Utah firm turns concept of swag 'right-side up'

By Stephen Speckman
Deseret Morning News
Published: Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008 12:30 a.m. MST
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PARK CITY — T-shirts made of recycled plastic and cotton are not far off for the newer RE:VOLVE clothing line, which made a splash at this year's Sundance Film Festival.

"It's going to be a household name," company spokesman Ben Botkins predicted.

The Park City-based company bills itself as an "apparel project for sustainable living." Normally, you could just walk into the Chloe Lane shop near the bottom of Main Street to buy one of RE:VOLVE's unique, environmentally friendly T-shirts.

But RE:VOLVE's Giving Suite put a twist on gifting during the festival. The name of their temporary site near the festival's main box office was a play on the words "gifting suite." Those private suites, or lounges, offer obscene amounts of high-end swag just for celebrities and media. Giving Suite organizers say they wanted to turn the idea of gifting "right-side up."

"This is open to the public," said Organic Works Marketing's Katie Hunsberger.

The giving part came in when someone made a purchase, which could have been a book, makeup, clothes or any item from myriad offerings (there was a small amount of free stickers and buttons inside). During the festival, there are six different charities that benefit from the proceeds of each sale at RE:VOLVE's Giving Suite.

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"Why should you have to be a celebrity to give back?" Hunsberger asked.

The company itself is the brainchild of Amy and Joe Tomlinson, recent Rhode Island transplants now living in Park City with their six children. The Tomlinsons went into forming RE:VOLVE with the mind-set that there was a serious lack of positive messaging in the marketplace. RE:VOLVE's manufacturing process in Los Angeles is focused on using eco-friendly methods, and year-round the Tomlinson's donate some of the company's revenue to Waterkeeper Alliance and Peace Alliance.

The recycled plastic/cotton blend line of clothing is planned to be released by spring. For more information on RE:VOLVE's temporary site, go to www.givingsuite

.com, where you can learn about other suite sponsors and partners with products for sale during the festival. The festival ends Sunday.

E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com

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does anyone else think it odd that RE:VOLVES founder and his son...

filosofik | Feb. 11, 2008 at 3:24 p.m.

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Yoon Chang peruses the items at RE:VOLVE's Giving Suite in Park City on Thursday. Charities benefit from the eco-boutique's sales. (Jason Olson, Deseret Morning News)
Jason Olson, Deseret Morning News
Yoon Chang peruses the items at RE:VOLVE's Giving Suite in Park City on Thursday. Charities benefit from the eco-boutique's sales.
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