National Museum of American History, hmmm? What would you give for my George McGovern T-shirt and “Million Member Club” button?
3
My small company sells political bumper stickers and magnets online. I can tell you that from our perspective, there is almost zero interest in campaign memorabilia after a candidate drops out of a race. Which is why we usually take the stuff off the Web within a few days of the end of a campaign.
Unfortunately, it is hard to re-purpose or recycle a bumper sticker. I've given some to friends and employees to use to collect pet hair on furniture and clothing. But I have a lot more extra stickers than I have friends and workers. The good news is that we tend to print stickers in smallish quantities, so we don't have thousands of surplus when a candidate ends a campaign. Usually it is just a few dozen left-overs, or at most a few hundred.
As for the magnets, we produce those as we need them, so we rarely have to throw magnets away. We hope to eventually move to a system where we are printing stickers on demand in an effort to further reduce waste.
3
Now that would be a revealing debate question...
2
Swag is an upscale word for junk.
Sad.
3
The APIC (American Political Items Collectors) is a great organization for those who are interested in American history, campaign artifacts and memorabilia. I have an old Teddy Roosevelt pin and love to think about the person who may have worn it back in the day. Worth checking out this great group!
6
There is a deposit scheme for bottles - perhaps there should be something similar in place for this junk.
Recycle for the planet.
1
I have a bunch of GOP primary ballots from the 1912 Roosevelt vs. Taft race.
Was 'swag' a word in1912?
2
I still have a button that says "If I were 21 I'd vote for Jack Kennedy." Old buttons are fun.
4
Oh man do I want some original "Jeb!" swag for the sake of comedy.
1
Campaigns don't fail: for someone, every where in the world, campaigns are a statement, a commitment, an expression. Some don't succeed, but few if any fail.
1
Excellent Australian tv program Planet America is where it all ends up. Tune in and see Chas wearing a different Presidential campaign T shirt every week.
1
The waste of American democracy provides basic necessities like clothing to African countries
1
There is a great company in North Carolina, Reborn Clothing, that is up-cycling spirit wear and swag. I’m sure they can do something unique and fun with it,
2
I have a trove of swag from Adlai Stevenson's 1952 campaign for US President. This was presented to me from the estate of a Democrat deceased in 2000.
5
The swag goes into that shoebox in Alvy Singer's room.
1
Sure, just give your trash to Kenya and further disrupt what's left of their textile industry while continuing to build a "charity economy" abroad . . .
6
What to do with the dreadful MAGA hats and swag in 2024 when Democrats are sure to take the presidential administration. Hmmm how about a gigantic dumpster fire? Guaranteed they'd fare better being burned than in a Goodwill or overseas.
8
I remember cracking up at all the Jeb! gear from 2016. It’s still hilarious/ pathetic. Am kicking myself for not buying a Jeb! beer cozy.
4
"Where Does All the Swag Go After Campaigns Fail?"
In the ocean with all of the other "single use" items?
2
My very favorite: "101 Assistive Technology Solutions that you can Create with Discarded Election Signs " by Dr. Therese Willkomm, UNH.
2
I'll never throw away my Obama memorabilia! #AlwaysMyPresident
10
Ahhhh Kenya. Land of the 4 time Super Bowl champs, the Buffalo Bills
7
The entire lifestyle of our country is mindless generation and waste.
13
what a colossal waste of money
4
I was looking through my attic recently and found a Mondale-Ferraro lawn sign. We all thought back then that a female President or Vice President was just around the corner. Still waiting.
16
All of the campaign stuff that winds up in Kenya is going to be used to re ignite the Trump declaration about Obama being born in Africa. He finally has the proof he wanted!!
America is a disgusting wasteful place. This is gross.
5
There could be less in the landfill this year if the Coronavirus cuts off the supply of Making America Great hats.
4
Campaign memorabilia is cool. Political junkies collect them all the time. And Yang will rise again!
