FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 1, 2005

Media Contact:
Carly Miller
Director of Public Relations, Clothing of the American Mind
http://www.cotam.org / http://www.clothingoftheamericanmind.com
Carly@cotam.org / +1.310.459.0988 direct

Clothing of the American Mind Celebrates 1st Birthday

Los Angeles, California – “Fashion is an extremely effective billboard for spreading a message,” says Caitlin Blue, the film/television set decorator and founder of Clothing of the American Mind.  “Our clothing is a way for people to voice their dissent in a stylish way while instigating a dialogue for change.”

Clothing of the American Mind, the renowned grassroots apparel company dedicated to stylishly promoting, supporting and articulating progressive values through fashion, is proud to announce the launch of its new website, an innovative line of new t-shirts and exciting collaborations with like-minded national organizations. Wearing Clothing of the American Mind products is a simple form of everyday activism for even the busiest person.  The new Spring line is highlighted by slogans such as “Electoral College Dropout,” “United States of Halliburton,” “This Child Left Behind,” “Vote 08” and a humorous redesign of the popular “My Bush is Pro-Choice” t-shirt.  All of the company’s designs are presented on sweatshop-free products manufactured in America.

The company’s new website, http://www.cotam.org, showcases a fresh design more conducive to customer browsing and purchasing; it’s also now a hub for media, events and other happenings in the national progressive arena.  The ‘News’ section will feature three new articles each week from AlterNet, a leading independent news source, all of which will be archived and be made available to browsers.  In addition, customer contests and giveaways will soon be offered.

Clothing of the American Mind is also hard at work establishing partnerships to raise awareness and funds for organizations such as Progressive Democrats of America, Democracy for America, The Progressive Majority, AlterNet, The Rockridge Institute, MoveOn and others.  Currently, Clothing of the American Mind is creating several collaborative t-shirts with the San Francisco-based political committee think BLUE, proceeds from which will go to MoveOnPAC.org and BuyBlue.org.  These new shirts will be available in April from COTAM.org and thinkBLUEdems.com.

March 19th, the second anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, marked the first birthday for Clothing of the American Mind.  “Here in Los Angeles, we marched in solidarity with peace activists around the world who participated in the global day of action,” Blue says.  “We hope that all the coordinated protests and rallies on and around March 19th sent a message to the Bush administration that the best way to support our troops is to bring them home now.”  At the March 19th event in Hollywood, Clothing of the American Mind introduced five new pro-peace/anti-war shirts for men, women and children.  Blue and her team of dedicated volunteers sold more than 100 shirts in just a few short hours.  “Our sales at events such as these indicates activists’ desire to integrate spreading progressive messages into their everyday lives,” says Blue.  “Dissent is the foundation of democracy and our shirts allow people to survive the next four years by voicing their dissent in style.”

Clothing of the American Mind was born in March 2004 amid the outpouring of popular discontent spawned by the massive mishandling of the war in Iraq and has rapidly become the official clothier of the politically disgruntled around the globe.  Leading up to the 2004 presidential election, the company raised more than $15,000 for progressive political groups including MoveOn, The Progressive Majority, Amnesty International, Progressive Democrats of America, Peace Action, the Democratic National Committee and the Kerry/Edwards campaign.  Clothing of the American Mind should also be praised for its voter outreach and education efforts, which registered thousands of new voters during a month-long, 14-state cross-country campaign that culminated at the Democratic National Convention in Boston.

Among Clothing of the American Mind’s supporters are many high-profile activists and celebrities, including David Arquette & Courteney Cox Arquette, Patricia Arquette, Ed Asner, Sheryl Crow, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kristin Davis, Ellen DeGeneres, Gina Gershon, Arianna Huffington, Ashley Judd, Debra Messing, Susan Sarandon, Fisher Stevens, Hilary Swank, Renee Zellwegger and countless others.  Clothing of the American Mind has been featured in Elle (American, French and South African), Entertainment Weekly, Glamour, InStyle, The New York Times, People as well as on Good Morning America.

For more details on Clothing of the American Mind, its new line and upcoming products and collaborative efforts, please contact Carly Miller at (310) 459-0988 or via email at Carly@cotam.org.  General information can be found at www.COTAM.org.