something that’s annoying about the whole corporate pride merch discourse is how people respond like “oh so i can’t buy a rainbow shirt now??” etc. But, firstly, no one is saying that. If buying a pride shirt from somewhere like amazon or target is all you’re able to afford or that’s available in your area, then obviously feel free to do so and don’t worry about whether or not you’re “valid” (buying pride merch from big companies isn’t any worse than buying other stuff anyway)
but if you do have the means and access to do so, then a much better way to get cool pride stuff is to buy it directly from lgbt artists (either the tons that are on tumblr, or local artists who have booths to sell from at places like arts shows and pride fests) or buy merchandise from the online stores of reputable lgbt non profit charity and advocacy organizations. That way you can get your rainbow shirts, but at the same time you also get to actually contribute to supporting the community in some way rather than giving your money to corporate overlords who will just use it to exploit workers and the environment
Revel & Riot (nonprofit that makes tshirts and donates partial proceeds to lgbt orgs, often collabs with lgbt musicians)
Equality Florida (lgbt advocacy organization that lobbies against discriminatory laws and promotes legal changes that will benefit lgbt people, also played a big role in helping after the pulse orlando shooting)
OnePulse Foundation (nonprofit fund set up by the owner of the pulse nightclub to help rebuild, support victims, and build a memorial)
Lambda Legal (nonprofit legal advocacy organization that does impact litigation for lgbt people and people with HIV)
Pride at Work (represents lgbt workers and union members)
it’s also a good idea to look for lgbt orgs in your local area or state that likely sell their own pride merch like buttons and tshirts, since orgs at a local level are often the ones who need contributions the most and who will directly benefit your community the greatest
and if you are going to buy any corporate pride merch, still try to get it from companys that are donating 100% of the profits to lgbt orgs (some ones i know that do this are levi’s and converse) and make sure to check that the orgs they’re donating to are actually legit ones)
Additionally, if you’d like to support queer artists while purchasing your pride items, why not pop over to @vaspider ’s Etsy shop:
We’ve been kicking around (hah) the idea of kickstarting enamel pins, specifically of our Pride Raised Fist & Pride Animals. It’s the most requested item that we don’t currently carry, but it definitely requires a Kickstarter to put that together.
But! Before I start putting together the Kickstarter, I’d like to get an idea from y’all: would an enamel pin of the raised Pride fist (with stretch goals to add flags) be something you’d be interested in? If you really super wanted a Pride Animal, which one would it be?
For reference, the Pride fist is this graphic:
Hi friends! An update on the hopefully-upcoming Kickstarter, with a FAQ!
1) Why start with the raised fist? We’re Socialists, and pro-labor, and the raised fist started as a symbol of pro-union movement in 1917, carried through to 1948 when the stylized version used by Socialist parties around the world came to be, and has been used consistently through to the present day. When we designed this symbol (which has been available on our patches and shirts for a while), we took a few things in mind – a) we were very conscious to style ours after the Socialist fist and b) we used a left fist both because we are leftists and to avoid cross-confusion with the BP salute (right fist) and 1960s/70s feminist icon and c) left-handedness was long associated as a ‘sign of secret gayness’ and so it packed even more symbolism in with us.
2) Are you going to offer the More Color More Pride version? We are actively working with a pin maker now in an attempt to not just do that but do it right. Going from 6 colors to 8 on a 1.25" pin is a not-insignificant challenge and price increase, and we want to be sure that whatever we do looks GOOD. If we do a MCMP pin and it looks like ass, that just sucks.
3) What about other flags like trans, bi, pan, nb, etc.? Our intention is for those to be stretch goals, since each one is a separate pin with separate costs.
4) Who the heck are you, anyway? Why you? We are a family of queer disabled artists (2 adults, one teenager) who run NerdyKeppie and make nerdy, punk, and Pride Judaica, shirts and accessories. This is our full-time gig and keeps a roof over our head and a charge in Mandy’s power wheelchair. And if not now, when, if not me, who?
5) How much? Still waiting on final pricing. It looks like early-bird with shipping will be $13. We intend to do ‘sponsor a pin for someone who can’t afford one’ as an option as well as ‘pick it up from us at a local show so you don’t have to pay postage’ if we can. I don’t know what those will be yet, we’re still trying to make sure we have enough people interested that we CAN do it.
6) Are you using a fair trade pin maker? Our pin manufacturer is a small business dude in the US. We are not importing our pins from overseas and no sweatshops will be involved in their creation. That’s super important to us. See also: we’re fucking socialists. This also means the pins will be a bit more expensive, but, like, we try to live our values.
Uh. I think that’s everything I’ve been asked to this point. Please feel free to share this version of the post – the more folks we have saying ‘yes we’re totally down to do this,’ the better our chances of success.
Beltainefaerie's Flights of Fancy 