About The Fleece
OK so maybe it's because I'm Canadian and I was well-aware the fleece was going to be produced in Canada by a not-fast fashion company. Because of all that, the price tag was pretty much exactly what I expected it to be, maybe a touch more expensive. I guessed at least $300 CAD since it was produced with embroidery and other custom finishes, plus the donation, plus the licensing fees.
And for people who are complaining about the high cost of international shipping...as someone who has to deal with that every time I buy something outside of Canada, that is...also expected? I honestly love that the Canadian fans are the ones who get free shipping for once considering this is a Team Canada branded piece of clothing for a Canadian show. Usually not only does that not apply, but we have to pay a fortune for it, plus duties and taxes. And tariffs!
Even if it wasn't sold out, I can't afford it either. But I do fear that people are too used to being prioritized as a US market, and also used to fast fashion merch and their associated prices.
This is an ethically produced garment made by a Canadian small business in Canada with a portion of the proceeds being donated to charity. Would it be great if it was more affordable? For sure. But enough people thought it was worth that price considering the whole preorder sold out in like 5 minutes.
The trade-off for a cheaper price tag would have meant no charity donation, lower quality, overseas production and/or a higher price for Canadian fans.
Things that would have upped the price above and beyond their regular merch drops:
Design development costs
Custom finishes including embroidery and zipper pulls
Materials sourcing (don't forget all the ridiculous tariffs if any of this came from the US...)
Production. The fleece is a lot more complex than a sweatshirt.
Marketing and likely upped website hosting fees to handle the payment processing of a surge of traffic.
Ethically compensated labour
Licensing fees to Accent Aigu which probably includes a cut to Rachel Reid and I would bet Jacob arranged for the costume designer to get her cut.
Donation to You Can Play
Just because something is out of your price range doesn't make it unreasonable?














