By Marcy Magiera
VF Corp.’s venerable Vans skateboarding brand is teaming with truth, a national youth smoking prevention campaign, for Vans x truth, a limited line of shoes and apparel intended to drive home the dangers of smoking and the more fun alternatives. The line features Vans Authentics shoes, a T-shirt and hat, priced from $26 to $60. Austin, Texas-based designer Brett Stiles created the Van x truth custom graphics with piranha-like smoke puffs based on the idea that second hand smoke kills. The truth campaign, from national public health foundation Truth Initiative (formerly known as Legacy), says 8% of teens now smoke, down from 23% in 2000.
Retail sales of products licensed by non-profits, at $1.3 billion in 2014, make up just over 1% of all licensed product sales in the U.S. and Canada, according to The Licensing Letter Annual Business Survey. Sales of such cause-related licensed products fell slightly last year.