"Locally Grown Clothing Co LLC" was featured in last weeks Des Moines Business Record. Two friendly- looking guys quit there jobs at Polo-Ralph Lauren and Hubbell Real Estate and started an apparel company featuring organic cotton tees and bags featuring slogans like "Urban Farmer" and "Locavore". They are selling through farmers markets and hip, environmentally oriented retail outlets. Nice, right? Local guys start a business promoting the local food movement.
What the article also mentions is that the organic cotton tees (their website states "we place a high priority on sourcing and manufacturing our products in the USA") are printed in Oregon (not Des Moines) and that the owners have trademarked the phrases "Locally Grown" and "Locavore". In the article they refer to it as their "intellectual property." Really? Did you guys come up with those phrases on your own?
As far as I can see, there is nothing locally grown about "Locally Grown Clothing Company LLC" - it appears to be two guys trying to cash in on a movement that was built by farmers and foodies while they were busy selling real estate and flogging Polo corporate sweatshop apparel.
Hi, I just came across this article and wondered if you had any other comments or responses to it. I too am a t-shirt printer selling shirt designs based upon the urban ag/organics food movement and have wondered if it is or isn't permissible to now print the words "local" or "locavore" on wearable fabric sin LGC has trademarked these everyday use terms. Any more thoughts on this topic would be appreciated.
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