If you’ve lifted a newspaper, or scrolled through the headlines on the news app of your choice, in the past couple of years, it’s very clear that we’re living in an upside-down world where basically anything is possible. If it was not for the troublingly reassuring phenomenon of Leonardo DiCaprio breaking up with his girlfriends as soon as they turn 25 (It happened again!), we would be convinced that we’ve slipped into some alternate timeline where it’s supposedly acceptable to buy clothing stained with ketchup, as opposed to rejecting them in favour of, well, non-condiment-stained ones.
Yes. Popular ketchup-making company Heinz has created a collection of clothing that comes pre-stained with ketchup.
The brand partnered with popular vintage clothing label thredUP to release the line of “secondhand streetwear and designer pieces” that will come with a unique ketchup stain.
Billed as a “first of its kind collection”, the 157 pieces in the Heinz Vintage Drip line would be sold exclusively through ThredUp’s website, with secondhand shirts from brands like Gucci, Michael Kors, and Ralph Lauren stained with ketchup.
According to the website, “Heinz and thredUP are teaming up to make a mark on fashion. Because a stain isn’t a reason to get rid of clothes, it just adds flavour to your ‘fit!”
The contentious stain will be from actual ketchup so it will wash away after a while.
“We saw an opportunity to view the stain we’ve been leaving on clothes as another iconic brand symbol and change the narrative,” stated Alyssa Cicero, Heinz’s brand manager, “This collection is about sustainably celebrating the character Heinz ketchup stains add to apparel, inviting our fans to embrace a new iconic symbol.”
thredUP claims that a large percentage of GenZ and Millennial shoppers are consciously looking to buy pre-loved clothing and the secondhand apparel market is expected to grow three times faster than the regular clothing market by 2026.
“At thredUP, we believe every piece of clothing deserves a second life—even summer barbeque casualties,” said Erin Wallace, thredUP’s VP of integrated marketing, “We’re thrilled to partner with an iconic brand like Heinz to create the first-ever line of ketchup stained secondhand clothes, celebrating reuse. This collection offers a unique way for fashion risk-takers and food lovers alike to participate in the circular economy, while doing good for people and the planet.”
But why buy ketchup-stained clothing at all? Because it’s for a good cause.
100 percent of the proceeds from the Heinz Vintage Drip collection will go to Rise Against Hunger in support of global hunger relief.
It has also been “intentionally designed to be inclusive across size and gender” with sizes ranging from XXS to XXL.
While the first drop from the collection has already been released, a second group of more exclusive items will drop on September 13.
Would you buy pre-stained clothing for a worthy cause?
