As we wind down the year and the decade, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on all that happened at CAN in 2019. It was a year of hard work, great art and exciting new opportunities for our company! We have big plans for 2020 that include a new book, sweeping new art campaigns and hopefully a new president, and none of it would be possible without the enthusiasm of the artists in our community who inspire us with their voices and talent. We hope you enjoy reading our 2019 year in review and please join us in raising a glass to a brand new decade!
Last things first: we ended the year on a high note when in November 2019 CAN won a grant to take on big tech in 2020! Thanks to the generosity of the Economic Security Project Anti-Monopoly Fund, CAN will be making waves next year in the company of amazing organizations like Color of Change and Athena Coalition as we use the power of art to counter monopolies and their outsized power in our economy and democracy. Read more about the project in The New York Times' recent article!
CAN got a little greener this year! The Green New Deal was our biggest art campaign of 2019, with a portion of all proceeds going back to our nonprofit partner Sunrise Movement. We launched our Green New Deal poster collection last March at the Bold v. Old conference in Washington, D.C. and followed up at the Green New Deal Create-A-thon in Oakland, CA. Next, we collaborated with artist Devon Bragg to design our limited edition Green New Deal enamel pin and we just announced we're publishing a Green New Deal tear-out poster book in fall of 2020, which will be CAN's third book! Check out this video that NowThis News made about CAN and the Green New Deal for more.
We were 'knee deep' in socks in 2019, with Feminist icon socks made by Maggie Stern Stitches in high demand with everyone ready to take on the patriarchy! Socks were our most popular holiday item, with each pair sold proudly supporting feminist organization UltraViolet. We're going full steam ahead with more socks for marching feet in 2020 and excited to build on a sock collection that already includes over a dozen iconic feminists like RBG, Greta Thunberg, Michelle Obama and Virginia Woolf!
Meet CAN's new impeachment buttons! Nothing says impeachment like a well designed, peach and 'Trump-orange' colored button with the word IMPEACH written on it. Introduced just time for the House of Representatives to formally impeach the president, our impeachment button collection gives back to The Dream Corps, bringing people together across racial, social, and partisan lines to create a future with freedom and dignity for all.
Team CAN keeps growing and this year we welcomed Manny Estrada on board! He's been instrumental in keeping our holiday fulfillment and logistics running smoothly, no small feat since our holiday sock business was absolutely booming. Manny has a background in education, enjoys yoga and tennis, and loves playing fetch with his dog Henry at the park. Welcome to CAN, Manny! We're so happy you've joined us.
They say variety is the spice of life and we certainly spiced up CAN in 2019! We launched a wider variety of products than ever before, like feminist socks, action figures by FCTRY, national park stickers, Ocean Love beach towels, Recovering the Classics hardcover journals and almost a dozen others, all proudly supporting a growing range of different social causes. We learned a lot and we're excited to keep trying new things in 2020!
For Parks Week this year we took our See America campaign to a whole new level, with lots of new product launches and fanfare! We introduced national park water bottles, luggage tags, koozies and stickers that all give back to National Parks Conservation Association, fighting to preserve our public lands. Recently, CAN was featured in our first podcast ever when our friends at The RV Atlas included us in their 8 Great Gifts for National Park Lovers holiday gift guide episode!
Last summer we rallied in support of our oceans with our Ocean Love campaign! Artists from around the world designed over 35 different beach towels that give back to Surfrider Foundation, an ocean protection organization that just had its most successful year ever with over 90 coastal victories. A line of limited edition Ocean Love t-shirts designed by Isle of Wight artist Rachel Young rounded out a very fun and successful campaign.
Last but certainly not least, 2019 was the year we reached over 30,000 copies sold of our See America book! We're proud of the hard work that went into making our first book and even prouder of how it's gone out into the world protect the legacy of our public lands by supporting National Parks Conservation Association. Thanks from the bottom of our hearts for the love and support!
