundraising, and so we often decided to wait until we were assigned a measure number (during the signature collection phase of our campaign we are known as IP28, but when an initiative qualifies for the ballot they are assigned a new number, something like Measure 110 or Measure 118). Our conditions and motivations have changed, however, and in the spirit of experimentation we decided to give it a try.

One of my primary reservations about merchandise, which I shared with the team, is that it may not be easy to sell merchandise in a way that aligns with my values. If we sold stickers, for instance, I would want to know: do they have ones that are biodegradable? What ingredients go into the adhesive? Do they leave microplastics behind? How are they made? Where are they made? Even if the answers to some of these questions are not my ideal, taking the time to look into them (for whatever the products end up being) and decide on where I might be willing to compromise, takes energy. Will the idea be successful enough to warrant the energy put into it? 

Despite this reservation, I wanted to remain open to the idea. We turned to more practical questions like, should we use our logo? The main concern here is that then the merchandise becomes “outdated” after this election cycle, and I’d prefer to create something that can be used indefinitely and avoid the landfill as long as possible. We also discussed the possibility of using a print-on-demand distributor, which we ultimately did decide in favor of. This way items are only produced as they are purchased, which may take more time to ship and may cost a bit more, but lowers both waste and risk—worst case scenario no one buys anything and we’re not out any money. We then had a bit of fun simply discussing slogans or possible types of merchandise, and this is what likely got me onboard. It met my need for creativity to think up design ideas, and so by the end of the night we decided we’d at least look into print-on-demand companies and see what options are available.

Given the overlapping American interests in consumerism, entrepreneurship, and listicles, it was not difficult to find a catalogue of “the best print-on-demand companies” of 2024. Using some of our constraints, I could further winnow the list into a handful of contenders and, fortunately, it did not take long to find one. While I am not advocating for others to use this provider, in the service of transparency I decided to go with Printful. This was a compromise, but one I felt comfortable with. Printful did not have as high of ratings on Good On You® as some alternatives (although it at least received the “Not Good Enough” rather than the “We Avoid” rating), but it was incredibly easy to set up and integrate with our website (it took two afternoons to get the store fully operational). It was also one of the few print-on-demand services that allowed me to filter through their catalogue for 100% organic cotton materials. If merchandise is successful and something we continue to use as a fundraiser longer-term, and if others were open to help provide support, we may reconsider our set up. For now, though, this is what came to be.

Typically when I make food for others, I enjoy giving something that I myself would enjoy consuming. When I have been teaching in a classroom full-time, rather than have candy and other processed foods for students I brought in organic dried fruits and seeds—the kind not coated in any salt, oil, or sugar. The same thought went into setting up a merch store; I want what we sell to at least be items I would buy myself. Lately, due to an increased concern about the environmental and health impacts of microplastics, I have been replacing my own polyester and acrylic fabrics with cotton alternatives over time.

In addition to considering materials and suppliers, I also wanted to extend the same level of consideration for our designs and slogans. For reasons already mentioned we avoided using a logo, so that they may appeal to a wider audience and longer time-frame. We did, however, want the designs to be campaign-related, and I am truly excited seeing what we ended up with. 

My favorite design by far is the one that says “Vote to ban slaughter” on the front and the following quote from Simone de Beauvoir on the back: “A freedom which is interested only in denying freedom must be denied” (which is available as a sweater, tote bag, and mug). This is actually just the first sentence of a longer quote that goes on to say: “And it is not true that the recognition of the freedom of others limits my own freedom: to be free is not to have the power to do anything you like; it is to be able to surpass the given toward an open future; the existence of others as a freedom defines my situation and is even the condition of my own freedom. I am oppressed if I am thrown into prison, but not if I am kept from throwing my neighbor into prison.”

These words eloquently capture an essential feature of our campaign. Namely, we do not believe it is a genuine freedom to have the “right” to kill animals. We are free when we live in a world free from killing, not when we are free to kill. Not only can we meet everyone’s need for autonomy using strategies that do not require the deprivation of autonomy for animals, I believe that our need for autonomy will be more fully met when we help foster the autonomy of others, animals included.

What I also appreciate about the “Vote to ban slaughter” design—as well as the similar “I Would Vote To Ban Slaughter” design—is that they emphasize animal rights as a form of civic engagement. They normalize discussing animal rights in a political context, and also implicitly normalize activists asking for a ban on slaughter, which I of course advocate for for reasons discussed in my two prior online articles “Insights from Ozden’s ‘Winning is underrated.’” and “Lessons from Luxemburg’s ‘Reform or Revolution.’”

My other-favorite design is the animal abuse definition T-shirt and tote bag. Described as poetic by one of my fellow chief petitioners, this design includes the following as a definition for animal abuse: the intentional, knowing, and reckless injury of an animal, including for slaughter, hunting, and experimentation. In Oregon, animal abuse is currently defined in state law as the “intentional, knowing, and reckless injury of an animal.” This makes sense, except when you read through the list of exemptions that do not apply under this definition. The reason that slaughtering, hunting, and experimentation are currently not considered crimes of animal abuse is that they are explicitly exempt from our animal cruelty statutes. IP28 works simply by removing those exemptions, making it so the intentional injury of any animal—not just our companions but also those currently on farms, out in the wild, and held in captivity—would be classified as abuse. The other reason this design is poetic is that when a ballot initiative includes bold text that means it is text that would be added to state law if the initiative were to pass, whereas text that is in [brackets and italics] is something that would be removed from state law, if it were to pass. You can check out the full text of IP28 here: https://sos.oregon.gov/admin/Documents/irr/2026/028text.pdf

Two additional designs were included in the collection to add a bit of variety and to meet my own need for understanding and creativity. The first more lighthearted design simply says “Soyboys will Save Society.” This was inspired partly by the fact that my most-complimented sweater says Soyboy on it, so I figured it might be likely to sell. It also felt fitting given that Soyboy has been used as an insult for both vegan and gay men, of which our team is composed of both. Finally, we have a mug that says “You Dispatch With A Radio Not A Rifle” in large font with “It’s Not Euthenasia, It’s Animal Cruelty” underneath. This is, admittedly, a direct response to hearing others refer to killing animals as “dispatching” them and reflects the importance I place in the language we use to communicate.

I want to end with a note on pricing. All proceeds above production and shipping costs go directly to the campaign (which, as I note in our campaign video Why Donate to the Yes On IP28 Campaign, about 90% of funds go directly to paid petitioners—giving vegans and animal advocates an opportunity to work in the movement). When deciding on the price to list each item, we of course wanted to factor in what amount from each sale would be a donation to the campaign. To do this we created a system where higher-priced items included a larger donation than lower-priced items. The cost of each sweater includes roughly a $20 donation (I say roughly because the production and shipping cost fluctuates a bit and is determined individually at time of purchase), each T-shirt and beanie includes a $15 donation, tote bags and mugs include a $10 donation, and the coasters and mugs include a $5 donation. There is also a “Ban Testing Pet Bowl” which was added in at the end, and is about an $8 donation. 

Hopefully this month’s article provides some lighthearted transparency into our campaign and maybe even encourages you to lend some support. Even if you would prefer not to accumulate any merchandise, we’re still actively seeking monthly donors which you can sign up to do here.