Merchandising

Four St. Louis-area Pro Image Sports stores gave away hundreds of Albert Pujols shirts and jerseys for free after Pujols balked at the Cardinals’ offer and signed with the Los Angeles Angels for a 10-year, $254 million deal. Franchise owner Paul Russo, who owns the four St. Louis area franchises, said the items usually sell for between $14.99 and $129.99, but he wasn’t interested in making one red cent.

Forever 21 sparked outrage amongst Nirvana fans and fast-fashion critics alike by copying the "Flipper" T-shirt that Kurt Cobain designed in 1992. The shirt became a notable signpost of grunge style after the singer wore it during Nirvana's 1992 Saturday Night Live performance.

The Las Vegas chapter of the Occupy Wall Street movement against corporate greed wants to trademark its name and make a fashion statement, it seems, in the process.

Kmart has been forced to withdraw a line of underwear for young girls that carries slogans such as "call me" and "I ♥ rich boys" after the store was accused of sexualizing teenagers. Kmart has confirmed that it will remove the underwear, which is part of its popular Girl Xpress range, after it was the target of a Twitter campaign led by outraged parents, who described the slogans as "disgusting" and "sleazy."

A set of talking dolls aimed at children have caused controversy because of their potty mouths. The You & Me Interactive Play and Giggle Triplet Dolls giggle and burp like real babies, but parents are concerned because they also appear to say the ‘F’ word and the unsavoury greeting ‘Hey crazy b****’. The pajama-clad dolls , which are recommended for children aged three and up, are sold by Toys"R"Us in Canada and the U.S. as well as a number of online retailers like Amazon.

T-shirt designers sometimes seem embroiled in a race to the bottom of the offensiveness barrel. However, one purveyor gives us hope with its cute new shirt for girls who get As in math. ThinkGeek is offering its "No, I Will Not Do Your Math Babydoll" in women's and girl's sizes.

The revolution will be trademarked and put on T-shirts if an increasing number of entrepreneurs succeed in their attempts to profit from the Occupy demonstrations.

All of the St. Louis Cardinals were donning the official grey championship T-shirts moments after they won the World Series. But what about the merchandise for the losers, the Texas Rangers?

Last month, Urban Outfitters drew threats of legal action from the Navajo Nation for advertising the "Navajo Hipster Panty." To avoid that potential liability, Urban Outfitters recently changed the names of all 21 of the products it had been calling "Navajo." But fellow retailer Forever 21 doesn't seem to share Urban Outfitters' concern. While a search for "Navajo" on its website turns up no results, a little digging reveals at least a half-dozen items that have the Navajo trademark in the title.

An immigration activist is calling it a victory after convincing online retailer CafePress to remove "racist" merchandise. Designed to look like an actual permit to "hunt illegal aliens," immigration rights activist Victor Hoelscher, along with hundreds of others, petitioned CafePress to get the items removed.