The Carleton University Students Association (CUSA) launched Capital Collective, its first Ravens-branded clothing line, on Sept. 14.
CUSA executives teased the streetwear line on social media in August, and the student union officially launched a promotional video in early September. The video features all six executives modelling the Ravens brand.
The clothing line includes a long-sleeved T-shirt with the university skyline on the back, a crew neck with a “glitch” raven, and a Ravens baseball jersey.
The designs were a collaborative effort between the executive team, CUSA’s graphic designer Lauryn Gabriele, and student consultations.
“It is a clothing line by students for students,” said Morgan McKeen, CUSA vice president (student engagement). She described Capital Collective as a replacement for the loss of the Carleton community, due to the impacts of COVID-19 and online classes.
“We want our merch to remind students of campus, our traditions, and all things unique about Carleton,” McKeen added.
CUSA announced on Sept. 22 that Capital Collective is preparing for the launch of its next collection. The announcement, which came on CUSA’s Instagram story, called for input from students.
Although the Capital Collective clothing line is brand new, users on social media have pointed out that the name ‘Capital Collective’ has already been in use by a CKCU radio show hosted by Alanna Smith and Emily D’Orazio for the past five years.
Fourth-year journalism student, Jaiden Doyle, was one of the social media users to call attention to the name usage.
“My issue is that public journalism is immensely under-funded at Carleton,” Doyle said over Instagram direct message. “It’s disappointing that CUSA chose the name of a Carleton-based radio show and will be making a profit off of a name that has hundreds, if not thousands, of fundraising initiatives behind it.”
Capital Collective co-host D’Orazio said they reached out to CUSA executives over social media after learning about the name. Although they said they have no hard feelings towards the clothing brand, D’Orazio said the use of the name undermines the show.
“I don’t own this name, we don’t have any legal binding to it, but it just kind of felt like a punch to the gut,” D’Orazio said. “I just hope CUSA has learned from this and will take the time to be responsible and look out for other people on campus who are already using platforms and using names or whatever it may be in the future.”
“Earlier in the summer, I had put up some Instagram polls and questions on my personal account to gain feedback from students, and ‘Capital Collective’ was ultimately the most popular option,” McKeen said.
Lindgren detailed that pricing on the items are intended to be kept at low prices for students, while still being conscious of CUSA’s finances.
The clothing line is cheaper than existing Carleton merchandise, but not by much. The Capital Collective crew neck sells for $45, but crewnecks at the Carleton Bookstore sell for $50.
“Typically with clothing, you can price it at 100-150 per cent of the wholesale price,” Lindgren added. “If we have a 10 dollar shirt that we buy from Econic, we can price it from 20 to 25 dollars and still be in the clear, so that’s the rule of thumb we are following for all of these products.”
CUSA passed its budget in late August, and although the association projects to break even this year, they still reported a dramatic decrease in revenue. Travis Lindgren, CUSA’s general manager, said even with Capital Collective the budget is still expected to break even.
“As we continue to support different Carleton departments and students, and their endeavours, we are committed to doing better research moving forward,” McKeen added.
Featured image provided by CUSA.
