DUM, INC. ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF EFFORTS TO COURT RETAILERS WITH COTTON PRICED HEMP CLOTHING

GREENSBORO, North Carolina — From October 2002 to January 2003, DUM, Inc. contacted Spencer Gifts, Hot Topic, and PacSun regarding selling hemp clothing to their stores at the same price and terms for cotton clothing. Scott Morton, Buyer for Hot Topic, summed the overall interest up best in a reply email stating: “We don’t really have a lot of interest in the stores for hemp products right now.”
“It’s both disappointing and baffling at the same time,” said Michael Norbury, Founder/CEO of DUM, Inc. “The retail clothing industry is experiencing a very bad time which would indicate their need for something new to spur growth since it’s obvious what they’re selling right now isn’t getting the job done.”

Mainstream retailers sight economic hardship as the reason for sticking with what has sold in the past and shying away from new products.

DUM, Inc. counters that hemp clothing has been in demand for years, but until recently, hasn’t been available at a price that meets mainstream retailers’ buying and profit margins. “Buying hemp clothing gives big store chains three advantages: one, it’s a new product, which is more comfortable, stronger, and environmentally friendly than standard cotton clothing, two, its popular much in part to its relationship to marijuana, and three, their shelf price of between $17-$19 is $10-$15 cheaper than current screen printed hemp sold in smaller stores,” he said.

Hemptown Clothing, Inc. CEO Jerry Kroll draws attention to the fact that it is as much a matter of misconceptions on behalf of the buying public as well as retailers: “Consumers expect quality hemp fiber garments to be really expensive, so they aren’t currently considering it when they ask retailers for a t-shirt or sweatshirt. Mercedes Benz has the same problem. Everyone thinks you have to spend around 100,000 dollars for a Mercedes. They are now advertising to let people know that in fact you can drive one of their quality cars for less than $35,000, and have all the value benefits that come with it. Getting price conscious consumers to even realize that a Mercedes is within their budget is a big issue for them, and BMW too.”

Whether a public relations campaign is in order to promote consumer friendly priced hemp clothing remains to be seen, but overall, the consensus is that hemp will inevitably be sold in the markets cotton currently occupies. “It’s just a matter of time before hemp clothing makes its way into mainstream stores. The question is who’ll be the first to carry it,” Norbury concluded.

Hemp Clothing isn’t a missed opportunity in the fashion world. Designers such as Patagonia and Giorgio Armani include hemp in their high-end clothing lines.

Hemp clothing’s growth might be influenced by the success of another environmentally friendly industry. The Organic Food Market is a “$9.3 billion-a-year industry...growing 20% a year, far faster than sales of conventional food” according to a Thursday, December 26, 2002 Wall Street Journal article on health foods. The hemp clothing industry hopes that health conscious dining habits will grow into health conscious fashion.

About DUM, Inc.

DUM, Inc. is North America’s only manufacturer of screen-printed hemp clothing at cotton prices, with headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA.

DUM, Inc. is a private corporation duly authorized and validly existing under the laws of the State of North Carolina, USA.

About Hemptown Clothing, Inc.

Hemptown Clothing, Inc. is North America’s largest hemp clothing manufacturer and distributor, with Headquarters in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and offices throughout Canada, the U.S. and Asia.

Hemptown Clothing, Inc. is a private corporation duly authorized and validly existing under the laws of the Province of British Columbia, Canada.

For more information, contact:

DUM, Inc.
Contact: Michael Norbury, Founder and CEO
6705 Polo Farms Drive
Summerfield, NC 27358
Tel: (336) 508-3006
Fax: (336) 540-1426
E-mail: 6011@duminc.com
URL: www.duminc.com

Hemptown
Contact: Kevin Friesen
1307 Venables Street
Vancouver, BC, V5L 2G1
Canada
Tel: (604) 255-5005
URL: www.hemptown.com


Pubdate: January 11, 2003
Provided by: www.globalhemp.com