Shaun King is a BLM activist who is listed as “White” on public documents. However, he alleges that he is half Black. His critics accuse him of all kinds of frauds and hoaxes.
King has a comical new hustle. He is selling plain generic t-shirts and hoodies. However, his items are described as “Black Power Fashion” because they are allegedly made in sub-Saharan Africa with sub-Saharan grown cotton.
Most plain cotton shirts and hoodies sold in the USA are made in places like China, Vietnam, Honduras, Guatemala, and Haiti. Items made in Asia mostly use Chinese grown cotton. Items made in central America and the Caribbean primarily use American grown cotton. Shaun King says a “White supremacist supply chain” produces these t-shirts and hoodies.
Besides America, the largest producers of cotton are Brazil and India. Egypt is known for high-grade cotton used in high-end dress shirts and towels. However, the entire continent of Africa produces very little cotton.
Shaun King claims that Tanzania and Kenya are where his “certified organic cotton” products are coming from. The cotton industry in Kenya is almost entirely defunct. Tanzania does grow tiny amounts of cotton, including some certified organic cotton. However, German and Swiss-owned companies are spearheading the certified organic cotton industry in that country. A photograph used by Shaun King of African women picking cotton by hand came from Mali.
According to King, everyone involved in the process is “Black” and lives in either Kenya, Tanzania, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, or Atlanta. I assume that the “Black” person in Brooklyn benefitting from the sale of these clothes is Shaun King himself, who probably has no African ancestry. King says the shirts and hoodies are drop-shipped by a fulfillment center owned by Black women.
A shockingly large percentage of the clothes sold in sub-Saharan Africa are used clothing from America and other Western nations.
Here are the items:
A plain White or Black “organic cotton” generic t-shirt with a simple one color screen print for $65.
A plain White or Black “organic cotton” generic hoodie with a simple one color screen print for $165.
The current wholesale price for certified organic cotton American-made t-shirts from American Apparel is $4.75 each. These shirts are made with American grown organic cotton and sewn in California. T-shirts made in 3rd world countries are far cheaper.
Shaun Kind is ordered generic t-shirts and hoodies from a third-world country. He made a simple cookie-cutter Shopify site. Then he has a fulfillment center drop ship the items for him. This is what a shameless grift looks like.
