The Backpack: Issue #14

Hey, friends! Welcome to our newly revised (monthly) newsletter, “The Backpack” bringing monthly news that features trends in merch, top articles, podcast episodes, and global news impacting merch life. Miss an article or an episode? We’ll highlight the best of, right here, each month!

Significance? Our exclusive chat with Seth!

Our good friend Seth Godin released a new book on Tues, and we dropped a special convo with him to celebrate, it’s all about finding significance in your work, called The Song of Significance: A New Manifesto for Teams.

Plant-based Apparel? Former CMO at Adidas?

The former CMO of one of the biggest brands in the world joined us on the skucast to talk about his new phenomenon: plant-based streetwear. Through Adidas, Eric Liedtke ushered in some of the most famous collabs ever produced, such as Kanye West’s Yeezy and Beyonce’s Ivy Park. Now, Eric’s new company Unless Collective, is shaking up streetwear. Why does this matter for merch pros? It’s possibly a glimpse at the future of sustainable merch. Check it out.

Swag vs. Merch: The Debate Rages

We updated one of the most popular articles we’ve ever published on our shiny new blog: Why Nobody Calls it Swag Anymore (and That’s a Good Thing). BTW: thanks to Beth Palmer for sharing on LinkedIn, she wrote, “SWAG = $h!t we all get [vs] merch gives your brand a lifestyle persona creating a higher perceived value.” What’s your take, backpacker? Swag or Merch?

Want to make your shop bee-yuu-ti-full? Need a sizzlin’ summer pic? Pride month background? You can now source high-res images from Unsplash’s massive database of over 5 million photos and plug them right into commonsku shops with a few mouse clicks. Easy — that’s our vibe. More on shops, here!

Tough time finding a designer? Dispatch it.

Tired of squandering hours surfing Upwork? Maybe you need a design team on Dispatch. When Theo Tabah looked at his struggling financials, it forced him to rethink their design agency’s model. The outcome? Subscription service for design. “You pay a fixed monthly fee to get access to an entire team of talented designers responsible for creating beautiful brands, experiences, and more for some of the biggest companies in the world.” Cool new vibe from the makers at Late Checkout.

NBA Dreams Into Merch Dreams

Inspo time: Kid dreams of playing in the NBA. Can’t make the cut. But is such a superfan, he decides to launch a newsletter all about his love of basketball. Fast forward: Over 30k newsletter subscribers, over 500k YouTube subscribers, and his biz, Enjoy Basketball, becomes a rad merch collection, including a really cool brand collab with ICEE that sold out immediately. Kenny, for real.

Move Over Concert T’s, We Got Trial Merch

New high or new low? Can’t tell. You judge. From Gwyneth Paltrow to #freeBrittany, The New York Times scoops the new trend in trial merch, quoting Lorynn Divita, an associate professor of apparel merchandising at Baylor University (read that title again), who described trial merch as "an evolution of band T-shirts". What’s your verdict?

Buh-bye China?

There’s a lotta chatter about “decoupling” or “de-risking” from China (Economist): If you want a fascinating glimpse into what that —practically— looks like (and what’s trending in the macroeconomics of supply chain), check out this brief vid from WSJ on Apple and Samsung’s move away from China to countries like Vietnam. Why is it important? Some suppliers are doing the same thing, right now. Packs on backpackers, let’s go explore! [Dora voice: Backpack! Backpack! Get the map!]

Style Lessons for the Merch Pro

Vogue drops a new shop and merch collection. Lesson? Inspo. Lots to learn from the fashion leaders in what’s trending, from puffer jackets to striped shirts to imprint methods, we can even learn from their product ratio: check out how many sweatshirts and hoodies they carry compared to all their other merch, some of which is already selling out. Perfect inspo for your next pop-up shop!

Singing Significance

Now that Seth Godin’s new book, The Song of Significance, is out, read along with us! You can grab the audio version here (read by Seth himself) or grab the book here. Who’s up for a book chat?!

🤑 In case you missed it: Our new Comp Guide for Distributors!

🤖 AI: You likely heard about Nvidia, the new trillion-dollar behemoth, well now they’ve partnered with the world's biggest ad agency to produce AI-generated content. One to watch for the future of AI + brands.

🍩 Hang on, hang on. You mean, if I wander into a Krispy Kreme wearin’ Class of 2023 merch, I get a free dozen doughnuts? Who says merch don’t pay! Look at meeee, I’m valedictorian of Krispy Kreme!

🐶 Hardest merch ever? (True story, btw, the founder really said that to the CEO. Man loves his dogs).