U.S. Postal Service Launching Fashion Line
Posted on February 20, 2013
The U.S. Postal Service is looking for new ways to supplement its income. It announced that it is launching a new fashion line called "Rain Heat & Snow." The line's name is based on the service's unofficial motto "Neither snow, nor rain nor gloom of night stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."
The postal service has signed a licensing agreement with Cleveland-based fashion apparel company Wahconah Group, Inc. The group will create a line of apparel and accessory items meant for extreme weather. Postal Service Corporate Licensing Manager Steven Mills explained that the new line will use cutting edge technology, "This agreement will put the Postal Service on the cutting edge of functional fashion. The main focus will be to produce Rain Heat & Snow apparel and accessories using technology to create 'smart apparel' - also known as wearable electronics." A men's line will be first, with women's clothing to follow.
A press release explains that Wahconah Group, Inc. is a minority-owned company based in Cleveland, Ohio that designs, sources, manufactures and sells men's apparel. It doesn't have a showroom in the garment district in New York City, but is establishing one now.
The mail agency is supervised by the U.S. Congress, but it does not receive funding from U.S. taxpayers. The agency ran a $16 billion deficit in 2012 and has announced that it will stop Saturday delivery of mail to cut costs.