Consider the Occupy Wall Street movement to have been officially “occupied.”
Jay Z’s Rocawear clothing company is still selling its T-shirt line inspired by the national protests against the banks and the top 1 percent income earners. The “Occupy All Streets” line disappeared from the site temporarily, amid a dust-up over the company not sharing any proceeds from the sale of the shirts with the months-long movement.
From theGrio: Jay-Z accused of profiting from Occupy Movement
Prior to yanking the shirts from the website, Rocawear released a statement which read in part:
“Rocawear strongly encourages all forms of constructive expression, whether it be artistic, political or social. ‘Occupy All Streets’ is our way of reminding people that there is change to be made everywhere, not just on Wall Street. At this time we have not made an official commitment to monetarily support the movement.”
Nothing apparently has changed about that “official commitment,” but the shirts were back on the homepage Tuesday, along with a provocative tag: “grab before it’s gone again,” which appeared to allude to the section having been taken down earlier this week. The shirts are available only on back-order, according to the site, and sell for $22 — credit cards only.
Comments on the T-shirt’s sales page were harsh, with one Facebook poster, Robert O’Connor, calling the All Streets idea “Shameful Disgusting attempt to make money off the movement.” There were some supporters, however, including someone called Mark Webster, who posted: “Im gonna buy 3 of them..just for the people crying about it..haha.”
Meanwhile, for those “Occupy” protesters concerned with outsourcing, the shirts are made in Mexico, according to the retailer’s website.