Downing Street Memo Sparks Internet Tshirt Industry



If you're walking down the street and you see someone wearing a t-shirt that says merely "READ THE MEMO", you might wonder what it means. Or you might know that the Downing Street Memo is catching fire in the U.S., both as a cause and a cottage industry. With the recent media attention on the Downing Street Minutes (or, as more commonly known, the Downing Street Memo), small businesses such as Scarebaby Designs have begun to create t-shirts and bumper stickers intended to amplify awareness of the importance of these documents.

The DSM, as the primary memo has come to be known, contains the minutes of a secret 2002 meeting, including an explosive charge that UK and American intelligence and facts were being fixed around an already existing policy -- the necessity of military action to remove Saddam Hussein from power.

The owners of Scarebaby Designs -- an online shop only in existence since May 2005 -- recognized the value of keeping the DSM high-profile during a summer when many other stories could easily obscure their importance. Thus the t-shirts and bumper stickers were born. Almost immediately, visitor "hits" to the Internet store more than tripled, and sales increased dramatically. Scarebaby anticipates adding additional products as media coverage of the memo expands. Scarebaby Designs can be viewed at www.scarebaby.com.

Scarebaby Designs is one of thousands of CafePress online shops. CafePress specializes in the production and sale of "one-off" t-shirts, bumper stickers, mugs, tote bags and other items designed by its many members, and is located in San Jose, California.





Downing Street Memo Sparks Internet Tshirt Industry