In 1997 these pajamas were exhibited by the National Labor Committee to raise awareness regarding the downside of global apparel production. They complained that H.H. Cutler, a subcontractor to apparel producer VF Corporation, under license from the Walt Disney Corporation, was exploiting Haitian workers as they made 101 Dalmatians themed goods for the U.S. retail market. The company only paid $0.06 per piece ($0.42 per hour) for every pair of 101 Dalmatians pajamas ($19.99 at retail).
At the Walt Disney Company’s 1997 annual meeting, Progressive Asset Management, Inc., brought to a vote a shareholder resolution governing suppliers' labor practices. Although the resolution did not pass, it received surprisingly strong shareholder support (39 million shares, or 8.3 percent). Subsequently, Disney pledged to issue and post a contractor code of conduct and authorize audits and inspections of all contract facilities. Disney garment contractor H.H. Cutler then pulled out of production in Haiti.
Collected from a roadside in Baltimore, Maryland,this sign was used by national home builder Lennar Corporation to promote sales. In the early 2000s the wide availability of low interest rate loans enticed many people to purchase homes that they might otherwise not have been able to afford. The initially attractive mortgages proved disastrous for some when the low teaser rate reset to a higher market rate. The problem was compounded as the housing bubble burst during the economic downturn of 2008, and many home owners found themselves "underwater" (owing more that what they had paid.) Foreclosures skyrocketed to record highs as home owners, unable to pay the monthly mortgage on their "buy now and pay later" loans and unable to sell their houses and pay off the loan, sought relief.
This marketing souvenir was used to promote the release of Roundup Ready soybeans in 1996. These soybeans, resistant to the weed killer Roundup, were the first widely successful genetically engineered crop. While expensive, the new seeds made cultivating (plowing weeds) or hand-weeding unnecessary solving a major labor problem for farmers. In 2000, only four years after introduction, over fifty percent of American soybean acreage was planted in GMO beans and by 2007 the figure was 91 percent. While most scientists thought the biotech seed posed no greater danger to the environment than conventional seeds, some members of the public worried about the safety of the new product.