4
The swag of losing athletic teams (think Astros in 2019) ends up in places like Indonesia. Good quality Ts and caps for a song and the locals don’t seem to mind. Great recycling!
I worked on the US Olympics in 1980 and when Jimmy Carter suddenly announced a boycott, we were left with mountains of swag. Thank God for the Special Olympics, which got enough free stuff to last for years.
2
Indeed - I spent time in Central Africa in the 1990s and I got used seeing (baMbenga) people in really remote places in CAR and Zaire (now DRC) were wearing Clinton/Gore t-shirts ... it was seriously weird.
1
This reminds me that some 25 years ago, on a business trip to Guinea (Conakry), I hired a car and driver for several days. Once sitting in the front passenger seat, I noticed on the dashboard a small photo of a team of youths and I asked the driver what it was about. He pulled the picture and, while passing it to me, explained to em that it was his soccer team. I looked at the picture closely an realized that the team uniform shirts said "Clinton"! As I expressed surprise, he told me that the players needed a common uniform and that was the affordable way to get one. Of course the team was known as the "Clintons"!
17
Ebay, then my government class : )
2
I wore my Bill Richardson ‘08 shirt until his recent linkage with Epstein. My much older brother worked on W’s first congressional campaign- wish I still had that kid’s size shirt from ‘78, probably worth a fortune!
1
This whole great read thing needs to end.
This is a nice story, which reads like a question an intern posed and answered.
But it's not a great read.
6
Don't get your hopes up, pack rats. I recently sold a large lot of 1960's pins and bumper stickers for next to nothing on ebay.
1
'Most are thought to be recycled or thrown away.' This line reminded me of a conversation I had with an environmentalist about the insidious nature of the word 'away'. The reality is, there is no 'away'. There's the air, the sea and the earth. Everything not reused or recycled ends up buried, burned or washed out to sea. Of course when prompted, we are all aware of the problem. But perhaps if we change the language we use when talking about trash, that it's 'recycled or buried' or 'recycled or burned' it will prompt us to become more conscious about our consumption.
37
@Jake Morrison I agree completely with your comment. Yes, the term "away" is misleading at best. Tons of clothing and textiles are headed for landfills, destined to live on far longer than a memory of a candidate. Instead of worrying about producing another T-shirt or trinkets and baubles, perhaps we should focus on limiting production of these items in the first place. No one needs more stuff. I'll take
meaningful dialogue, keen intellect, and actionable collaboration over a T-shirt any day of the week.
8
The Lyndon Johnson Presidential Library often sells items online from LBJ's campaigns and from other candidates. They even sell things like pens from the Johnson White House, printed with the man's signature. Other presidential libraries have also made such items available.
4
My very small (~10 items) collection of presidential campaign items includes a little metal Hoover elephant, an FDR button and a Dewey/Warren button.
6
My car is half covered in Inslee 2020 stickers, the other half in Seattle Mariners 2019 World Series pennants. It's a terrible eyesore.
5
The US should become a democracy, instead of a plutocratic republic. As a democracy, the people will be able to vote on individual issues, instead of having to support a dodgy candidate who promises a slate of issues, many of which a voter does not agree with. No more demagogues. American campaigns at all levels are extremely wasteful, and their lies and open corruption alienate vast swaths of the citizenry from the public arena. All the yard signs in right-of-ways, bumper stickers, (a narcissists's dream! And we wonder why elective politics attracts the people it does) plus the billions spent on annoying ads, robo-calls, and Wall Street courtship. Enough.
13
We would do well by shipping these items to the countries who are our advisories: China, Russia, France, North Korea, and beyond. I think it could serve as a sort of "soft power", changing hearts and minds of the average citizens of those countries, and swaying there loyalties and sympathies towards the US. It is hard to hate someone, after all, if you are wearing a T-shirt with their almost president(s)' face(s).
5
Other than France, the countries you listed are our Prez's besties. And since when is France an enemy?
2
@ Ellis Deed - Ever since “Freedom Fries”!
1