When I have time I will often check out other blogs and news that is interesting to me. Last week when I was doing this, I came across a site called Ban T-shirts. I found it through a link on a site that I visit occasionally.
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My first reaction was to ask for a link exchange, but as I continued to look at the site and the message attached, I wanted to know more about the mission and the founder who is known simply as TheDude.
I had a chance to email him a couple of questions and he was kind enough to answer them for me. You can check them out below.
Ashtyn: What made you decide to start Ban T-Shirts?
TheDude: It was kind of accidental… Well, the political angle was kind of accidental. I initially did 3 t-shirt designs, just for a bit of fun -Satan’s Little Helper, Dead Star and Can You Feel My Love? (An anti-Bush design). They all sold a few (VERY slowly), but the anti-Bush one was the best seller and the one that really caught people’s imagination. So that kind of geared me towards the political angle. I have always been left-wing and anti-conservative in my politics so the whole thing came quite naturally to me as well.
Ashtyn: Did you come up with all of the ideas for shirts yourself or have others helped or submitted ideas as well?
TheDude: About half the designs I do myself and the other half are done by another designer I work with called Ryan Red Corn. The first design of his I sold was Manifest Density (another anti-Bush t-shirt) - I was impressed with his work and it fitted in well with what I was doing. It is also refreshing and stimulating to get another person’s input and viewpoint in any project.
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Ashtyn: What is your goal for the site?
TheDude: On the one hand what I want to do with the site is provide a thought provoking product that will hopefully make one or two people question what they see and hear in the media. I’m under no illusions about how difficult it is to make an impact in the information-overloaded society we live in, but I think that original and heartfelt ideas can make an impression because people are burnt out on the falseness of so much of what they see and hear.
The news is full of half-truths and lies. We’re bombarded with advertising and it just leaves people empty. I want to try and fill that void in people’s minds. The fact that there are people at this very moment walking down the street, or in a bar, or in school wearing one of my shirts is very satisfying for me on a personal level.
These are people that came to Ban T-shirts and liked a design so much that they wanted to wear it on their chest so that other people could see it. That’s amazing and it is something I truly appreciate, and something that I would like to thank people for. T-shirts are a way to get a message to quite as lot of people - they are like political sound bites worn on the chest. I want to spark people’s imagination and make them think about issues like war, the environment, foreign policy, immigration and corporate responsibility.
Ashtyn: What happens if a Democrat wins? Do we keep selling Bush T-Shirts to relive old memories or do we turn to other Conservatives?
TheDude: I do sell quite a lot of Bush shirts, and while Bush IS a problem he is only part of it. When it comes to American politics, I tend to think like Bill Hicks did, that most politicians are just puppets who pander to the interests of big business and don’t think further ahead than the next election.
I won’t hesitate to do a t-shirt criticizing ANY president, whether they be Republican or Democrat. The focus will always be progressive and left-wing however. In fact we are tending to focus more on issue t-shirts than personality t-shirts. It’s the issues that are the most important thing, not the characters.
Ashtyn: What message, if any, would you leave for the world?
TheDude: Think about the impact on the rest of the world of everything you do, and everything you consume. Try and live according to your beliefs and don’t be scared of being different from others and of doing what you really want to do. And have a good time. Life is short!
If you’d like to show your support for true freedom and democracy by making a fashion statement then check out Ban T-shirts. They have a wide variety of sweatshop free shirts that you are sure to love if you’re visiting with an open mind.
Technorati Tags: TheDude, Ban T-Shirts, Liberal, Political, T-Shirt Company, Witty
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Written by Ashtyn - Visit Website
Ashtyn Evans is a writer, advocate, free thinker, and all around cynical person. Always quick to find the negative in anything pop culture, she loves being a part of that which she despises.
Ashtyn and Dominick own numerous blogs together, as well as a full-time writing business. In her spare time she is a full-time college student studying History and Psychology. She plans to one day give up her freelance career and be a full-time blogger, novelist, and domestic goddess.
She can be contacted for writing projects, fan mail, or just to say hi. (She really is friendlier than we make her look).
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