Bette Midler to Trump about Dem Violence: "What are we going to do-Throw our PBS tote bags at them?"

[underpants]

5. How NPR Tote Bags Became a Thing

Ran into this story a few months ago

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/04/how-npr-tote-bags-became-a-thing/390657/

Tote bags are so synonymous with public broadcasting in the United States that they're as much a physical manifestation of NPR as a radio. The humble tote bag is, and has been for much of the network's 44-year existence, a powerful brand extension.

The tote bag is similar to the dawn of man, [like] figuring out fire for public radio," said Barbara Sopato, the director of consumer products for NPR. They were popular from the start because "people just liked tote bags" in the early 1970s when public radio began, Sopato told me, but also because NPR had stumbled upon the quintessential object to represent both its brand and its audience. "It was an easy give away, affordable and useful," she said. "That's what fits in with public radio. It's very affordable, very useful. We're grassroots people."
From the perspective of stations trying to raise money for operations, the appeal is clear. Each give-away tote bag costs a station about $5, according to one estimate, but donors often give at least $60 in exchange for one. (At the network level, NPR has switched to only U.S.-manufactured canvas totes, which drives up the cost.) Yet when Sopato opened NPR's shop 15 years ago, she decided not to sell tote bags. That was a mistake. "I thought no one will buy a tote bag because everybody's been given them," she said. "Same thing with the mug. I was completely wrong. Mugs and tote bags are our best sellers."